Navigating independent school admissions is daunting — we receive many questions about the process and Speyer in general. Some of the most-asked questions are below.
Children who thrive at Speyer are generally inquisitive, observant, engaged and thoughtful. They often love to read or write, build or sing, think and question. The range of personalities and interests is wide, but they tend to share a common desire to learn deeply and examine carefully, often enjoying sophisticated discussions with older children or adults.
As intellectually like-minded as they may be, Speyer students remain funny and energetic children who love to run, jump, skip and dance, daydream, draw and enjoy pretend play.
If you are considering applying for a higher grade, your child’s fit will be closely linked to his/her academic record and accomplishments, alongside a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, with motivation and purpose. Our assessments are calibrated to the existing math and literacy levels of same aged Speyer students and will provide us with additional data on academic fit.
Yes, we always accept applications even if there are no current openings. We will screen all applicants so that we are able to offer new contracts if space becomes available.
This school year our full time faculty/student ratio is 5:1. This figure does not account for adjunct faculty who teach classes such as chess or music.
Speyer offers an early notification option to the siblings of currently enrolled students, as well as to children of school staff and faculty. Families who are eligible for early notification should contact the admissions office in the summer or early in September of the application year and must follow all early notification dates.
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.
As a community-minded school, we appreciate the support and commitment that sibling families have to deepening their ties to Speyer. However, all siblings and other early notification candidates are evaluated individually, using the same criteria as regular applicant children, to determine their fit within our educational environment.
Yes, Lower School courses are offered Monday through Friday in two sessions: the first session begins at 3:30 PM and ends at 4:30 PM, and the second session begins at 4:45 PM and ends at 5:45 PM. We also offer what we call General Afterschool, which meets during both sessions and is a great option for students who want to get ahead on their work, read independently, or enjoy choice time. For Middle School, there is an engaging selection of clubs, teams, and afterschool offerings available to students Monday through Thursday, 3:30 PM–4:45 PM. In addition, Middle School Athletic practices and games take place during afterschool hours and are on a fall, winter, and spring schedule. You can read more about our INspeyerED Afterschool programming here and about Dragon Athletics here.
Speyer’s main admissions entry points are Kindergarten and Sixth Grade. We do accept applications for all grades; however, enrollment availability varies based on each grade’s specific enrollment.
We have approximately 340 students.
The Lower School day runs from 8:15 AM until 3:15 PM and the Middle School day runs from 8:50 AM until 3:15 PM.
Transportation services are provided by the NYC DOE’s Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT). It is a free service to New York City residents and transportation eligibility is based on a student’s grade level, walking distance between home and school, and existing accommodations based on a medical condition, housing status, or safety assessment. Eligible students may opt to receive bus service or a student MetroCard.
For bus service, Speyer’s registrar works with the OPT and our families to coordinate bus routes and pick-up/drop-off times. It should be noted that Speyer’s control over scheduling is limited and the school does not set the pick-up/drop-off times or design the bus routes. Routes and schedules may change from year-to-year; you can find a sample of our current bus stops/routes here.
Student MetroCards are distributed by Speyer to eligible students at the beginning of each semester, and as needed during the school year. These cards may be used at every subway and local bus but cannot be used on express buses. Students may use their student MetroCards traveling to and from school and school-related activities between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM, and they are good for three trips each school day, allowing a student to travel to school, from school to an after-school activity, and from that activity to home.
