Nursery University

Nursery University chronicles the competition among upper-class Manhattan parents who believe they must enroll their children in the best schools at the earliest possible age—leading to fierce competition to secure their offspring a place in the city's most highly regarded nursery schools. Co-directors Matthew Makar and Marc H. Simon profile four couples and one single mother, Aleta St. James (who delivered twins at age 57). The filmmakers note that New York has experienced a baby boom since 2000, and that for every 15 children applying to the top preschools (the kind that cost up to $20,000 per year), only one spot exists. Profiled parents include Tony and Cynthia, who fear that daughter Juliana won't get into an Ivy League college if she doesn't start off on the right track. A mother named Heidi says of her son Jackson, “We're not going to have him go to a public school in Harlem.” To prevent that from happening, busy parents like her pay consultants thousands of dollars to help with the process. Yet even Gabriella Rowe, director of the Mandrell School, describes the competition to get into institutions like hers as a form of “mass hysteria.” By contrast, the least advantaged couple in the film, Kim and Kris, come across as the most sympathetic, because status doesn't drive their choice of school (Kim jokes before her son Kieron's school interview, “Do you think I should buy him a pinstriped suit?”). In analyzing the phenomenon of hypercompetitive parents, the filmmakers seek the opinions of authors, journalists, and developmental psychologists. Bonus features include commentary from Makar and Simon, deleted scenes, Q&As from festival screenings, and tips on getting into nursery schools. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)