Admission Procedure
The Community School is still accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year. Please contact the Director of Admission for more information about space availability and application details.
We will begin accepting applications for the 2011-2012 school year beginning September 1st, 2010. The deadline for applying to Grades K-12 is February 21, 2011. Notification of admission decisions will be mailed by mid-March 2011.
We encourage parents to meet with the Director of Admission and the appropriate Division Director (Elementary School, Middle School, Upper School) to tour the campus, learn more about our curriculum and discuss your child’s educational needs.
If you are interested in applying for admission to our Early Childhood Center (for children ages Two through Five), please click here.
Application
An applicant and his or her parents or guardians should complete an application and return it with a $35 application fee. This is the School's fee for processing the application and is not refundable. Download application »
Classroom Visit
We ask applicants for Grades One through Twelve to spend a full day in class with our students. Classroom visits generally take place in December, January and February and offer an excellent opportunity for prospective students and our faculty to get acquainted. On the day of the visit, applicants for Grades Six through Twelve will be interviewed by the Director of Admission and the appropriate Division Director. These informal interviews give us a personal introduction to each student as we provide the student with information about the school.
Testing
SSAT (Applicants for Grades 6-12)
We require all Middle and Upper School applicants to take the SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test). In order to meet our February 21st application deadline, students must take the November, December, January or February test. We administer the SSAT at The Community School on the Saturday mornings listed below. Students should arrive by 8:30am and will be done with the test by noon.
Applicants need to pre-register for the SSAT. The $110 is paid directly to SSAT when you register. SSAT charges an additional $30 fee for late registration, so please pay close attention to the registration deadline. We will include SSAT registration information in your Application Packet.
The preferred way to register for the test is online at www.ssat.org. Our Test Center Code at The Community School is 2547; in order for us to receive your child's test results, you must enter this code in the appropriate place when you register.2010 SSAT Testing CalendarNovember 14, 2009
Registration Deadline: October 23
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): October 2
December 12, 2009
Registration Deadline: November 20
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): November 27
January 9, 2010
Registration Deadline: December 18
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): December 25
February 6, 2010
Registration Deadline: January 16
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): January 23
*
March 6, 2010
Registration Deadline: February 12
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): February 19
*
April 17, 2010
Registration Deadline: March 26
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): April 2
*
June 12, 2010
Registration Deadline: May 21
Late Registration Deadline ($30.00 extra): May 28
*The scores for these test dates will not be available by the February 22, 2010 Application Deadline
Skills Assessment (Applicants for Grades One through Five)
On the day of an applicant’s visit to the Elementary School, the classroom teacher will assess the applicant’s skills in the areas of reading, writing and math. The skills assessment evaluates an applicant’s mastery of basic grade level concepts. The assessment is brief and no preparation is necessary.
Developmental Assessment (Applicants for Kindergarten)
In lieu of undergoing a classroom visit or testing, Kindergarten applicants will participate in our Developmental Assessment Day in late February. The format—which models a preschool day with activities like circle time, arts and crafts, and free play—gives us an opportunity to observe our youngest applicants in a structured but relaxed social setting. No preparation is necessary aside from assuring your child that he or she will spend a fun morning "playing school" with a small group of new friends. Along with the Parent Statement, Parent Interview and Teacher Evaluation completed by your child’s current preschool teacher, the Assessment Day offers the Admission Committee additional insight into each child’s developmental readiness for our full-day (8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) five-day-per-week (Monday-Friday) Kindergarten program.
Kindergarten Admission Criteria
The Admission Committee will review Kindergarten applications and make decisions based upon a number of factors, including those outlined below. In addition to the following criteria, we make every attempt to balance our Kindergarten class by age and developmental readiness in order to ensure healthy social interaction and dynamic learning groups. Our top priority is to provide an early childhood education experience in which each of our students can feel successful.
Applicants will meet at least two of these three criteria to be admitted to Kindergarten:
1. Have reached five years of age by September 1 of the year of enrollment.
2. Have completed a parent-child interview with the Director of Admission and be considered by the Admission Committee to be a good match with The Community School’s unique mission and curriculum.
3. Be judged developmentally ready by the Admission Committee. Criteria for this judgment generally include a formal developmental assessment and recommendations from current and previous preschool teachers or care providers. Components of "developmental readiness" include social skills and the ability to interact positively with other children, length of attention span, small and large motor skills, visual and auditory readiness, and the level of maturity required for a more demanding and structured atmosphere than preschool.
Admission Summary
A completed application consists of the following materials:
Kindergarten1. Application Form and $35 Application Fee
2. Parent Statement
3. Teacher Evaluation (completed by applicant’s current preschool teacher)
4. Parent Interview
5. Developmental Assessment
Grades 1-51. Application Form and $35 Application Fee
2. Parent Statement
3. Teacher Evaluation (completed by current homeroom teacher)
4. School Records Request (submit to applicant’s current school)
5. Visit
Grades 6-121. Application Form and $35 Application Fee
2. Parent Statement
3. Applicant Response
4. Writing Sample
5. Homeroom Teacher Evaluation (6th grade applicants only, completed by current homeroom teacher)
6. English Teacher Evaluation (7th-12th grade applicants only, completed by current English teacher)
7. Math Teacher Evaluation (7th-12th grade applicants only, completed by current Math teacher)
8. School Records Request (submit to applicant’s current school)
9. SSAT
10.Visit