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
Remote Or Hybrid Instruction? Decisions Due This Week: What NYC Parents Are Planning!
coronavirus · DOE incompetence · Parents Helping Parents · remote learning

Remote Or Hybrid Instruction? Decisions Due This Week: What NYC Parents Are Planning!

Alina Adams1 Comment

Last week, New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza boasted how public school teachers have been receiving remote instruction training all summer long, and that his Department of Education has been strategizing to reopen schools safely in September since March. "A huge amount of effort has gone into getting our schools ready months and months… Continue reading Remote Or Hybrid Instruction? Decisions Due This Week: What NYC Parents Are Planning!

NYC Parents To Department of Ed: Who Will Teach My Children?
Blog · coronavirus · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools · NYC Teacher · remote learning

NYC Parents To Department of Ed: Who Will Teach My Children?

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As soon as New York City public schools switched to remote learning in March 2020, the narrative was set: All teachers and administrators are heroes now. Any dissent, whether it came from run of the mill parents or a Pulitzer Prize-winning one was labeled: Teacher Bashing. Taking the name-calling in stride (not my first time… Continue reading NYC Parents To Department of Ed: Who Will Teach My Children?

NYC Department Of Education Decrees: Bad Education Not Good Enough Reason To Transfer Schools
coronavirus · DOE Fails · School Choice · transferring schools

NYC Department Of Education Decrees: Bad Education Not Good Enough Reason To Transfer Schools

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In October of 2016, I reported that New York City had finally made it easier for students to transfer schools if the child “is not progressing or achieving academically or socially.” In July of 2020, I am sad to report, that permission has been halted. As of last week, the Department of Education’s page on… Continue reading NYC Department Of Education Decrees: Bad Education Not Good Enough Reason To Transfer Schools

It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools?
Blog · coronavirus · DOE Fails · Gifted & Talented · NYC School Admissions · specialized high schools

It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools?

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Even before COVID-19 struck in earnest, the 2019-2020 school year seemed more riddled with screw ups than usual (and that’s saying something). There were the traditional Parent Portal malfunctions when it came to applying kids to every grade level, from Universal Pre-K through High School.  Mayor Bill De Blasio first refused to close schools in… Continue reading It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools?

Different Families Get Different G&T Deadlines: Where’s the Fairness and Equity? I Go To the DOE For Answers!
DOE Screw Ups · Gifted & Talented · NYC School Admissions · School Waitlists

Different Families Get Different G&T Deadlines: Where’s the Fairness and Equity? I Go To the DOE For Answers!

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Last month I got to the bottom of why some parents’ Pre-K, Kindergarten, Gifted & Talented, Middle and High School waitlist numbers were moving in the wrong direction. This week we tackle the question of why, unlike in previous years, when there was a hard deadline issued by the Department of Education, different families are… Continue reading Different Families Get Different G&T Deadlines: Where’s the Fairness and Equity? I Go To the DOE For Answers!

NYC Parents & Teachers Reveal What Worked In Remote Learning and What You Should Demand For Your Child
coronavirus · educational equity · remote learning

NYC Parents & Teachers Reveal What Worked In Remote Learning and What You Should Demand For Your Child

Alina Adams1 Comment

In response to my June 15, 2020 post, Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction, a mom wrote:  I’d love a column on what is working with remote learning, meaning specific examples of what teachers are doing that they think is working great, as well as examples… Continue reading NYC Parents & Teachers Reveal What Worked In Remote Learning and What You Should Demand For Your Child

Waitlists Were Going To Make Getting Into NYC Schools Simpler (Spoiler: They Didn’t)
Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions

Waitlists Were Going To Make Getting Into NYC Schools Simpler (Spoiler: They Didn’t)

Alina Adams1 Comment

Almost a year ago, when announcing changes to New York City middle and high school admissions, Mayor Bill De Blasio promised that getting rid of appeals and putting in waitlists instead would make it “simple to apply to schools for your kids for the first time in a long time.” School Chancellor Richard Carranza echoed,… Continue reading Waitlists Were Going To Make Getting Into NYC Schools Simpler (Spoiler: They Didn’t)

Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction
Accountability · Blog · coronavirus · educational equity · online learning · remote learning

Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction

Alina Adams2 Comments

When speaking about what was learned regarding teaching and studying in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert Pondisco summarized the situation nicely in this tweet:  The lessons of the past few months are that everything works for someone, nothing works for everyone, and that the well-resourced and motivated student—or one with engaged and pushy parents—has… Continue reading Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction

Holding Out For a Hero: How You Can Help Heal NYC (School Edition)
coronavirus · educational equity · New York City · online learning · remote learning

Holding Out For a Hero: How You Can Help Heal NYC (School Edition)

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War metaphors have been flying hot and heavy these past few months, as politicians, statesmen, and journalists search for ways to characterize our fight against COVID-19.  They leave ordinary people wondering how we can do our part. What’s COVID-19’s version of Rosie the Riveter, air-raid wardens, victory gardens, collecting scrap metal, rolling bandages, or driving… Continue reading Holding Out For a Hero: How You Can Help Heal NYC (School Edition)

An Inconvenient Truth: The NYC Schools Math Problem Nobody Talks About
Accountability · achievement gap · admissions · educational equity · School Choice · school diversity · School Integration

An Inconvenient Truth: The NYC Schools Math Problem Nobody Talks About

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Last week we published a guest post by Tim DeRoche, author of A Fine Line: How Most American Kids Are Kept Out of the Best Public Schools, which asked the question: Do NYC School Zones Violate Federal Law? (Spoiler: He thinks they do.) DeRoche writes: Take a look, for example, at PS 8 Robert Fulton… Continue reading An Inconvenient Truth: The NYC Schools Math Problem Nobody Talks About