Last week I posted that we were taking school questions that you might have
so that school consultant Joyce Szuflita of NYC School Help, could answer them. Thanks to those of you who did submit questions. Joyce said she had fun answering them! We will try and do this again when it comes closer to touring time (after Labor Day) in case more questions crop up. Thanks Joyce!

Joyce answers the questions:
1. I am thinking of sending my daughter to a pre-school 2s program in
September of 09, when should i start calling schools for tours? It
seems so early to be starting now, but i don’t want to be missing the
boat…… I am looking to find an EXCELLENT school in the Brooklyn area to send
her to where she can receive instruction in both languages. What can
you recommend and when should I start looking, touring , applying ?
2. Hi, Would you know of a comprehensive book for parents who want to put their kids into a nursery school in nyc.  Thank you.

Answer for Question 1.
Hi Inquiring Moms,
Unless you find a school with truly "Rolling" admissions (there are a
couple and they will accept applications all year round) you should sit
on your hands and let the poor frazzled Admissions Directors bandage
their wounds. They have just finished a crazy admissions season. If you
are the type of person who likes to be prepared you can browse websites
for general information, but really, it all heats up again in Sept. and
Oct. for a place the following fall. And a little gem for the mom of
bilingual baby, I really like the program at the International School
of Brooklyn www.isbrooklyn.org.
(I am not affiliated with them) They are an International Baccalaureate
School with immersion spanish and french from preschool through grade
12 (eventually) They are a fairly new school, adding a grade each year.
They are still looking for 2nd graders for next year, by the way. Why
did I like it? Rigorous curriculum, vibrant and involved parent
community, small class sizes, good art teacher (that is my own personal
thing) and it is very reasonably priced for a private program. They do
have language immersion playgroups for children from 18 months at
different locations. One thing to keep in mind is that they will be
looking to find a new and bigger location as the school grows.
If you are the kind of parent that needs to be prepared, do research.
If you are the kind of parent that gets stressed out, try deep
breathing. Like raising children, a successful school search is a
little luck and whatever works for you; not necessarily what worked for
your mom or your friends.
-Joyce

Answer for Question 2.
Hi Inquiring Moms,
There is not a comprehensive book of nursery schools as far as I know
and this is my opinion why. It would be totally boring and possibly not
that helpful. First of all there are 5 trillion schools (and yet 
still not enough seats for all of the children that need them) that is
because the nicely small classes are in very small schools. So there
would be many, many listings. Most of the schools would have some
variation of "child centered, developmentally appropriate, and play as
children’s work" in their descriptions. These are very desirable traits
but they really don’t tell you that much on the page. Some hard facts
would be helpful like licensing, lead abatement, CPR and Early
Childhood Certification, but that only narrows down the choices to 3
trillion. Then there is the narrative problem of describing the
byzantine scheduling options. "Old threes on Tuesday and Thursday
mornings except for months with an ‘R’ in them". Finally, in my long
and gossipy experience, I have never found a family that hasn’t ADORED
their preschool. That doesn’t mean the experiences are all the same,
but I just can’t find anyone who is willing to believe that the sweet
caregivers they handed their darlings over to each day weren’t angels
incarnate. It doesn’t make very good copy. That said, you can still
scan the internet sites for a lot of information. It is not that easy
and quite time consuming and that is why I started my consulting
service.
-Joyce
 

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