"Some of the advantages of private school over public school is that private schools really pride themselves on keeping class size small, having a higher ratio of teachers to students, having aides in the classroom actually being fully credentialed teachers, having all kinds of resources that are now considered extra in public schools, such as art, music, physical education, library, even a school nurse. All of those things which might be considered extra in public school are taken for granted in private school. And that is some of what you are paying for in private school. When you look at what public schools get, which is in the neighborhood of $5,000 - $7,000 per student, and what private schools charge, which can be upwards of $15,000 per student, you can see that private schools can simply afford to do more than public schools can."

"What are some of the advantages of public school over private school? For one, the obvious advantage is that the public school is located in your neighborhood. This means that your children will meet other children in the neighborhood, that's where their friends will come from, that's where your community will come from, and that does lend something to your quality of life. If you're not getting in the car to drive your child to school or if you are, you're driving for five minutes and not for 45 minutes. The other advantage would be if your child needs any kind of additional services, a public school is mandated to provide them. So whether that is for gifted children who need different levels of instruction, or for children who are struggling in any way at all, the school is bound by law to provide additional services to your child. So there are a couple of advantages to public school."

"People ask if they can go to public elementary and then apply to private high school; public elementary, public middle school and then just wait and got to private high school. And what I usually tell them is this: By the time it's high school, there are very few spaces available. The big entry points for private school are really kindergarten and middle school, and that's really it. Even though private high schools might open up an additional number of spots for high school, it will be very small compared to the number of spaces they will open for middle school. So if you're thinking in that direction, yes, there is a big difference between 45 to 75 spaces that might open for middle school and the 20 spaces that might open for high school, 10 boys, 10 girls. So yeah, the competition for high school is much greater."

"There is a big question these days whether your child turns five in the fall or summer before kindergarten whether you should send them to kindergarten this year or wait another year. There is no easy answer to that question. There are children who are ready for kindergarten even before they turn five. However most of the schools are now seeing that children are entering kindergarten when they're 5 1/2, almost 6, or even 6-years old. So you also have to determine do you want your child to be the youngest child in the class? Will your child be competitive with those children even if they seem perfectly ready for kindergarten? Will they be as ready as the children who have waited a year? The best rule of thumb is to, if you can't get a kindergarten readiness assessment, ask the school that you're talking to about the age range of the children entering kindergarten."

"If your child is gifted, there are a number of things that you can do. First, depending on what their age is, if you seriously think that they're gifted and everyone else seems to think so too, you might want to get them tested by a pediatric neuro-psychologist who specializes in that kind of IQ testing. And that will give you a real indication whether your child is gifted. There are gifted programs in public schools; generally they do not start until first or second grade, or even third grade. Public schools can often accommodate gifted children if they group children by ability from day one, even starting in kindergarten. So one of the things you can do is if your child is slated for public school, ask whether the school ability groups or not. If they don't and the teacher is differentiating in the classroom and observe a classroom where she's truly differentiating for different levels of kids, fine. Otherwise, you might have to consider a private school that either specializes in working with gifted kids or has a more advanced academic program."

"What is a charter school and how do you get into one? Charter schools are free public schools, one of many alternatives for free public schools. As a free public school, you are able to attend a charter school if you live in the neighborhood that a charter school is in. Or you can lottery in. Charter schools were created to give parents more choice in the style of education that they're getting from their school district. So charter schools can teach differently, they can have completely different curriculum, they can focus on a completely different philosophy. They can also involve teachers in developing curriculums, something that doesn't happen in a regular neighborhood school. If you're interested in a charter school, you need to attend an open house or a tour, apply on their application timeline, enter that lottery, and then wait to find out if you got a space in that lottery. And as long as you live in the state in which the charter is located, you are eligible to apply to that charter school."

"How schools determine whether your child is ready for kindergarten depends on whether it is public school or private school. For public schools, there is a date that the state sets and all public schools abide by. As long as your child turns five by that date, your child is ready for kindergarten. Private schools look at it completely differently. They want to look at a set of skills to determine whether or not your child is ready for kindergarten. They will look at their cognitive abilities, their social emotional development, their gross motor skills, their fine motor skills, their ability to be in a group of kids of their age. And they will do a series of assessments to determine whether or not your child is able to be in their kindergarten at their school."

"These days a lot of people are interested in language immersion schools and there are language immersion schools for all kinds of languages. There's either the 90/10 language immersion program, where 90% of the instruction in kindergarten is in the foreign language with 10% being in English. Every year they add 10% in English, so that by the time the children graduate the end of elementary school they will be 50/50 in English and the foreign language. The other type of language immersion program is a 50/50 program where 50% of the day is spent in the foreign language. the other 50% of the day is spent repeating the same lesson in English so that your child has an opportunity to consolidate their learning, and this is especially useful if the parents do not speak the foreign language that the child is studying."

"Magnet schools were created to right the wrongs of segregation. So that children in neighborhoods that had no resources in poor public schools were able to still get a quality education. Magnet schools only exist in large urban school districts were there are poor neighborhoods and under resourced schools. You get into magnet schools by accumulating points. You get points for whether your neighborhood school is primarily one non white ethnic group, or if your neighborhood school is over crowded. If you want to go to a gifted or you want to go to a gifted magnet or a gifted and talented magnet in some parts of the country then you also need to test in, in addition to having the points from the regular magnet lottery."

"Some tips for interviewing at private school. First of all, be yourself. It's not a job interview. They are not there to trick you or trip you up on your answers. Be authentic in talking about your child. This is not the time to be modest about your child, it is a time to be the parents who are the proud parents of your child. Tell them all about yourselves. Tell them about your child. Be engaging. Be authentic. You don't have to dress how you don't normally dress. The more you engage in an interview as if it were just a conversation, the more successful that interview will actually be. They are looking for parents who are going to be comfortable at their school, and who will be part of the school family. Jump in, be enthusiastic, let the interviewer speak, and try to answer their questions to the best of your ability. You don't need to sell your child, just be authentic."

"Some of the advantages of private school over public school is that private schools really pride themselves on keeping class size small, having a higher ratio of teachers to students, having aides in the classroom actually being fully credentialed teachers, having all kinds of resources that are now considered extra in public schools, such as art, music, physical education, library, even a school nurse. All of those things which might be considered extra in public school are taken for granted in private school. And that is some of what you are paying for in private school. When you look at what public schools get, which is in the neighborhood of $5,000 - $7,000 per student, and what private schools charge, which can be upwards of $15,000 per student, you can see that private schools can simply afford to do more than public schools can."

"Private Kindergarten, first of all, will take a look at your child's birthday and whether or not they fit into that Kindergarten cutoff. Some schools are a little more lenient about the date, some schools are not. You will complete an application. You will go on a tour. You will also have a parent interview. There will be a child assessment and a visit to the preschool to observe your child, and there may be a group assessment at the same time. The school is looking at a whole range of factors when looking at Kindergarten acceptance. In order to get accepted at a school, first of all, you need to be the right fit for that school. If you are the type of family that they have and they are comfortable with you, then often times, family fit can be most important. Not that your child doesn't matter, but some schools are looking for more of the whole package. Some schools really are looking at a child's assessment and how they do on a particular Kindergarten assessment. They will score that assessment and then look at other factors. There is no easy answer about how to get into Kindergarten, but to some extent, it does depend on both the family and the child."

"I often get asked, what do I do if my child is rejected or waitlisted after we have applied to our favorite school? There are a couple of answers to that question. One is if you did not receive a waitlist letter or if you are simply not offered a spot. It is your first play school, for the most part, it is over. If for whatever reason they decided not to offer you a waitlist spot, chances are good that they don't see your child as a fit for whatever reason. You can always call. With a waitlist spot, I would suggest that you call and talk to the director of admissions, tell them that you got accepted elsewhere, but this is your first choice school; is there any possibility. They might see that you are a genuine applicant for them. Whoever they have offered spots may have been accepted to other schools. Spaces do open up. Spaces especially open up on the waitlist after the first two months that letters have gone out. Be persistent, but if a school says, "I'm sorry. We just won't be able to offer you a spot." Then it's over and move on to your next choice school."

"If you don't find the right fit school for your child. You've tried working with the school, working with the teachers, and working with the principal, and nothing seems to be working for your child at that school; you might want to consider switching. A lot of switching does go on between Kindergarten and First Grade, where people have chosen schools that turn out to not be the right fit for them. They do need to go elsewhere. As long as there are real, authentic reasons, it is not impossible to switch. What does become challenging is you can only go to a school if a space opens up in that school. So as Kindergarten is the entry point, there is difficulty finding a space at any other school depending on how many kids wind up leaving. That is the hard part about switching, whether or not there is a space available. It is possible to switch. If you do see a school where you think your child will be more successful, I would encourage you to do that."

Hi. My name is Sandy Eiges, but some of you may know me as L.A. School Scout. I'm an educational consultant in the Greater Los Angeles area, and I help families find the right fit school for their child, preschool through 12th grade, public or private.

Why would a family hire L.A. School Scout? As I'm sure you're aware, there are many schools out there and the school admissions process can be challenging, bewildering and competitive. I am passionate about helping my families explore all of their options, and I offer both one-time consultations as well as more comprehensive planning and support. My intimate knowledge of all facets of the school application process helps families find the right fit school for their child and ultimately, for their family.