After two years of trying to get rid of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) and railing against the lack of diversity in New York City Schools, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, the Mayor and School Chancellor finally unveiled the first change to the NYC High School admissions process in 16 years… which won’t… Continue reading 10 Questions About NYC’s Newest High School Admissions Plan.
In my 2017 post, Beyond the Zone: All Your NYC Elementary School Options (And How To Get Them) Explained, I mentioned Deborah Meier as someone who didn’t believe that the primarily African-American and Hispanic families of Harlem should be forced to settle for the education their zoned public schools were offering. In 1974, she founded… Continue reading NYC Schools Of Choice: Then and Now
(Photo Credit: Christina Veiga of Chalkbeat) By this point, New York City parents have grown accustomed to the hypocrisy. The hypocrisy of elected officials and celebrities who sent their own children to Screened and Specialized schools, now expressing shock (and judgement) that any other families might want to do the same, and working their hardest… Continue reading NYC School Hypocrisy Continued: Universal Pre-K Edition – Are Parents Part Of the Problem?
New York City public schools suffer from a variety of ills: Over 50 percent of high school students graduate non-college ready and unable to pass CUNY’s placement test, requiring remediation before they can begin earning credit. Over 80% of African-American 7th graders cannot do math at grade level. Even at the “best” General Ed schools,… Continue reading Should the NYC Department of Education Be In Charge of Private Schools Too?
When I speak to community organizations about Getting Into NYC High Schools, I stress that the summer between your child’s 7th and 8th grade year is the critical time to research all of your HS options, so that you can start the process of applying in September. The best tool to begin your research used… Continue reading Everything NYC Families Need To Know About Urban Assembly High Schools: Is One Right For Your Child?
Last week, I shared the stories of several New York City parents who, after a great deal of perseverance, hard work, and a whole lot of anxiety, were finally able to get their children accepted at the public schools of their choice. This week, in her own words, we’ve got the account of a mom… Continue reading The Mom Who Did Everything Right When Applying Her Child To NYC Public School Kindergarten – And What Happened Next
I didn’t always write about education. Once upon a time, I wrote books – romances, mysteries, non-fiction. I also worked in soap operas – ABC Daytime, Procter & Gamble Productions, the Daytime Emmy Awards. But then I had children. And I applied those children to schools in New York City. And I found out how… Continue reading Happily Ever After In NYC: Parents Share School Choice Success Stories – And How They Made Them Happen
This may come as a shock to my readers: Not everybody loves me. I know! Who’d have thunk it? When I wrote last week about the Department of Education’s latest multiple screw-ups, from high school admissions to Pre-K, I was chastised: (S)top perpetuating the myth that public schools are poorly managed and inferior… All things… Continue reading A Child’s Education: Whose Job Is It Anyway – The Parents’ or the School’s?
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)
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.
