Kindergarten Admissions Process
The Amos and Celia Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School kindergarten admissions process includes a number of steps that are designed to help us understand each of our applicants as learners and to enable us to determine whether the Day School is a good match for your child and family.
Meeting and Tour—Seeing Our School Community First Hand
We invite you to attend one of our Prospective Parent Open Houses, or to schedule a private meeting and tour to learn more about our program and see our teaching and learning come to life. You will witness engaging, integrated lessons and experiential learning in a safe and nurturing environment, designed to support the growth of your child’s inquiring mind and budding self-esteem.
Application—Getting Started
To obtain an application, please contact Admissions & Outreach Director Abbe Payton at 952.381.3566 or apayton@HeilicherJDS.org. Receipt of your completed application form (signed by all parents/legal guardians) and $200 non-refundable application fee starts the formal admissions process. We will contact you to schedule your admissions appointments. (Please see Admissions Timeline below for important dates.)
Teacher Feedback—An Important Form is Needed
The admissions office will provide you with a Pre-school Teacher Evaluation Form for your child’s current teacher to fill out and return directly to the Day School. This form provides the Day School Admissions Team with important information about your child in a classroom setting. Please confirm with your pre-school that this form will be mailed or faxed to the Day School in advance of your child’s Group Screening appointment. (Please see below.)
Individual Screening—Your Child’s First Introduction To Day School
All prospective Day School kindergartners meet one-on-one with Test Administrator Julie Ziessman or School Psychologist Gay Rosenthal. One of them will administer the Dial-3 (Development Indicators for the Assessment of Learning, 3rd Edition). The Dial-3 is a developmental screening measure designed to assess skills that are encompassed in the foundation for academic learning and successful functioning in the classroom. It consists of five screening areas: motor, concepts, language, self-help development, and social development. A brief interview with your child will also be conducted, providing information about interpersonal skills and social-emotional development. This process will take 40 to 60 minutes. During the entire appointment, one parent/guardian (not nanny/babysitter) must stay in the Day School office waiting area. There will be a short parent/guardian questionnaire to fill out during this time.
Group Screening—An Opportunity To Learn and Share More Information
Next, we ask that your child attend a Group Screening. This small group session, led by a Day School kindergarten teacher, will give your child an opportunity to experience a “snapshot of kindergarten” and spend time in an actual classroom with other prospective students. It will also allow our Admissions Team to observe your child formally in a small group setting. Your child’s visit will last one hour, providing for pursuit of individual interests as well as a group activity. During the entire Group Screening, at least one parent/guardian (not nanny/babysitter) must stay at the Day School to participate in a newly-reformatted parent discussion.
Follow-Up Meeting—The Partnering Process Begins
After the Individual Screening and Group Screenings, you will be invited back for a parent-only follow-up meeting with Gay Rosenthal and Julie Ziessman, to obtain feedback and hear what we have learned about your child. We hope that the information provided at this meeting will give you valuable insights about your child’s emerging profile as a learner. This is also a time for you to share any information about your child that you do not feel was communicated on your application form. As part of our ongoing partnership with families, we hope that both parents in a dual-parent household can attend this meeting.
Final Review—The Admissions Team at work
After each Group Screening, the Day School Admissions Team meets to review applicants’ files. Admissions criteria used to determine whether or not the Day School is an appropriate learning program and environment for your child include: information from the application; Individual and Group Screenings; Pre-school Teacher Evaluation Form; and any other information provided in writing by parents. Sometimes the admissions team will request additional information before making a decision about admission. (Please see Additional Information below.)
Admission—A Thoughtful Decision
A letter of acceptance, along with an enrollment form, fee schedule, and a Parent Covenant, will be mailed to your home, in accordance with the Admissions Timeline listed below. Please review, sign and return to Day School the enrollment form, along with a $600 deposit (applied to tuition), by the date indicated on the contract, to hold your child’s place in the coming year's kindergarten class. Enrollment forms received after the date requested will be considered on a first-come/first-served basis, pending space availability.
Kindergarten families with children accepted to kindergarten by Passover will have the opportunity to fill out and return a Class Placement Form. All families will be invited to attend a variety of Day School events and meetings during the summer leading up to enrollment including: Parent Orientations, informal neighborhood park playgroups, the Ice Cream Social, and End of Summer Picnic/Meet The Teacher.
Financial Assistance—Available To Families Who Qualify
The Day School is committed to socioeconomic diversity. If you are considering applying for financial assistance, please be sure to check this box on your application. A financial assistance information package will be mailed to your home early in the calendar year.
If you are unsure whether you want to apply for financial assistance, or want to know what type of documentation is required to show “demonstrated need,” please contact our Business Director Steve Richardson at 952.381.3510 or srichardson@HeilicherJDS.org. He can speak with you confidentially and provide you with a ballpark idea of your family’s expected tuition contribution.
Please carefully read all financial assistance information, including submission deadlines and instructions, as there are a number of specific procedures required.
Approximately 30% of our families receive some degree of financial assistance. The Day School does not offer any full scholarships.
Additional Information
Partnering between school and home is key to a successful experience. Please provide the Day School with any/all outside testing or evaluations done by OT, PT, medical, psychological, or other professionals. The more information we have about your child the more successful we will be in meeting his/her needs!
Sometimes it is helpful for us to observe a child in their pre-school environment, and/or secure releases to communicate on the phone or in writing with health care providers. If we are in need of this type of information we will let you know.
Admissions Timeline
* Families whose application forms and fees are received by mid-December, and who have completed the other necessary steps in a timely manner, will receive early notification of admissions near President’s Day.
* Families whose application forms and fees are received by mid-February, and who have completed the other necessary steps in a timely manner, will receive notification of admissions near Passover.
Admissions Questions
This listing is designed to ensure that we meet the needs of prospective/incoming students and families as effectively as possible. Please use this guide as a reference when further admissions-related communication is desired.
If you have questions regarding scheduling admissions appointments, please contact Ethan Tarshish, Admissions Assistant, at 952.381.3506 or etarshish@HeilicherJDS.org.
If you have questions regarding admissions procedures, please contact Abbe Payton, Admissions & Outreach Director, at 952.381.3566 or apayton@HeilicherJDS.org.
If you have questions regarding financial assistance and/or payments, please contact Steve Richardson, Business Director, at 952.381.3510 or srichardson@HeilicherJDS.org.
If you have questions regarding the Lower School program, please contact Helen Siegel, Lower School Director, at 952.381.3500 or hsiegel@HeilicherJDS.org.
If you have any other questions or concerns regarding your child, including those related to family stress or changes, please contact Gay Rosenthal, School Psychologist, at 952.381.3500 or grosenthal@HeilicherJDS.org.
Non-Discrimination
The Day School admits students of any sex, race, color, religion, or national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, athletic or other school-administered programs.
