Parents Helping Parents – When the Department of Ed Won’t (Gifted & Talented Edition)
Blog · Finding the Right School

Parents Helping Parents – When the Department of Ed Won’t (Gifted & Talented Edition)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

It’s been an extremely difficult season for New York City public schools admissions. The new Parent Portal found novel and exciting ways to malfunction. Placements would appear and disappear. Results were posted for high school and Gifted & Talented admission, only to be nullified and families informed they weren’t official. One parent shared with me:… Continue reading Parents Helping Parents – When the Department of Ed Won’t (Gifted & Talented Edition)

Pre-College Programs Help Students Succeed—If They Can Afford Them: A Non-Profit Offers Help With The “Graduation Gap.”
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Pre-College Programs Help Students Succeed—If They Can Afford Them: A Non-Profit Offers Help With The “Graduation Gap.”

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This is a guest post by Carina Cruz, a proud alum and now employee of Breakthrough New York. Born and raised in New York City, she went on to attend incredible institutions like Little Red Elisabeth Irwin High School and Brown University with the foundation and support that BTNY provided. Carina currently works with BTNY’s… Continue reading Pre-College Programs Help Students Succeed—If They Can Afford Them: A Non-Profit Offers Help With The “Graduation Gap.”

“I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.
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“I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.

Vivett DukesLeave a comment

Teachers, our students need us. Let me make that statement more personal: My students need and appreciate me. How do I know? They told me so in birthday cards that they wrote for me last Friday. For the first time in my career, I had a student with the same birthday as me (June 7th)… Continue reading “I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.

Algebra in 8th Grade Is Good! Algebra in 8th Grade is Bad! Pick One, Mr. Chancellor.
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Algebra in 8th Grade Is Good! Algebra in 8th Grade is Bad! Pick One, Mr. Chancellor.

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Like Computer Science for All, Algebra For All is a New York City initiative which predates our current school chancellor, Richard Carranza. According to the official nyc.gov website: Through Algebra for All, by 2022, every student will have access to algebra in eighth grade, complete algebra no later than ninth grade, and there will be… Continue reading Algebra in 8th Grade Is Good! Algebra in 8th Grade is Bad! Pick One, Mr. Chancellor.

Democrats Won’t Dictate Where My Black Children Go to School.
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Democrats Won’t Dictate Where My Black Children Go to School.

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This is a guest post by ShaRhonda Knott-Dawson, who currently resides in the west suburbs of Chicago with her two school-aged girls and her husband, Brian. She blogs at ShaRhondaTribune.com and ChicagoUnheard.org. This piece originally appeared on Education Post. “What you not gone do…”—An African American proverb Last month Democrats for Education Reform released polling… Continue reading Democrats Won’t Dictate Where My Black Children Go to School.

A SHSAT Compromise I Can Live With – Can You?
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A SHSAT Compromise I Can Live With – Can You?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

It was exactly at this time last year when Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza announced their plan to introduce a bill in the New York State Assembly that would alter admission to New York City’s 8 Specialized High Schools from a single Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) to extending offers to… Continue reading A SHSAT Compromise I Can Live With – Can You?

To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.
Accountability

To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.

Vivett DukesLeave a comment

It’s that time of year when the school year is coming to yet another end. While some students exuberantly await the start of their summer vacation, others are scrambling, beseeching, and working hard at last to hopefully avoid summer school attendance or worse — getting retained in their current grade, otherwise known as “getting left… Continue reading To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.

How One NYC School “Does School Differently.”
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How One NYC School “Does School Differently.”

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

(Photo credits to Finlay Mackay) On March 15, 2019, Springpoint, whose mission is to enable all students, regardless of environment or background, to succeed in high school, college, and beyond, held a dinner to celebrate the Opportunity by Design initiative. Launched in 2013 and catalyzed by a challenge paper from the Carnegie Corporation of New… Continue reading How One NYC School “Does School Differently.”

Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!
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Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!

Vivett DukesLeave a comment

We need more diversity in the teaching pool of the NYC Department of Education. It’s just too white and that shouldn’t be a newsflash to anyone. I’ve said it before and I will continue to strike that same note and will not stop speaking and writing this truth until the paradigm shifts and more teachers… Continue reading Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!

Dwayne Dinkins’ Story of Struggle and Perseverance As, Against All Odds, He Makes It To College.
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Dwayne Dinkins’ Story of Struggle and Perseverance As, Against All Odds, He Makes It To College.

nyschooltalkLeave a comment

This is a guest post by Dwayne Dinkins, a senior at Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School. He will graduate next month having taken 7 AP exams. When I first came to high school four years ago, I wasn’t confident in my potential success because of a number of really difficult circumstances at home. But yesterday… Continue reading Dwayne Dinkins’ Story of Struggle and Perseverance As, Against All Odds, He Makes It To College.