Apply to First Program

List of 4 items.

• 1) Submit your preliminary application. (Deadline: noon on November 15, 2024)

  To begin the process of applying, a short preliminary application form and application fee of $75 are required.* We encourage families to submit this as soon as possible in Ravenna. The application is available after August 15, 2024 at noon and due no later than noon on November 15, 2024.
  *If the application fee presents a hardship for your family, please use fee waiver code NEEDFA.
  
  

• 2) Schedule your child's admissions assessment , your parent tour, and parent interview.

  Once your child's application has been received, the Admissions Office will call you to schedule all of the in-person components of your child's application as listed below. Due to the large number of applications submitted, please allow several weeks after submitting your application for us to contact you.
  
  1) Child's Assessment: Your child's admissions assessment will consist of a small group visit held in a child-centered room that is separate from our classrooms and close to the Living Room where families gather upon arrival. The visit lasts 1 hour and fifteen minutes. Children will be assessed with age-appropriate group activities as well as with one-to-one activities with our teacher interviewers. In addition, children will have free time to explore various play materials such as blocks, coloring materials, Legos, Magna-Tiles, animal figurines, cars, and puzzles.
  
  2) Parent Tour: Your parent tour lasts about 1 hour and fifteen minutes and happens at the same time as your child's school visit. Both parents will arrive with the child and convene in the Living Room. After a few minutes, our teacher interviewers will take the children next door for the assessment. The tour guide will then lead the parents on a tour of the First Program that will end just before the children arrive back. Parents who toured in the spring will not tour again in the fall.
  
  3) Parent Interview: Your interview is an important opportunity for the admissions staff to get to know your child and family better. Parents should come prepared to the meeting ready to share stories about their children and to talk about their hopes and dreams for their child's educational journey. During the interview, parents will also have time to ask questions and get to know more about Dalton. The meeting takes place on a different day then the tour/assessment and lasts about 30 minutes. We do ask that both parents attend all events together, if a two-parent family. If you would prefer to have a remote interview, please let our admissions staff know at the time of scheduling. A parent interview may be conducted on Zoom as long as the parents first attend an in-person tour.

• 3) Request an ISAAGNY Confidential School Report from your child's current school or teacher.

  The ISAAGNY Confidential School Report is a comprehensive recommendation form and record from your child's current school. Please request that your child's teacher or a school administrator (often the nursery school director) complete and submit this form to Dalton electronically. You can email a copy of this form directly to them through Ravenna. Once the form is completed, please check your Ravenna account periodically to track Dalton's receipt of the document. It must be received no later than January 9th (or November 27th for Dalton community members who qualify for and have requested Early Notification).

• 4) Submit any supplemental materials.

  A parent statement and personal recommendations are completely optional, but if you wish to submit these, there are template forms available to facilitate submission on Ravenna.
  
  If you are applying for financial aid, please ensure that you meet the deadline for submitting your financial aid application and tax materials; see the detailed instructions on Ravenna or read more here on Tuition and Financial Aid.