Alina Adams

Alina Adams is a New York City mom of 3 school-age children and a New York Times best-selling author of soap-opera tie-ins, figure-skating mysteries and romance novels. She is a contributing writer to TODAY Show Parenting, Mommy Poppins, BlogHer, Red Tricycle, Café Mom, and Kveller. After going through the NYC school application process with her own children and realizing just how convoluted, Draconian and needlessly complex it was, Alina resolved to help make all parents aware of all their school choices—and how to get them—via her books, “Getting Into NYC Kindergarten” and “Getting Into NYC High-School,” as well as her podcast, “NYC School Secrets: Parents Helping Parents.” Read more and listen at: www.NYCSchoolSecrets.com
NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!
admissions · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Waitlists · transferring schools

NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!

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Early on the morning of April 8, families began emailing me to report that New York City’s parent portal was acting funny. General Ed Kindergarten results were appearing in the waitlisted section, then promptly disappearing. This is good news, I told them. Based on previous years, when results arrived via blank and garbled documents, this… Continue reading NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!

How Carranza Could End Up Helping the Students of NYC After All!
Computer Science · coronavirus · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · remote learning

How Carranza Could End Up Helping the Students of NYC After All!

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When Richard Carranza was the School Chancellor of New York City (April 2, 2018 – March 15, 2021), his repeatedly stated goal was to provide the exact same education to every single public school student in grades Pre-K through 12. That’s equity, his key professed value. He championed Computer Science… For All! (Despite not understanding… Continue reading How Carranza Could End Up Helping the Students of NYC After All!

How Will NYC Schools Deal With Learning Loss…. Amidst Claims None Happened?
Accountability · achievement gap · coronavirus · NYC Schools · remote learning · UFT

How Will NYC Schools Deal With Learning Loss…. Amidst Claims None Happened?

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Last week, we asked parents to weigh in on how New York City schools should spend the federal relief money coming our way. On Wednesday, March  24, 2021, President Joe Biden urged districts to use the funds to open all schools. However, according to the White House’s parameters, “all” schools are already “open.”  The federal… Continue reading How Will NYC Schools Deal With Learning Loss…. Amidst Claims None Happened?

Parents Weigh In On How NYC Schools Should Spend Our Federal Relief Money
achievement gap · arts in schools · coronavirus · educational equity · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · Parents Helping Parents · School Budget · Social-Emotional Learning

Parents Weigh In On How NYC Schools Should Spend Our Federal Relief Money

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Last week, Chalkbeat reported: New York City public schools are projected to receive $4.5 billion in federal coronavirus relief, bringing a significant financial boost as education officials plan for the fall… (B)ig questions remain, including how state and city officials will use this new infusion of cash — roughly $4,500 more per student — to… Continue reading Parents Weigh In On How NYC Schools Should Spend Our Federal Relief Money

Why NYC High School Admissions Will Be Very Different This Year: How Families Can Make It Better
admissions · Finding the Right School · NYC high school · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Waitlists · specialized high schools

Why NYC High School Admissions Will Be Very Different This Year: How Families Can Make It Better

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New York City families who applied to private high schools this year were obliged to turn in their enrollment contracts — and put down a deposit on tuition — by noon of last Friday, March 12, 2021. In previous years, NYC Specialized, Screened, Arts, Ed-Opt, P-Tech, and all other public high schools would also notify… Continue reading Why NYC High School Admissions Will Be Very Different This Year: How Families Can Make It Better

NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students
Accountability · NYC Schools · school diversity · School Integration

NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students

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In June 2018, in a post entitled, What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda, I wrote: Unlike the SHSAT schools, the Mayor doesn’t need a vote in Albany to change admissions to Screened Schools. He could implement his 7 percent plan with the stroke of a… Continue reading NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More
admissions · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · School Waitlists

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More

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Last week, we answered the most immediate questions about how Gifted & Talented admissions will work for September 2021. This week, we dig deeper into the details. Question: Do we know if teachers at private daycares/early learning centers that are not DOE affiliated will be able to evaluate, or only pre-K for all? What about… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #1)
admissions · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #1)

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After his own Panel For Education Policy (PEP) voted down a one year extension for the contract that would test incoming Kindergarten through 3rd graders for Gifted and Talented programs, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio put his reputation on the line when he promised parents that they’d still be able to apply for… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #1)

Biden Vows To Reopen All US Schools in First 100 Days: What That Means For NYC
coronavirus · NYC Schools Reopening

Biden Vows To Reopen All US Schools in First 100 Days: What That Means For NYC

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Joe Biden’s inauguration promised to usher in a fresh era of sense and science. Americans rejoiced. Joe Biden vowed to re-open all schools closed by the COVID-19 pandemic within his first 100 days in office. Parents rejoiced. Then the details began emerging. High schools would not be included in the reopening plans, only Kindergarten through… Continue reading Biden Vows To Reopen All US Schools in First 100 Days: What That Means For NYC

Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy
admissions · DOE incompetence · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · screened nyc schools

Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy

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As a whopping 40+(!) candidates gear up to run for Mayor of New York City, we thought we’d take a comprehensive look at the education legacy of Gracie Mansion’s current occupant. Bill de Blasio was sworn in as NYC’s 109th Mayor on January 1, 2014. He told a Tale of Two Cities and promised to… Continue reading Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy