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Hi everyone. We are looking for advice on what to do going forward. My daughter tested for 1st grade classical and got a total score of 290/300. We are very proud of her. We think that score is amazing. However, she still was waitlisted for the 2 programs we were looking at – SW and SN. This is very disheartening and humbling. She likely will not be getting off the waitlist.
All of this has us wondering, how does this correlate to how she will do when applying for AC and/or high school? Are all AC filled will kids from classical programs or RGC? What can we do to help her be competitive? We want her to just be a kid.
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It’s very likely zero spots were even released for that grade. Until someone says they’re not coming back, they can’t extend offers. At this point in the year, there are many families who probably haven’t made that decision. My kid is in 1st grade at a classical school now and there were 2 new kids for first grade. One of the kids who left didn’t make the decision until June. If you’re 1 or 2 on the waitlist, it could happen.
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Thank you for the response. She is unfortunately in the 30s, highly unlikely. This makes me wonder how our kids do going forward.
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Ask your principal for their matriculation rates into selective enrollment HS and academic center. You can always keep trying and the class size goes up for 4th grade. Each child’s education is evolving always! It’s not linear. I’d continue to focus on your child’s achievements and lean into their strengths. There are tutoring programs too for test prep in the future.
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I truly feel for you — it’s tough knowing your child has so much potential, and yet navigating the path forward can feel overwhelming. But please know, there is hope.
I’ve learned that it helps not to wait until the year of the AC or high school tests to start preparing. That doesn’t mean your child needs to live and breathe academics nonstop — far from it. But a little workbook prep here and there can make a difference over time.
If possible, consider exploring tutoring options to help challenge them beyond what they already learn at school. Even small, consistent steps can save everyone a lot of stress and heartache down the road.
For what it’s worth, my kid attends a non-classical/RGC school and was accepted into an AC program. I’m sure a bit of luck and hard work played a role. But I take comfort in knowing that I did what I could to support him along the way—and that matters.
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Thank you for the kind words. Any suggestions for workbooks you used?
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Hi,
With that waitlist number, it is unlikely you will receive a call from SEES you mentioned.
As a parent of two children who, through different routes: one was in a not so great magnet school/other in one of the schools you mentioned, got into ACs and later in one of the best SEHS in the nation (this is subjective), academics were always important but not the only thing my kids did. Kids need to destress. And parents too.
Focus on cultivating curiosity, resilience, and work ethic.
In regards to test preparations: give her some academic material to work on in a free time (10-15 minutes a day, consistently, makes a huge difference; it could be Khan academy, Vocabulary practice, Reading comprehension, …). We did test prep for AC exam (the magnet school kid went through this), but decided not to do any paid/organized prep for either of them for HS test. (I purchased a couple of prep books, they worked through them). This does not mean you should do the same what we did.
One thing worth mentionig: both my husband and myself are higly educated in STEM field. If you do not feel confident to help with academics, go the tutoring route. Otherwise, my “recipe for success” would cause too much frustration for both of you.
Also, maybe test her every year? If she has potential, it may happen that one year, when she is in the top of the waitlist, the space opens up.
Good luck!
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Thank you for the advice and your experience? Was there any specific material you would daily with your kids?
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Can’t speak to future implications, but like another poster said, you can get them tested every year. I would encourage you to have them take both the classical and RGC test. Yes, you would need to take them twice to get tested, but you never know how they will do. We tested in kindergarten and again for upcoming 3rd grade. Kiddo did better in the RGC test for K, but did better in the classical test this year surprisingly.
While not a ton of movement, there are some kids who move or leave for whatever reason. Best case scenario is that you get a spot one year and worst case (in my opinion) is that the kids get some exposure to the test taking process so that they can be more familiar with it in future.
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Another parent mentioned this. Skinner West has only 1 classical program per grade. Even if someone leaves mid year they don’t open the spot to someone else. I can confirm that a 1st grade student moved and there are no plans to open the spot to people on the waitlist.
CPS needs to communicate # of spots available at both skinners after K. I think this will help parents rank schools.
The whole process is so frustrating.
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