Application Process

Complete an Inquiry Form and/or review the Application Checklist for details about the admissions process.

ENTRY POINTS

• Transitional Kindergarten: Park Day has one TK class with two teachers in the class.  All students must be 4 years old by Sept. 1 in the year they start TK.
• Kindergarten: Park Day has two kindergarten classes. All students must be 5 years old by Sept. 15 in the year they start kindergarten.
• 6th Grade: In 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, students are split into two learning groups for the core academic classes (Math, Science, English Language Arts, History, Spanish), and three learning groups for arts and other specialty classes. Each year we enroll new students to join our current fifth graders as they move up to sixth grade.
• Grades 1 -5: Applicants for first through fifth grades are considered as space becomes available. There are two classes per grade.

Register on the Ravenna platform to sign up for tours and events. 

• School tours begin in October and are held on weekday mornings.
• Weekend TK-8 Open Houses take place on November 8, December 6, and January 11
• Parent Mixers & Affinity Gatherings typically take place in February and/or March.
• If you have a specific question in advance of the information session or interview, you are invited to sign up for a conversation with Director of Admissions  josie.agshapiro@parkdayschool.org. This is an optional step and best for families with specific questions. For a general school overview, check out these videos!

Applications are completed through Ravenna and include:

• Parent/Guardian Application form and application fee ($65 until Dec 8, $100 thereafter). Contact josie.agshapiro@parkdayschool.org if a fee waiver is needed.
• Student Video Questionnaire (grades 2-8): Students answer questions via video, and upload video url through the Ravenna form as directed.

Teacher recommendation forms completed by your child’s current teacher are required for all applicants.

• Send your child’s current teacher an electronic recommendation form through Ravenna (follow the Ravenna step titled “Teacher Recommendation (Required)”
• Bay Area shared teacher recommendation forms: it is fine to ask your child’s teacher to make a copy of the completed recommendation form and send the same version to multiple schools if you are applying to other schools that do not use Ravenna. PDF versions of forms available here.
• Report Card Release Forms are required for grade 1-8 applicants (print form through Ravenna and upload your own copies of report cards/progress reports/transcripts to facilitate the process).
• Some OUSD schools do not permit recommendations: if this applies to you, please arrange for a current coach, activities teacher, or other adult who knows your child in a group setting this year, to fill out the teacher recommendation form.
• Extra recommendations: If you would like a previous year’s teacher to also submit a recommendation form, you may submit more than one recommendation form and Park Day will review both.

Upon receipt of your application, you will be invited to register for a parent interview, and will receive information about the student visit and assessment.

• Parent interviews are conducted via Zoom, and registration is available following submission of the parent/guardian application.
• Student visits and assessment requirements vary by grade level and details are provided on Ravenna. All students, TK-8, have the opportunity to visit campus.

45% of Park Day families participate in the indexed tuition program. The application is optional and is the same day as the regular application deadline in January.

• Apply to the Indexed Tuition program by submitting a Clarity application.
• Indexed Tuition is assessed separately from admissions decisions. Once admission decisions have been made, the school assesses tuition levels for those being offered enrollment.
• Indexed Tuition levels accompany acceptance offers in March.

Admissions decisions are based on elements submitted during the application process, including the screening of the child and interviews with the family to determine a student’s academic and social readiness. In evaluating children for admission to any grade or class, the school considers the child’s strengths, needs, personality, and learning style in relation to the needs and functioning of the class as a whole.

• Park Day sends admission decisions electronically on a shared Bay Area schools notification date in March.
  • Tuition information for the upcoming school year will be included in the acceptance notice.
  • Families who have applied for tuition indexing will be notified of their tuition amount at the same time they receive their offer of admission.
  • To enroll, families must return signed enrollment contract and the required deposit within one week of receipt.
  • We know that choosing a school is a monumental decision, and are here to support you every step of the way.