The publisher is using a new address for their RSS feed. Please update your feed reader to use this new URL: http://beyondthebrochurela.com/feed ..read more

Collette Bowers Zinn I was a guest on the Motherbird podcast a few months ago and was asked who in the L.A. private school world I would love to meet. One name immediately came to mind: Collette Bowers Zinn, daughter of legendary Center for Early Education head of school Reveta Bowers, and founder of the new nonprofit Private School Axis.  I was able to meet Bowers Zinn for an outdoor lunch recently, where we discussed her plans for increasing diversity in private school admissions. With 15 years of experience in school administration and admissions, this lawyer-turned-educator ..read more

To register, click here. To register, click here. To register in Spanish, click here. Stay up to date on the latest L.A. private schools news and events! Follow Beyond The Brochure on Facebook. Buy the book on Amazon.    Related Stories Reader Question: Who Should Send Thank You Notes For Secondary School? Parent or Kid? Welcome New Readers! And A Few Things You Might Not Know… Admissions Letters: A Roundup of Previous Posts. And Good Luck!   ..read more

Hear me out. I had more “reasonable” plans during the winter of 2020 for our Los Angeles kindergarten search, but the unimaginable happened, and Covid-19 upended our world. First, the tours were all canceled and the schools were closed to the public for the rest of the year. Anything we hadn’t already seen would remain a mystery hinging on the technical, marketing, and communication savvy of each school (and the health department). Then, amidst the lockdowns we decided to sell our open floorplan condo in Playa Vista and temporarily rent a house with more space to better navigate homeschooling ..read more

Applying to private/independent schools is stressful enough without the Covid -19 virus. But with a pandemic and the private school admissions process moved online, there’s an added complexity. So, how can you prepare for your your child’s assessments on Zoom? Here are 5 things you should know: Let your child do the talking. Don’t answer, don’t give clues, don’t speak for your kid. The school wants to get to know your child. You will have a separate chance to share your thoughts. This is an opportunity for your child to shine. If your child is shy, that is ..read more

Hi Friends, we hope your family is staying safe and healthy. It’s been a long time since we’ve featured one of these Buzz posts, but here goes! –Christina There’s a group of private/independent schools that has created a coalition to fight to re-open schools during the pandemic: The Student First Coalition. The problem is, they’ve made public school unions the enemy (see letter to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors). Not only is this wrong–the coronavirus is the enemy–but it’s also politically tone deaf. The board of supervisors has a majority that is strongly pro-union. The tension betw ..read more

Hi Friends! I’m thrilled to share my interview on the new Motherbird podcast. I chat with Mia Sable Hays, the amazing host and founder of Motherbird Los Angeles, a social club where moms in L.A. connect (Mia’s voice will make you want to listen all day long). We talk about how Beyond The Brochure got started, my thoughts on the current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion movements at private schools, how parents can get the real scoop on schools they are considering, my big regret about our private school choices — and more! I hope you enjoy the interview–Christina To listen, click on Episode #4 ..read more

Tips on how to adjust to a unique & unprecedented admissions season The pandemic has affected just about every facet of life. This we already know. And for people applying to K-12 private schools, the constraints of COVID-19 are presenting new and never-before-seen challenges. In the good old days, you went to a school’s open house event, a coffee with the Head of School at a current parent’s home, or maybe even to a football or volleyball game to check out the school community and culture. This is how you learned about the school, its nuances, and whether it was a fit for your child and ..read more

To register for one of these events, click HERE. To register for one of these events, click HERE. Stay up to date on the latest L.A. private schools news and events! Follow Beyond The Brochure on Facebook. Buy the book on Amazon.    Related Stories Reader Question: Who Should Send Thank You Notes For Secondary School? Parent or Kid? Welcome New Readers! And A Few Things You Might Not Know… Admissions Letters: A Roundup of Previous Posts. And Good Luck!   ..read more

We are excited to feature guest writer Ethan Lachman, who shares some of his experiences about being a student at Harvard-Westlake. We’re always interested in perspectives about the culture of L.A. private schools and we know you are too. Ethan is the incoming Editor-in-Chief of The Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper. He wrote about recent student and alumni allegations of racism at Harvard-Westlake and about his experience quitting basketball. –Christina After attending Wonderland Avenue Elementary School from kindergarten to fifth grade, my public school experience had essentially co ..read more