草榴社区

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2025-26 Best SSAT Prep Courses Reviewed
This article reviews the top SSAT prep courses, including Test Innovators, Enrollment Management Association (EMA), Princeton Review, Ivy Global, and Kaplan. Each course is evaluated based on its price, in-person and online services, officially licensed materials, instant normative scoring, and free trial options. We'll dive into the features and benefits of each course, helping you understand which one best fits your student's needs and learning style.

2025-26 Best SSAT Prep Courses Reviewed

Preparing for the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) can be a daunting task for students seeking admission to private schools. With its unique format and challenging questions, the SSAT requires strategic preparation to achieve a competitive score. In this article, we'll explore the best SSAT prep courses reviewed in 2025-26, helping you make an informed decision about which course is right for your student.

The SSAT is probably unlike any test your student has ever taken. That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 designed to identify the best students from a large pool of excellent candidates.

  • The SSAT鈥檚 questions are significantly different in their difficulty and content from questions on other standardized tests.
  • Students aren't even expected to know everything that鈥檚 on the test!
  • This means that, in order for your student to have the best chance at getting a score that鈥檒l help them get admitted to their school of choice, they鈥檒l need to prepare for the test.

There are a lot of test prep options out there, from tutoring to books to online services. We鈥檝e compiled a list of 5 of the best test prep options we鈥檝e found. But first, here are some things to consider before choosing a prep solution:

  • How does your student learn best? Some students learn best in a self-paced program where they are in control, while others may benefit from the more rigid prep plan that a tutor or a class

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Job Interviews: Illegal Questions

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Job Interviews: Illegal Questions
It is illegal for an interviewer to ask certain questions at your job interview. Be aware of what they can and cannot ask you.

The questions which you will encounter in your job interview for a private school teaching job depend on the experience and skill of your interviewer. Most of the time the interviewer will be well-trained and experienced. She will ask questions which are legal. However, you should be aware that even the most experienced interviews can and do slip up occasionally and ask questions which are illegal according to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 鈥減rohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.鈥 Put another way, you have rights and it is very important that you know and understand them.

Read Daniel Bortz' article on Monster.com, . That will give you an overview of how things work in the corporate world as well as in small business like private schools. The problem with small organizations is that they don't always have the human resources professionals on staff to remind them of legalities such as what you can and cannot ask at a job interview.

Here are some of the things which are considered illegal for the interviewer to ask about. Incidentally, both federal and state laws consider questions about these issues illegal.

  • Race, Color, or National Origin
  • Religion
  • Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation
  • Pregnancy status
  • Disability
  • Age or Genetic Information
  • Citizenship
  • Marital Status or Number of Children

So, what do you do when an interviewer asks about any of these things? Don't answer. Depending

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Running Your School: Managing Enrollment

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Running Your School: Managing Enrollment
Not filling all the seats is a challenge for many schools. Jason How offers some answers to common enrollment questions.
Jason How

Editor's note: I asked Jason How, a professional enrollment strategist and Managing Director of , to answer some of my questions about achieving enrollment targets and related matters. ~Rob

1. My school's enrollment is declining. I can't afford a marketing professional. What should I do?

Understanding what a school means when it can't afford a marketing professional is essential. Here are some guiding questions:

  • Does it mean that they don't have an in-house marketing person?
  • Does it mean they can't afford to hire an extra pair of hands?
  • If it can't afford to hire outside help, is it because the administration made certain assumptions about the cost of hiring a marketing professional?

Once we understand what the school means, the next thing is to clarify why their school's enrollment is declining. Each reason has its solution. Reasons include:

  • Declining student age population within the geographical region.
  • Growing competition due to:
    • New schools are popping up in the area.
    • Existing schools are expanding aggressively.
    • Deteriorating ratings and feedback about the school's programs lead to a rise in negative reviews and word-of-mouth, discouraging others from attending the school (true story).
  • Over-reliance on a single marketing and enrollment source.

It's important to get clarity on the main reason for the decline because marketing is not a magic pill that can solve every issue.

If a school has a good reputation but happens to be located in an area with fewer student-age population, there is not much marketing that can be done. Parents are not going

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Schools For Children Who Sing

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Schools For Children Who Sing
If you have a child who sings, you might want to consider a choir school. In the United States, most of these schools are day schools.

What is a choir school? It is a private school serving the choristers of a cathedral, college or large parish church. The choristers can be boys or girls or boys and girls depending on the institution with which the school is affiliated. The United Kingdom enjoys a long history of this genre of private school. As the notes:

"Choir Schools are amazing places where young choristers enjoy learning and playing. Their work takes them into stunningly beautiful buildings on a daily basis. There is no better educational and musical training start for boys and girls aged seven years and up who love to sing."

Residential and day choir schools have seen a steady decline in their numbers since the 1950s for three reasons. Two devastating world wars in Britain drastically altered the social and economic landscape in that country. Changing values in modern society throughout the world have seen parents choose alternative forms of education for their children. Finally, the tremendous cost of educating children in a choir school has forced many sponsoring institutions to close their schools.

Why send your child to a choir school?

I remember a parishioner years ago asking me to support her son's application to Saint Thomas' Choir School. He was an only child and, frankly, she was the quintessential velcro mother. I was pleasantly surprised that they were keen on the residential choir school at Saint Thomas Church in New York City. It was a good solution

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Marketing Your School: How Visible Is Your School?

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Marketing Your School: How Visible Is Your School?
Learn how private schools can improve SEO, digital marketing, and social media visibility to attract more families in 2026.

I am assuming that your school is well-known within your local community. But what about beyond that community? Are you visible to families looking for a school like yours? How will they know that your school fits their specific requirements? There are several things schools can do to reach that critical pool of families and prospective students in today鈥檚 increasingly digital admissions environment.

In 2026, effective school marketing goes far beyond brochures and print advertisements. Search engine visibility, mobile-friendly design, AI-assisted search tools, and social media engagement now play a central role in how families discover and evaluate schools.

As discussed in Hybrid and Online Learning Options for 草榴社区 School Students, schools that successfully integrate technology into communication and operations are often better positioned to reach modern families.

The Invisible Stuff

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, still feels mysterious to many school administrators and educators. It is one of those highly technical concepts that often gets delegated entirely to web developers or outside consultants.

The truth is that strong SEO can significantly enhance your school鈥檚 visibility and admissions outreach. Weak or outdated SEO practices can bury even an excellent school website beneath competitors in search results.

At minimum, school leaders should understand the fundamentals well enough to supervise website and marketing teams effectively.

Institutions such as and the regularly publish resources about digital visibility and school communications strategies.

Some Background

What

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