Wealthy parents are fuming after the uber-exclusive Dalton School sent out an e-mail naming dozens of kids rejected by the school.
Dalton — whose alumni include Anderson Cooper, Chevy Chase, Sean Lennon and Claire Danes — is known for its fiercely competitive admissions process as presided over by the admissions director, Elizabeth Krents.
Recently, the upper-crust school sent out a letter to boosters and alumni with a list of families that have applications pending, as well as names of students who were rejected from Dalton.
The list also included names of students who withdrew applications — which gave away others who didn’t make the cut. Sources explained that alumni parents are often “tipped off” by Dalton that their child may not get in, and the family then has the choice to withdraw their child’s application, saving the embarrassment of having their kid rejected.
The revealing e-mail went out as part of a fundraising effort to have school supporters lobby parents of recently rejected kids for money, sources say. Recipients, we’re told, were encouraged to make contact with the families in an effort to broker better relations and deepen the potential fund-raising pool.
The embarrassing e-mail has alumni seething. “It’s ridiculous,” exclaimed one. “This is a breach of confidentiality. The bottom line is admissions should never tell any outsiders anything.”
We hear some parents are weighing legal action against the school but are hesitant because once a suit goes public, “It would be known that their kid didn’t get into Dalton,” said a parent. Meanwhile, acceptance letters from Dalton and other private schools are being sent out in the next week or two.
Dalton communications head Jim Zulakis told us in a statement: “Dalton’s policy is to treat information about applying families confidentially. We were informed there was a breach of this policy, and we are taking all steps so it will not happen again. As a matter of practice, we do not solicit families who are in the admissions process.”