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Applying to Nursery Threes, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten

The application for the 2024-2025 school year is now available via Ravenna Hub. The family portion of the application is due on November 17th, 2023. 

Families interested in learning more about Horace Mann School are encouraged to attend our in-person and virtual events in the fall. 

Appointments are self scheduled via Ravenna.

Applicants for the 3's, Pre-K and Kindergarten will be able to schedule their child's interview and their parent interview via Ravenna Hub. These are separate appointments taking place at different times. 

This year, the admissions process for entry for the 2024-2025 school year at HM will be conducted in-person. As a result of COVID-19, Horace Mann School encourages visitors and applicants coming to the campus for interviews and open houses to be vaccinated or be in the process of becoming vaccinated. The vaccination is not mandatory for applicants.

Please take a moment to read HM's Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for enrolled students. 

Families who are interested in applying to Horace Mann School should begin the process one year prior to their desired entry date.

If an applicant is abroad or applying from outside of the Tri-state area, you may request a Zoom interview. If that is the case, please call 718-432-4100 or email admissions@horacemann.org. 

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

For Kindergarten and Grade 1 applications, Horace Mann School, in partnership with Riverdale Country School, requires an online assessment for applicants for kindergarten and 1st grade. HM and Riverdale 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 and $155 for 1st grade applicants. Applicants will receive the results from the assessment. Information regarding the assessment is down below in our application process section. 

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. 

The details for the interview will be sent to families after they register for their appointment on Ravenna. 

Application Process:

1. Submit and pay for the application
Deadline: November 17th

  • After submitting the online application you will be taken to a payment page. The non-refundable application fee is $60. This fee is reduced to $25 for families that will be applying for Financial Aid; enter partial waiver code HMFinAid2023 when prompted in the Ravenna system.

2. Optional: Upload photograph to the application
Deadline: January 15th

3. Schedule the Admission Assessment  - Required for Kindergarten & 1st Grade. Horace Mann School is working with First Look Insights. First Look Insights is an independent testing organization working in consultation with Horace Mann School and Riverdale Country School in order to provide additional information on the applicants that apply for Kindergarten and 1st Grade. While a piece of the application process, the assessment is not the only piece of the process. Please read the First Look Insights FAQ to learn more about the assessment and register to take the assessment here. Registration for the First Look Insight will begin on September 18th. Testing will begin the week of October 16th. 
Deadline: Test results must be received by January 15th

4. Attend the interviews

  • Nursery Threes and Pre-Kindergarten:
    • After submitting and paying for your application, schedule your child's interview through the Ravenna Hub platform. The child's interview will take place in-person. 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 interview. The parent interview will take place at a separate time; two parents/guardians are allowed to come for that 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. 
  • Kindergarten:
    • After submitting and paying for your application, schedule your child's interview through the Ravenna Hub platform. The child's interview will take place in-person. 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 interview. The parent interview will take place at a separate time; two parents/guardians are allowed to come for that 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. 

5. Request that the Confidential School Report be sent from the child's current teacher - Required for Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten only
Deadline: Must be received by January 15th

  • Parents may submit their request online to their current school via Ravenna Hub for the school to fill out the Horace Mann Confidential Report.
  • Schools may submit the ISAAGNY Confidential School Report if they prefer.

6. Optional: Submit a parent statement introducing your child to us
Deadline: Must be received by January 15th

  • Submit the parent statement via the Ravenna Hub platform.

If you are applying for financial aid, you must submit the required materials by November 18th.

 

Please check on your application status in early January to confirm that the application is complete.
The file must be complete by January 15th for the applicant to be considered for admission.
We notify families of the admission decision in the first two weeks of February.

 

For more information about admission to Horace Mann School, and to learn more about our school, please visit our General Information page.