Apply to Lower School

Speyer’s admission team is focused on helping you make the best educational choice for your child!

We seek students who are academically motivated, effective collaborators who share an innate love of learning and we accept those children who bring with them a range of personalities, interests, and backgrounds. 

Throughout the process, we’ll talk with you about your child’s high potential, school culture, curriculum, the admission process, and so much more. Please note that Speyer’s main admissions entry points are Kindergarten and Sixth Grade. We do accept applications for all grades up to and including grade 7; however, enrollment availability varies based on each grade’s specific enrollment.

Applications for the 2027–2028 school year will open in early September. If you’re interested in Speyer for your child(ren), fill out the inquiry form via the button below. We look forward to connecting in the fall!

ADMISSIONS

Who are We Looking For?

IMAANI FARAH ORR, CHIEF ENROLLMENT OFFICER

Key Admissions Dates

Applications OpenSeptember 8, 2026

Sibling Early Decision DeadlineNovember 6, 2026

Regular Decision DeadlineDecember 4, 2026

Regular Deadline for All Supplemental MaterialsJanuary 8, 2027

Financial Aid Application DeadlineJanuary 8, 2027

Below is a list of “How to Apply” steps in suggested order. Click each step to read more details and please refer to the Key Application Dates above for all deadlines and dates to remember!

As an applicant for Kindergarten, you will receive a School Tour as part of the admissions process. In addition, once you have filled out our INQUIRY FORM through Veracross, you will be able to register for additional events. Be sure to fill out our INQUIRY FORM using an email address you will have access to throughout the admissions season, as this will be your primary email contact with our school. 

Meet & Learn

Our Meet & Learn evening gives parents a chance to hear directly from educators across divisions and to discover how our program nurtures intellectual curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning at every stage. The evening will end with a brief School Tour.

Fireside Chat

Fireside Chats are a collection of dynamic, insightful conversations designed to give prospective families a closer look at what makes Speyer unique. Hear directly from our alumni in the Speyer Alumni Panel, explore the benefits of our K-8 model in “Why K-8?”, and gain expert insight into gifted education in “Is My Child Gifted?”.

Dragon Adventure

Children, alongside their parent, will have the opportunity to participate in a 45-minute interactive classroom event designed to spark creativity and curiosity.

Please CLICK HERE and enter your email address to begin the online admissions process. A photograph of your child and payment of $100 is required at the time of application. 

At any time in the process, feel free to email admissions@speyerschool.org with any questions.

Parent Perspective

The Parent Perspective is a series of questions meant to guide parents through a thoughtful portrait of their child.

Virtual Parent Conversation

Parent Conversations provide an opportunity for an applicant child’s parents to speak with a member of our Admissions team about their child and educational expectations. These virtual conversations are scheduled for 30 minutes on a day separate from your child’s visit.

Child Onsite Visit

Kindergarten applicants are required to participate in an onsite visit. The onsite visit provides an opportunity for the Admissions Committee to meet each Kindergarten applicant. The children visit with a small group and work both collaboratively and independently.

While the children are participating in the onsite visit, at least one parent and/or guardian is required to stay on campus. During this time, parents/guardians will take a tour led by our Parent Ambassadors. This tour fulfills your application tour requirement. If you have toured previously, you are more than welcome to join again, or you are free to spend your time in our waiting area.

Please download this form and share with your child’s current homeroom teacher via email. Once the teacher fills out the form, they will submit it directly to Speyer. After we have received the form from the teacher, we will mark this step as complete. Please allow us time for processing. 

By emailing this recommendation form to your child’s teacher, you waive any right to access this recommendation and authorize the teacher to provide an evaluation and all relevant information to the school for purposes of your child’s application to the school.

We welcome additional relevant information that may help us more fully understand your child’s academic capacity. If your child has test results available, such as Stanford Binet, ECAA, or other recognized independent standardized tests, and you believe they will provide a helpful perspective, we are happy to receive them. We are also happy to review any additional accomplishments or things you’d like us to know about your child.

The application deadline for regular admissions is December 4, 2026; all supplemental documents must be received by January 8, 2027.

Speyer offers an early decision option to applicants of currently enrolled students, as well as to children of school staff and faculty. 

If a family has more than one child, and each of those children is applying for entry to different grades, the family may receive notification for all applicants on the earliest notification date of the grades to which the children have applied. Reply dates will remain unchanged. 

Families who are eligible for early decision should contact the Admissions office in the summer, or early in September of the application year, and must follow all early decision deadlines. It is important that you follow the dates outlined below:

  • November 6, 2026 — All early decision applications must be submitted by noon.
  • November 9, 2026 — If applying for financial aid, please complete your application in Clarity, along with all required documentation, by midnight (note: this is the deadline for all current Speyer families applying for tuition assistance).
  • November 30, 2026 – All other components of the applicant child’s file must be completed, including onsite visit, school records, teacher evaluations, test scores, and parent conversation.
  • December 9, 2026 – Early decision notifications are sent out.
  • December 16, 2026 — Early decision family reply deadline.

As a community-minded school, we appreciate the support and commitment that sibling families have to deepening their ties to Speyer. However, please be aware that all siblings, and other early decision candidates, are evaluated individually using the same criteria as regular applicant children to determine their fit within our educational environment.

ADMISSIONS

Admissions Elements We Look At

SAM GABRIELLI, HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL

Below is a list of “How to Apply” steps in suggested order. Click each step to read more details and please refer to the Key Application Dates above for all deadlines and dates to remember!

Once you have filled out our INQUIRY FORM through Veracross, you will be able to register for informational events. Be sure to fill out our INQUIRY FORM using an email address you will have access to throughout the admissions season, as this will be your primary email contact with our school. 

Fall Tour

We believe that witnessing our school in action is the only way to start to understand the phenomenal experience that our students have each and every day. These tours are for parents only.

Meet & Learn

Our Meet & Learn evening gives parents a chance to hear directly from educators across divisions and to discover how our program nurtures intellectual curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning at every stage. The evening will end with a brief School Tour.

Fireside Chat

Fireside Chats are a collection of dynamic, insightful conversations designed to give prospective families a closer look at what makes Speyer unique. Hear directly from our alumni in the Speyer Alumni Panel, explore the benefits of our K-8 model in “Why K-8?”, and gain expert insight into gifted education in “Is My Child Gifted?”.

Please CLICK HERE and enter your email address to begin the online admissions process. A photograph of your child and payment of $100 is required at the time of application. 

At any time in the process, feel free to email admissions@speyerschool.org with any questions.

Parent Perspective

The Parent Perspective is a series of questions meant to guide parents through a thoughtful portrait of their child.

Virtual Parent Conversation

Parent Conversations provide an opportunity for an applicant child’s parents to speak with a member of our Admissions team about their child and educational expectations. These virtual conversations are scheduled for 30 minutes on a day separate from your child’s visit.

Student for a Day

Applicants to Grades 1–4 are required to participate in a student visit. During this visit, each student will be given an opportunity to spend time in classes with peers, followed by a Math and Literacy assessment. This is a drop-off visit.

Please email a graded writing sample from your student’s current school year to admissions@speyerschool.org. If you do not have one, please do not worry, as we will have the students complete a writing assignment during their school visit.

Please download one of the forms below and share with your child’s current homeroom teacher via email. Once the teacher fills out the form, they will submit it to admissions@speyerschool.org. After we have received the form from the teacher, we will mark this step as complete. Please allow us time for processing. 

— If you are applying to Grade 1, please download this form and share the PDF with your child’s current homeroom teacher via email.

— If you are applying to Grades 2-4, please download this form and share the PDF with your child’s current homeroom teacher via email.

By emailing this recommendation form to your child’s teacher, you waive any right to access this recommendation and authorize the teacher to provide an evaluation and all relevant information to the school for purposes of your child’s application to the school.

For applicants to Grades 1-4, we welcome a whole host of external testing (i.e. SSAT, ISEE, Stanford Binet, WISC, SCAT, CTP, MAP Testing, state testing scores, etc.), as long as the testing took place no more than 12 months prior to your application date to Speyer.

We require the most recent report card from your child’s current school. 

We welcome additional relevant information that may help us more fully understand your child’s academic capacity. If your child has test results available, such as Stanford Binet, ECAA, or other recognized independent standardized tests, and you believe they will provide a helpful perspective, we are happy to receive them. We are also happy to review any additional accomplishments or things you’d like us to know about your child.

The application deadline for regular admissions is December 4, 2026; all supplemental documents must be received by January 8, 2027.

Speyer offers an early decision option to applicants of currently enrolled students, as well as to children of school staff and faculty. 

If a family has more than one child, and each of those children is applying for entry to different grades, the family may receive notification for all applicants on the earliest notification date of the grades to which the children have applied. Reply dates will remain unchanged. 

Families who are eligible for early decision should contact the Admissions office in the summer, or early in September of the application year, and must follow all early decision deadlines. It is important that you follow the dates outlined below:

  • November 6, 2026 — All early decision applications must be submitted by noon.
  • November 9, 2026 — If applying for financial aid, please complete your application in Clarity, along with all required documentation, by midnight (note: this is the deadline for all current Speyer families applying for tuition assistance).
  • November 30, 2026 – All other components of the applicant child’s file must be completed, including onsite visit, school records, teacher evaluations, test scores, and parent conversation.
  • December 9, 2026 – Early decision notifications are sent out.
  • December 16, 2026 — Early decision family reply deadline.

As a community-minded school, we appreciate the support and commitment that sibling families have to deepening their ties to Speyer. However, please be aware that all siblings, and other early decision candidates, are evaluated individually using the same criteria as regular applicant children to determine their fit within our educational environment.

COMMUNITY

Speyer’s Fun Way of Learning