Most preschools and private schools use the Parent Statement as a tool to gain insights into your child and family support. Particularly for preschool and early elementary grades, the Parent Statement may be the primary written lens through which the admissions team views your child’s personality, assessing if they are a good fit. Additionally, the statement should offer a glimpse into your family dynamics, primarily addressing whether education is important, supported, and valued. The part of the admission’s process aims to understand your family values to see if they resonate with the school’s ethos.
The criteria for Parent Statements differ from one school to another. While some institutions offer specific prompts, others adopt a broader approach. Regardless, these statements should be succinct, ideally no longer than the stipulated limit or a single page. Consider the perspective of an admissions officer faced with reading hundreds of Parent Statements. Being concise is crucial. To effectively convey your child’s personality and your family’s educational values, every word must be impactful. It’s advisable to allocate ample time for drafting and refining your statement, ensuring relevant details are provided and unnecessary adjectives are eliminated.
Your task, in a nutshell, is to encapsulate your child’s personality and your family’s stance on education in 650 words or less. In addition, indicate what the school can anticipate from you as parents if your child is admitted. This might sound straightforward, but it’s a nuanced endeavor.
Before you start, ensure you understand any prompts provided by the school. Familiarize yourself with the school’s mission and educational philosophy, so you can echo similar values when portraying your child. Reflect on instances where your child’s actions or reactions mirrored the school’s values or beliefs. Choose a notable example that encapsulates your child’s character and use it as a foundation for your introductory paragraph. Throughout the statement, honestly describe your child’s character and personality.
In the subsequent paragraph, delve into your child’s learning inclinations. Highlight subjects they excel in and areas they find challenging. If they’ve faced academic hurdles, outline the support that aided them. Alternatively, if they haven’t faced academic obstacles, touch upon other challenges, perhaps social, familial or physical, and how they navigated them.
Your following paragraph should delineate why you believe your child would thrive in that specific school. Reference particular programs or offerings the school provides that intrigue your child. Conclude by communicating briefly why you, as parents, are enthusiastic about the school and how you intend to be supportive.
Once written, revisit your statement multiple times, refining and honing. Ensure your introductory sentence captivates the reader, and the subsequent content sustains their interest. Your narrative should illuminate desired traits in your child, while steering clear of excessive adjectives, ostentation, speculative statements, and embellishments. If you’re repurposing this statement for multiple schools, double-check that you’ve adjusted the school’s name accordingly.
The Parent Statement is a useful avenue to spotlight unique facets of your child and family. Whether it’s emphasizing a diverse background or recounting challenges your family confronted and how your child responded, this is your opportunity to offer a more profound insight into your child.
Lastly, review and refine your statement once more. Your diligence will be well worth the effort.
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