Applying to Nursery & Kindergarten

The application for the 2026-2027 school year will be available on August 4, 2025, via Ravenna Admissions Portal. The application form is due on November 15, 2025. 

After submitting the online application via Ravenna, you will be taken to a payment page.

• The non-refundable application fee is $60.
• The application fee is reduced to $25 for families that will be applying for Financial Aid; enter partial waiver code HMFinAid2025 when prompted in the Ravenna system.

For Kindergarten applications, Horace Mann School, in partnership with Riverdale Country School, requires an online assessment for applicants for Kindergarten. Horace Mann School is working with First Look Insights, an independent testing organization working in consultation with HM and Riverdale, in order to provide additional information on the applicants that apply for Kindergarten. While a piece of the application process, the assessment is not the only piece of the process. The reason that Horace Mann School is requiring an assessment and an interview with our office is so we can have multiple data points to help make our decision instead of one meeting. Please read the First Look Insights FAQ to learn more about the assessment.

HM will cover the majority of the cost of the new assessment for families. As a result, the family portion of the new assessment is $55 for Kindergarten applicants. Applicants will receive the results from the assessment. 

Registration for the First Look Insight will begin on September 15, 2025, and testing will begin in October. Register to take the assessment here. Test results must be received by January 15, 2026. 

Threes and Pre-Kindergarten

• Child Interview/Playgroup: After submitting and paying for your application, schedule your child's interview through the Ravenna Admissions Portal. The child's interview/playgroup will take place in-person at the Horace Mann School Lower Division campus. In order to cut down on the number of people in our waiting room, we ask that only one parent/guardian or caregiver accompany the child to the child's playgroup.
• Parent Interview: The parent interview will take place at a separate time via Zoom; two parents/guardians are allowed to participate for that appointment. If only one parent/guardian is able to attend, that is absolutely fine. We realize that this is a busy process and that it isn't always possible to make it to every part of the admissions process. We also realize that there might only be one parent/guardian in the child's orbit. 
• In order to guarantee your child interview/playgroup and parent interview, Nursery Division applications must be submitted and applicants must be scheduled for the interview or parent interview and playgroup by October 15. Applicants who submit and/or schedule after that date will be unable to schedule online; we will contact them directly if we are able to offer them an interview later in the season, depending upon availability.

Kindergarten

• After submitting and paying for your application, schedule your joint child's Kindergarten Playgroup AND Parent Interview through the Ravenna Admissions Portal. This will take place during the same appointment window in-person. While the student is working with our teachers, the parent(s)/guardian(s) will interview with another member of the Admissions Office. Two parents/guardians are allowed to come for the visit. If only one parent/guardian is able to attend, that is absolutely fine. We realize that this is a busy process and that it isn't always possible to make it to every part of the admissions process. We also realize that there might only be one parent/guardian in the child's orbit. 
• In order to guarantee your child interview/playgroup and parent interview, applications must be submitted and applicants must be scheduled for the interview or parent interview and playgroup by October 15. Applicants who submit and/or schedule after that date will be unable to schedule online; we will contact them directly if we are able to offer them an interview later in the season, depending upon availability.

For Applicants Living Abroad or from outside the Tri-State Area

Parents may submit their request online to their current school via the Ravenna Admissions Portal for the school to fill out the Horace Mann Confidential Report. Schools may submit the ISAAGNY Confidential School Report if they prefer. The Confidential School Report must be received by January 15, 2026.

We want to get to know you, your family, and your child better during the admissions process. We encourage you to introduce your child to us. In particular, we encourage you to consider how your family’s and your child’s life experiences to date have shaped who your child is, who you hope or imagine they will become, and what role or roles you hope their school will play. Submit the mandatory parent statement via the Ravenna Admissions Portal. The parent statement must be received by January 15, 2026. 

All families who wish to apply for Financial Aid are required to complete the Clarity Application any time after September 4, 2025. We suggest that parents/guardians wait to complete Financial Aid application materials until early October to ensure that the information provided is as current as possible. In addition to the 2024 tax documentation required in Clarity, we may require families to upload copies of other documents, where applicable. Other supplemental forms are sometimes required depending on family circumstances and can be uploaded directly in the Clarity dashboard. Financial aid application materials must be submitted by November 15, 2025.

Visit our Financial Aid page for more information.

In early January, please check on your application status to confirm that the application is complete. The file must be complete by January 15, 2026, for the applicant to be considered for admission. Importantly, the application will not be considered complete without the interview.

We typically notify Kindergarten applicants of the admission decision in the first week of February; Nursery Threes and Pre-Kindergarten applicants are notified shortly after the Presidents' Weekend holiday in February. 

The New York City metropolitan area is filled with wonderful schools, and most children would be happy at any number of those schools. Horace Mann School is unique in that it is the largest independent school in New York, and one of the largest in the country.

Our size gives us the advantage of depth and breadth of program that many smaller schools cannot sustain, without sacrificing the smaller class sizes and strong faculty-student relationships that are a hallmark of independent school education. Horace Mann students, from an early age, are given more independence and choice than many of their counterparts, in and out of the classroom. Our size provides a diverse student population from the tri-state area, representing more than 150 zip codes and many different backgrounds. We also have more than 260 talented faculty members with a range of teaching experiences and academic interests.

The fact that Horace Mann School spans from Nursery through Twelfth Grade means that we can help manage the transitions for our students, and pay very close attention to what has gone before and what comes next to ensure that students are well prepared for what they are learning now.

Our location provides a suburban country day school campus within close reach of all New York City has to offer.

There is no such thing as a typical Horace Mann student, nor do we have a typical applicant. Our process is designed to be age appropriate. We are looking for students who will benefit from and be successful in our program, and we also look for families who will be supportive and involved members of our community. We base that review on all the parts of the application process. 

For Kindergarten, we also find the FLI assessment to be important because it provides the only common reference point for all applicants. We see applicants from many different areas and many different schools, and their backgrounds are varied. The testing enables us to assess them compared to the larger group. However, the test is only one measure of an applicant's success, and we use it in conjunction with the other required materials.

For Nursery Threes through Grade 3, we have a strict September 1 birthday cutoff. For the Threes program, children must turn three by September 1 of the year they wish to enter. For Pre-Kindergarten, children must turn four by September 1 of the year they wish to enter. For Kindergarten, children must turn five by September 1 of the year they wish to enter.

Students attending our Nursery Division program must be fully potty trained. 

Horace Mann School does not anticipate that we will be providing Forms I-20 for F-1 student visas for students. New enrolling international students will be required to obtain and demonstrate another type of valid legal status. Note that Horace Mann School requires that one or both parents, or a permanent legal guardian, will be in residence with their children during the school year. If the parent or legal guardian who will be in residence with their child(ren) during the School year is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, they must provide the School with proof of valid legal status to enter and remain in the United States during the School year.

View the tuition schedule here. 

All non-tuition required fees are due June 1 for all students on any payment plan. 

Horace Mann School does not provide transportation. For those enrolled families not being serviced by the New York City Board of Education or their local public school district in Westchester County, NY, the School partners with a for-profit transportation company - SuperSelby. The owners of SuperSelby, The Selby Family, have been transporting our students for almost 50 years. 

Interested families may choose to engage in a contract with SuperSelby and can learn more about service options at their website here. Service is not provided to all locations, and bus service is not provided to or from the Nursery Division. Routes, including pick up and drop off locations, are determined by the bus company based upon the students who register for service and may vary from year to year. It is not always possible for SuperSelby to offer door to door transportation; in many instances, students will need to walk to a local bus stop. Students who reside in the five boroughs of New York City may be eligible for a free Student /OMNY Card (formerly the MetroCard), and the 242nd Street stop of the 1 Subway route is one block from campus. 

Horace Mann School partners with FLIK Independent School Dining for our food service. Our food service program is not allergen-free. The health and safety of our students and other guests is the highest priority for FLIK Independent School Dining, and a variety of protocols and procedures are in place for those students or employees with food allergies or intolerances. FLIK Independent School Dining also implements associated tested-and-proven standard operating procedures that provide the utmost public health protection in support of their food-allergic customers

At the HM Nursery Division, a menu identifying the nine major allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, egg, milk, wheat, soy, sesame plus gluten) is provided to each classroom for the daily family-style lunch meal.  All children with a documented medical need will receive the same daily meal that is free of peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, egg, milk, wheat, soy, sesame, and gluten regardless of their allergy/allergies or special dietary needs. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to notify the school nurse of all documented food allergies, food intolerances, or special dietary needs that are for medical purposes.

At the HM Lower Division, a separate, allergen-friendly menu is written monthly to accommodate students with documented medical needs. The menu consists of meals that are made without the nine major food allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, egg, milk, wheat, soy, sesame plus gluten). All students with a documented medical need will receive the same daily meal regardless of their allergy/allergies or special dietary needs. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to notify the school nurse of all documented food allergies, food intolerances, or special dietary needs that are for medical purposes. Parents of students with documented medical needs that do not wish for their student to participate in the allergen-friendly menu/special plate will be required to keep a signed waiver on file with the school nurse. The student will then be permitted to select food from the hot line when desired, utilizing the allergy board, signage, and assistance from staff to determine an appropriate meal for their medical needs.

For more information about campus Dining Services, click here.