• APPLICATION PROCESS

    Thank you for your interest in applying to West Side Montessori School.

If interested in the 2021-22 school year, please contact Judy Lyons (jlyons@wsmsnyc.org).

Please use the link below for the 2025-2026 application.

https://wsmsnyc.myschoolapp com/app#login/apply

AGE REQUIREMENT

To be considered for September 2025 enrollment:

  • Multi-Age Program applicants must have been born on or before December 1, 2022.
  • Twos Program applicants must have been born between December 1, 2022 and September 15, 2023.

We regret that we cannot make exceptions to this policy.

Admissions Process

Our admissions process begins in the fall one year before the desired year of entry.

Open Houses are designed to help you get to know our school before or after submitting an application. During these parent-only evening events, you will have an opportunity to ask questions, tour classrooms, speak to WSMS faculty, trustees, and parents, and hear Mimi Basso, our Head of School, discuss the philosophy and mission of West Side Montessori School.

Our Twos Program is located at 302 West 91st Street and will be available at 6:45pm.

Our Multi-Age Program is located at 309 West 92nd Street and will be available at 7:00pm.

A presentation and meeting with Mimi Basso, our Head of School will begin at 7:30pm at 309 West 92nd Street.

Please use this link to make a reservation.

  • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2024 – 6:45-8:00PM
  • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2024 – 6:45-8:00PM
  • MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2024 – 6:45-8:00PM

The online application for the 2025-2026 school year became available on September 17, 2024. The application deadline is January 10, 2025. We treat all applications submitted by the January deadline with equal care and consideration. Please note that in order to meet the ISAAGNY notification dates, all appointments must be completed by February. The $90 application fee is submitted by credit card with the online application. Fee waivers are available for families applying for financial aid. Please call the front desk to request a fee waiver.

After you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email with information about scheduling your classroom observation. These group sessions are for parents and are held on weekdays from mid-October through January. Parents of sibling applicants are not required to attend.

After your classroom observation, you will be invited to schedule a parent interview. Parents meet with a current or alumni WSMS parent from our Admissions Committee via Zoom for approximately 30 minutes. Parent interviews are mostly held on weekday mornings, but some afternoon appointments may be available depending on interviewer availability. The parent interview allows you to share individual information about your child and family. Equally important, it provides a time for you to gain additional information about the school from a parent’s perspective.

At this group visit, children participate in a 20-minute classroom visit with WSMS teachers. Group child visits are held on Saturday mornings in January and early February.

After submitting the online application, families who indicated that they will be applying for financial aid (FA) should complete and submit their FA application by the January 15th deadline. We use a system called SSS (School and Student Services) to process financial aid applications. The SSS application is available beginning in October. Instructions can be found under Tuition and Financial Aid on this website. There is a fee of $60 due to SSS at the time of application. A limited number of fee waivers are automatically assigned through SSS based on the financial information you supply to the system.

We notify families who have completed the application process by email in accordance with ISAAGNY notification dates. Families who have been accepted will be sent a contract and must return the signed contract and deposit by the ISAAGNY reply deadline in order to enroll. We maintain an active wait list during the parent reply period and notify families as spaces become available.

West Side Montessori School welcomes students and families of any race, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in administration of our educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.