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The Kindergarten Wars
The Battle to Get into America's Best Private Schools
By Alan Eisenstock
Warner Books 2006
230 pgs
Lz, Oakland, California In The Kindergarten Wars, Alan Eisenstock followed a number of families who were applying to private kindergartens across the United States. He interviewed admissions directors and board members of various private schools. The stories appear to be based upon real occurrences, but the author seems to have taken the liberty of combining the experiences of more than one family into the particular families identified in the book. What attracted me to read the book is the snippet that I found on the internet after my family had gone through the process of touring various private schools, filling out parent statements, getting waitlisted, getting off all of the waitlists, learning that being waitlisted does not equate to being rejected, and questioning my “sanity” throughout the process. Reading about the anxiety and anguish of other families attempting to get into the “best” school was reassuring because I did not feel so alone. The book details how seemingly normal families transform into questionably insane people doing whatever it takes to get their child admitted into the private schools of their choice. In the end, each of the families identified in the book either were admitted to the school of their choice or were admitted to an acceptable school. The book does not attempt to address whether private school is worth the money or will necessarily lead to attendance at an Ivy League College. I recommend this book to any parent who has decided to apply to private school and would like to prepare for the journey.
Km, Oakland, California The Kindergarten Wars is a breezy read, written in a narrative form that follows several families through their applications to private school kindergartens (with names of families and schools alike changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent...). It's not really organized like a "how to" or an outline of the process or tips, but there are some parts of the kindergarten application process revealed, apparently based on actual interviews of admissions directors. This is mostly illustrated in showing how the parents try to improve their chances in getting into various private schools and then describing the reactions of the admissions directors. Short read, entertaining, and reveals a few "secrets" (maybe just "insights" is a better word). So for me, totally worthwhile.
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