Eleanor Munson, PhD

Dallas Educational Consultants

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Dallas Private School Admissions, Financial Aid

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For years, Dallas private schools have chosen to extend their financial aid offers in May, many weeks after sending out their admissions notification in March, leaving families of admitted students in limbo, unsure if the offer they receive will be enough to afford the school of their choice.  However, soon this will change.  Many top Dallas private schools have decided to alter this practice and instead will send their financial aid offers along with their acceptance notifications beginning this March.  Students given wait pool status will also learn of their financial aid offer at this time.  As a result, families will be able to immediately consider their options and quickly make the best choice for their family’s situation, thus eliminating the waiting…and nerves that go with it.

Due dates for financial aid applications vary, so be sure to check each school’s calendar.  Some schools ask for this information as early as December, others in mid-February.  Just as there are different due dates, there may be different offers from each school. Endowments among schools vary.  Schools with larger endowments can provide more aid and at earlier grades.  I’m glad to see this change for families and schools, who now can wrap up their admissions season by April, instead of stretching it into June.

© Eleanor Munson, Ph.D. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Eleanor Munson, Ph.D. is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eleanor Munson, Ph.D. with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

3 Tips for Dallas Private School Admissions

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3 Tips for Dallas Private School AdmissionSchool is back in session, and if you’re thinking about a private school for your child next year, I have some tips to help you prepare for the Dallas private school admissions season.  First, before you panic, please know that if you’re reading this, you’re starting early!  You have plenty of time to make school visits, compare and contrast different educational environments, complete applications and gather needed information.  So take a deep breath and consider the following tips.

Tips

  1. Visit a wide variety of schools.  Sometimes it’s tough to know what the right school environment is for your child until you see it.  So give yourself a chance to experience different types of schools (Montessori, religious, single sex, etc.) and see what feels right to you.  Check my private school tour schedule for suggestions, dates and times.
  2. Scour the website.  You’d be surprised how much important information private schools make available on their website.  It’s not uncommon for schools to have parent/student handbooks, curriculum guides, and course catalogs on their site.
  3. Attend the Dallas Private School Preview for the opportunity to learn more about a number of private schools all at once.  This year the Preview is Sunday, September 11th from 12 to 2pm at the St. Mark’s School of Texas.  Then stay for either ‘Navigating the Private School Admissions Process’ or ‘Navigating the Boarding School Admissions Process’ panels afterwards, from 2:15-3:15pm.  Read more about the preview here.

If you need help forming your list, want to discuss private schools or the admissions process, don’t hesitate to contact me for assistance! Good luck!

© Eleanor Munson, Ph.D. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Eleanor Munson, Ph.D. is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eleanor Munson, Ph.D. with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

This is it: Dallas Private School Admissions

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private school admissionsAdmissions week is finally here!  While Dallas-area Catholic schools notified families of their admissions decisions last week, this is the week that most other private schools let their applicants know.

I know what a stressful time this can be.  If you need help the following week (choosing between schools, dealing with a wait-list situation, or regrouping from a negative outcome),  I will be available by email or phone.    Contact me if you need assistance and/or to schedule an appointment beginning Tuesday, March 29th.

Good luck!

© Eleanor Munson, PhD.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Eleanor Munson, PhD is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eleanor Munson, PhD with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Early Signs of Learning Differences

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Concerned that your young child may have a learning difference?  It’s typical for learning differences to be diagnosed starting in 1st grade when a child is 6 or 7.  If your child has a family history of learning issues, or you’re just a concerned parent, there are early signs of learning differences that you may want to be aware of, with one caveat.  Children develop different skills and abilities at different rates.  So a child may start walking early, have age-appropriate gross and fine motor skills, but be a late talker.  For that particular child, the gap in skills may be completely normal and even out a little later.  However, on the other hand, the difficulty with speech may be representative of some later learning challenge..it’s just too early to know that for sure.

There are five areas where you may see early indicators of learning differences; coordination, language, attention, cognition, and social skills.  As you peruse the signs below, please know that it is completely normal for your child to exhibit several of these behaviors as they grow and mature.

Coordination
  • clumsiness
  • difficulty tying, buttoning, zipping
  • difficulty running, jumping, climbing, learning to ride a bike, skipping
  • awkward pencil grasp
Language
  • delay in speaking
  • trouble with articulation
  • difficulty rhyming
  • difficulty following simple directions
Attention
  • impulsive
  • highly distractible
  • restless, always in motion
  • difficulty changing activities
Cognition
  • difficulty with cause and effect, sequencing, and counting
  • difficulty memorizing the alphabet
  • trouble discriminating letters, number, and symbols
  • difficulty with concepts like size, shape, color
Social Skills
  • trouble playing with others, making friends
  • difficulty understanding facial expressions, gestures
  • prone to outbursts, temper tantrums
  • tendency to misinterpret behavior of peers and/or adults

As your child progresses through early childhood, keep these warning signs in mind.  If your child is struggling and your intuition tells you something isn’t right, it’s important to have that checked out.  Ask your pediatrician or your child’s preschool teacher for their feedback, as they can direct you to a specialist.  Early intervention is critical to your child’s success in school.

© Eleanor Munson, PhD. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Eleanor Munson, PhD is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eleanor Munson, PhD with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Tour, Tour, Tour!

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tour schedules

The inspiration for the title comes from a long-time principal of a North Dallas private school (now retired) who closed every holiday and end-of-school program with, ‘now remember’…. to which the kids would chime in … ‘read, read, read!’

My message today is ‘tour, tour, tour!’  If you ask me what the single most important thing you can do during the admissions process is, I would say to tour schools.  Hearing about a school from a friend or reading through a website can’t compare to setting foot in the school.  You will leave with concrete information, but I believe it’s the little things you notice that add up to give you the feeling that your child would be happy, or not, at a particular school.

Early fall is the prime time to go to private school open houses, coffees, tours, etc.  Though many schools offer evening tours, if at all possible, try and go during the school day when you can walk into the classrooms, peek into the lunchroom, and watch the kids moving through the hallways between classes.  So make your list and get started!

*For a monthly schedule of tour dates, check the private school tour schedule.

© Eleanor Munson, PhD. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Eleanor Munson, PhD is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eleanor Munson, PhD with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.