iStockphoto.com <\/p>\n
At the Porsafillo Preschool Academy, there are 32 spots but more than 12,000 applications. <\/p>\n
For years, New York parents have been applying to preschools even before their youngsters are born. That's not new, but the approach one prestigious pre-school on the Upper West Side is. <\/p>\n
At the Porsafillo Preschool Academy, all applicants must now submit a DNA analysis of their children. <\/p>\n
The preschool is housed in a modern glass and steel building designed by IM Pei. It's situated in a leafy corner of the Upper West Side. On a recent afternoon, Headmaster Rebecca Unsinn showed off \"Porsafillo Pre,\" as it's called. <\/p>\n
\"Over here, we have computer labs, C++ learning, which of course, as I'm sure you know, is a language of computers,\" she says. Wait, computer language? These preschoolers are learning C++? <\/p>\n
\"Oh, absolutely they are,\" Unsinn says. \"And they're very good at it.\" <\/p>\n
That's not the only language they're learning; all the children are also enrolled in a Mandarin Chinese immersion program. <\/p>\n
More than 12,000 applications pour into Unsinn's office each fall. That's 12,000 hopefuls for just 32 spots a year. It makes Porsafillo Pre the most competitive preschool in the United States. <\/p>\n
So in a bid to weed out the kids who have no chance, the school decided to require a DNA test for all applicants. Before she joined the school in 2009, Unsinn was a child neurologist. She was hired specifically to implement this new policy. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nN.Y. Preschool Starts DNA Testing For Admission<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"