Tours - Do's and Don'ts

By Stephanie Katzman, Smart City Kids Inc

Pre school Do's

1. Do look engaged and give off the body language that you just love the school.
2. Do turn off your cell phone and Blackberry’s (totally off, not even on vibrate).
3. Do wear clothes that are considered business casual (but men and women can feel free to wear a suit if you wear one to work).
4. Do ask thoughtful questions such as, “can you tell me more about how I can be involved in your school’s community?”
5.   Do write a thank you note on personal stationary after a tour and mail it…no emails!

Pre school Don'ts

1. Don’t bring coffee into a tour (You shouldn’t be drinking hot liquid around children) and don’t chew gum.
2. Don’t ask hot button or annoying questions such as, “My child is a genius, so how are you going to challenge him?”
3. Don’t ask a question that you know that can be answered from the school’s website or their application.
4. Don’t send holiday cards to the director.
5. Don’t ever be late for a tour.

Stephanie Katzman received her master's degree in Education from Boston University where she focused on special education in early childhood. Stephanie began her career in NYC 11 years ago working as a Special Educator for YAI for nursery school aged children. While working for YAI, Stephanie worked at many private nursery schools throughout Manhattan.  She quickly became acquainted with each pre-school's educational philosophy while learning the ins and outs of the admissions process for the schools in which she worked.

In 2005, Stephanie became the Admissions Director of a nursery school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The following year, she became the Director of the nursery school and continued to oversee and manage the admissions process, making all final decisions for prospective students, in addition to leading and overseeing the day to day operations of the nursery school. Stephanie was an ISSAGNY Board member where she worked in partnership with other board members and school representatives to identify opportunities for improvement in the admissions process, policy, and testing methods to establish best practices for all ISSAGNY member schools. Stephanie is also the proud mother of three young children.