Kindergarten Placement:
Support Through Transition

Our team is deeply dedicated to supporting families and children through the transition from Morningside into ongoing kindergarten programs. We believe that there is no single “best path” or “best school” for all children – instead, that there is a perfect fit for each child and family. We are proud of the diverse range of institutions that our students go on to attend, including public schools, independent schools, and Hunter Elementary.

Our Head of School, Alex Valentin, creates a comprehensive support program for families as they consider, apply, and ultimately “exmit” to an ongoing program. We provide each family with consistent and individualized support from start to finish, beginning in the spring of each child’s penultimate year before kindergarten. Some highlights include:

  • Personal Consultation with Alex beginning in May (18 months before your child will exmit) and continuing throughout your process

  • Morningside Alumni-Led Panels each autumn focusing on public and independent school programs, where past Morningside families share their experiences at ongoing schools

  • Morningside Independent School Info Fair with admissions directors from Manhattan independent schools

  • Exceptional school reports, made possible by our dedicated teachers and administrative team – all of whom take the time to connect with each child and provide invaluable anecdotes and information for the exmissions process.

  • Regular Event Digests sent to exmitting families, including information on independent school admission events and updates from School Search NYC, run by Robin Aronow – who is a wealth of knowledge about public school admissions.

  • Public schools: Run by the New York City Department of Education, these encompass the various P.S. programs as well as Gifted & Talented (G&T) programs, Dual-Language programs, and the Special Music School (SMS). Public schools also include charter school programs. Charter schools may have unique educational emphases or other special programs.

    Hunter College Elementary School (HCES): Hunter is a unique program – it is not run by the Department of Education, but is publicly-funded and tuition-free. It has its own admission process with particular requirements and various rounds of interviews.

    Independent Schools: These are schools with a tuition cost associated, often also called private schools. This group includes all independent (non-DOE-run) programs, including single-sex schools, religious schools, and others. Each school has its own admissions process, though ISAAGNY member schools’ applications have similarities.

  • Our team shares regular event digests with the current Exmissions group. We also encourage families to check school websites and social media pages – they will be your best source for up-to-date information about upcoming events, open houses, and application processes.

Recent Morningside graduates now attend a variety of independent and public ongoing schools, including:

  • Allen-Stevenson School

  • Avenues: The World School

  • Bank Street School for Children

  • BASIS Charter Schools

  • Blessed Sacrament

  • The Brearley School

  • The Caedmon School

  • The Calhoun School (Montessori + Open Inquiry Tracks)

  • The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine

  • The Chapin School

  • City & Country School

  • Collegiate School

  • Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School

  • The Dalton School

  • Ethical Culture Fieldston School

  • The Geneva School of Manhattan

  • The Hewitt School

  • Horace Mann School

  • Hunter Elementary

  • IDEAL School of Manhattan

  • International Academy

  • Manhattan School for Children (PS 333)

  • The Nightingale-Bamford School

  • PS 75 Dual Language

  • PS 84 Dual Language

  • PS 87 Dual Language

  • PS 163 Gifted & Talented, Dual-Language

  • PS 165 Gifted & Talented, Dual-Language

  • PS 166, Gifted & Talented

  • PS 199

  • PS 334 (The Anderson School) Gifted & Talented

  • PS 452

  • PS 539 (NEST+M) Gifted & Talented

  • Riverdale Country School

  • Special Music School PS 859

  • The Spence School

  • Speyer Legacy School

  • St. Bernard’s School

  • Steven Gaynor

  • St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s

  • Studio School

  • TAG Young Scholars

  • The Town School

  • Trevor Day School

  • Trinity School

  • United Nations International School

Morningside Montessori is a member of the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY). As a member, we practice the guiding principles of fair and professional admissions processes, both for our applying families, and for those applying to Kindergarten.