2012 Dealey Montessori Admissions/ Waiting List (Forest Hill, Sanger: neighborhood, magnet school, living in)

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by karenw729

The legal challenge would be to giving siblings a 20 pt advantage. Are the tax dollars of those already attending the school worth 20% more than mine? Everyone living in DISD area pays taxes to pay for the public schools. Everyone's dollar should be worth the same amount.

What if there is an statistical tie between a younger sibling and a new admit? Are you going to defer to the sibling since it would be far easier on that family, or are you going to flip a coin?

These are not easy decisions.

[karenw729]

Originally Posted by TX75007

I can see your point.

But the flip side is now parents have kids who are going to two different schools. And you are breaking siblings apart. I know my son and daughter are VERY close and even at the ages of 3 and 6 they really want to go to school together. And if it were a local public, then all the kids would go there anyway.

As to the merits of your point. While some siblings are more than two standard deviations apart on tests, most are within 1 standard deviation and often the youngest is *SMARTER* than the older one.

Overall, the sibling rule is a good one.

My brother and I frequently attended different schools while we were growing up. Either due to school options or the simple fact that different grades were on different campuses. I don't ever recall wishing that my brother was in the same school as me and I don't ever recall my parents lamenting the fact that we were on different campuses. I think that is a rule that was established by parents and/or school board members who wanted to make sure their other children had an admission advantage and used "convenience" as a reason. I'm sure it is a convenience for families, but it's still not equitable and gives parents of multiple children a higher status than parents of singletons. I would be fine with siblings being given priority on a equal basis, i.e. if a sibling child gets the same score as a non-sibling child then the sibling child can get priority. But a 20 pt. advantage, that's just gaming the system.

[karenw729]

Originally Posted by HockDad

What if there is an statistical tie between a younger sibling and a new admit? Are you going to defer to the sibling since it would be far easier on that family, or are you going to flip a coin?

These are not easy decisions.

I would be fine with the decision going to the sibling in the case of a statistical tie. I believe that's the way many schools do it...all things being equal, the sibling gets the nod. And I think this is the way it should be. Parents shouldn't let the younger coast on the achievements of the younger.

FYI, we also applied to Hockaday and Good Sheperd Episcopal. Hockaday would be our choice if she were to be offered enrollment, but I don't have my hopes up. Daughter is quite bright, a very early reader, good problem solver, and way ahead of her age group academically, but I think she didn't perform as well as hoped on the CATS. Her personality is such that she is reluctant to demonstrate on command, and I think that happened during her CATS assessment. And given the fact that we don't have a sibling advantage or connections or look like possible big donors, we were really hoping she would nail that test. She'll do great in group assessment, she's outgoing and friendly and loves school and other people. But I know for Hockaday the applicant has to excel at all points.

[TX75007]

Originally Posted by karenw729

but it's still not equitable and gives parents of multiple children a higher status than parents of singletons. I would be fine with siblings being given priority on a equal basis, i.e. if a sibling child gets the same score as a non-sibling child then the sibling child can get priority. But a 20 pt. advantage, that's just gaming the system.

I really don't think the equitable statement holds water. Most siblings are very close in IQ.

What We Have Learned About Gifted Children

Brothers and sisters are usually within five or ten points in measured ability. Parents' IQ scores are often within 10 points of their children's; even grandparents' IQ scores may be within 10 points of their grandchildren's. We studied 148 sets of siblings and found that over 1/3 were within five points of each other, over 3/5 were within 10 points, and nearly 3/4 were within 13 points. When one child in the family is identified as gifted, the chances are great that all members of the family are gifted.

There is no way to look a kid and tell where they will end up later in life. Schools can only go with their best judgment. One sibling can end up in the middle of the pack and the other is the valedictorian.

Even St Marks which has the most objective and rigorous process still has just a 20% NMSF average for its classes and every year kids get the dreaded academic probation. Kids who were previously admitted on an objective process don't make it. If we knew what made the top kids, you would see a much higher NMSF %.

I know from my own kids that their test scores are very different. My son's math scores are nearly perfect while his verbal scores are 20+ points below the math. Yet most people who interact with him would assume the opposite. Until they played chess with him..

My daughter is the opposite with the same range on her scores with verbal way above the math. Yet most people who interact with her would assume that her spatial/math reasoning is her strongest suit. Her verbal scores are one SD above his. Yet she talks very little even though she has a huge vocabulary.

An interview process would give him high marks. (And he did get admitted to one of the privates.) Yet if you interviewed my daughter, she would just stare at you for an hour.

Yet they are both equally qualified. I would give the long run edge to my daughter right now as she will not quit on something once she gets started.

[karenw729]

Originally Posted by TX75007

I really don't think the equitable statement holds water. Most siblings are very close in IQ.

What We Have Learned About Gifted Children



There is no way to look a kid and tell where they will end up later in life. Schools can only go with their best judgment. One sibling can end up in the middle of the pack and the other is the valedictorian.

Even St Marks which has the most objective and rigorous process still has just a 20% NMSF average for its classes and every year kids get the dreaded academic probation. Kids who were previously admitted on an objective process don't make it. If we knew what made the top kids, you would see a much higher NMSF %.

I know from my own kids that their test scores are very different. My son's math scores are nearly perfect while his verbal scores are 20+ points below the math. Yet most people who interact with him would assume the opposite. Until they played chess with him..

My daughter is the opposite with the same range on her scores with verbal way above the math. Yet most people who interact with her would assume that her spatial/math reasoning is her strongest suit. Her verbal scores are one SD above his. Yet she talks very little even though she has a huge vocabulary.

An interview process would give him high marks. (And he did get admitted to one of the privates.) Yet if you interviewed my daughter, she would just stare at you for an hour.

Yet they are both equally qualified. I would give the long run edge to my daughter right now as she will not quit on something once she gets started.

I don't doubt the veracity of your research into IQs and siblings, but the Dealey assessment is supposed to be based on their fit for the Montessori leaning method. This has nothing to do with IQ and everything to do with learning styles, personalities, and developmental maturity. And those things are not typically consistent between siblings. Since Montessori method works best with children who are self-directed and good independent learners, they're supposed to be doing things like giving them a task to complete and then stepping back to see who can sit down quietly and get it done.

All this discussion about the sibling clause aside, our daughter had the Dealey assessment and it was pretty much a waste of time. It's clear siblings will get in no matter what as one little boy in her assessment group, who had an older sister in the school, was sent back out of the assessment after about 5 minutes. The rest of the children were sent back out in less than 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure Maria Montessori would be disappointed in a school that said they were able to simultaneously assess the likelihood of 8 kids succeeding in a Montessori environment in less than 30 minutes.

[RedBird4]

Just wondering if anyone has received an admission decision yet.

[pepper131]

Looks like first choice letters were mailed on Friday, Feb 28th. Everyone should be hearing today or tomorrow....

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by pepper131

Looks like first choice letters were mailed on Friday, Feb 28th. Everyone should be hearing today or tomorrow....

A school that sends out letters prior to the week of spring break. How unusual, and brave...

[EastCoast_girl]

Has anyone received their letter from Dealey yet? I checked the mail today and still nothing. So happy the privates are emailing

[puppyfish]

We called and were told that the letters were likely to go out today (Tuesday) so I wouldn't expect to see them until Thursday or Friday.