Early Admissions Procedure

(Please click here for a copy of the Admissions Application.)

The Early Admissions option is generally designed for those parents/guardians who are sure that their child needs an alternative school placement and are approaching Benchmark certain that they would accept a position at Benchmark School if appropriate and offered.

• Applications for the Early Admissions Procedure for the 2012-2013 school year will be accepted starting on January 5, 2012.
• Rolling Admission decisions will be provided to applicant families starting in the month of April.
• Final decisions on all Early Admission applicants will be made regarding
  Fall admission by May 18th.
• All applicants will be notified by phone. Applicants who have been offered a position will have two weeks to return their contract with a deposit. For those families for whom a position has been offered and accepted, a formal admissions conference will follow.
• If families have initiated the Early Admissions Procedure too late or have not completed their portion of the Early Admissions Option checklist by May 7th, they will be encouraged to go through the Traditional Admissions process.

CHECKLIST FOR EARLY ADMISSIONS OPTION:

The evaluation process cannot be initiated until an application form is completed and returned with the $125 application fee.

1. Declare candidacy for Early Admissions no later than April 23, 2012, and send in the completed admission application form with $125 application fee.
2. Please register to attend one of the following Open House Days:
   October 6, 2011
   November 3, 2011
   December 8, 2011
   January 5, 2012
   February 2, 2012
   March 1, 2012
   April 12, 2012
   May 3, 2012
   May 24, 2012
   Open Houses begin at 9:00AM and end at 11:00AM. Please call the Benchmark Office (610-565-3741) or contact benchmarkinfo@benchmarkschool.org to make a reservation.
3. Schedule a reading screening for your child between March 1st and
   April 30th.
4. Make arrangements for psychological testing for your child (to include a Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition, WISC-IV), with the report to arrive at Benchmark by May 5th. For the Early Admissions Procedure we strongly recommend a battery of psychological testing to also include achievement, processing/executive functioning and projective testing. We will accept psychological reports that were completed within the past two years.
5. Make arrangements for an education report to be sent to Benchmark, (e.g., photocopy of most recent school report is fine).
6. Return to Benchmark completed Reading and Math Information Questionnaires (completed by the child's teacher).
7. Make arrangements to have two letters of recommendations (please use the ADVIS Confidential Common Recommendation Form) for the child sent directly to Benchmark School, c/o Admissions Office. These recommendations should be completed by adults who know the child well. One of them should be completed by one of the child's current academic teachers. The other should be completed by an adult who is involved regularly with the candidate and who is not a family member, i.e., other teacher, school principal or counselor, coach, pastor, therapist, etc.
8. You will be contacted by a member of the admissions team to schedule an interview.
9. You may schedule an optional school visit for you and your child. This visit for groups of candidate children will be available during our regular school day and will last approximately two hours from 8:30AM to 10:00AM. The visit will include a tour of the facility, a visit to a classroom, and a brief question and answer period with a teacher and an Admissions representative. The dates for these visits are: Friday, April 13th and Thursday, April 26th.
10. Send in an updated copy of your child's immunization record.
11. Please send a photo of you and your child to Benchmark.

Please note that your child cannot be considered for Early Admissions unless all of these items are completed prior to Friday, May 4th.