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
Plan B: Alternatives For NYC Parents Unhappy With Their Public School 2022 Options
admissions · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · screened nyc schools

Plan B: Alternatives For NYC Parents Unhappy With Their Public School 2022 Options

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Changes in admissions for New York City public middle and high schools have left many parents on edge, wondering what choices their children will have for September 2022. Meanwhile, the families of younger children are still waiting for word on whether there will even be a Gifted & Talented elementary option moving forward. (Read our… Continue reading Plan B: Alternatives For NYC Parents Unhappy With Their Public School 2022 Options

NYC Parents Reveal What They’d Like To See More – and Less – Of in Education Reporting
Accountability · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents

NYC Parents Reveal What They’d Like To See More – and Less – Of in Education Reporting

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last month, Alexander Russo wrote in his newsletter, The Grade: Good news. A new study, Keeping up with the ed beat, shows that parents love and value information about schools. The bad news? They say that news coverage is too negative and it doesn’t include enough of the kinds of information that they really want.… Continue reading NYC Parents Reveal What They’d Like To See More – and Less – Of in Education Reporting

No More Masks in K-12 NYC Schools: Parents Weigh In
coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · Parents Helping Parents · preK

No More Masks in K-12 NYC Schools: Parents Weigh In

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York State lifted its mask mandate on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. New York City followed suit for Kindergarten through 12th grade public schools starting on Monday, March 7. (Many private schools already struck it in response to the state law.) However, on Thursday, March 3, Gothamist reported: New York City students who are under… Continue reading No More Masks in K-12 NYC Schools: Parents Weigh In

Everything You Need To Know About Homeschooling in NYC But Didn’t Know Whom To Ask. Your Cheat Sheet Is Here!
Advanced Placement · coronavirus · homeschooling · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · student voices

Everything You Need To Know About Homeschooling in NYC But Didn’t Know Whom To Ask. Your Cheat Sheet Is Here!

Alina Adams2 Comments

As the mom of a relatively recent homeschooler, Chalkbeat’s February 17, 2022, post entitled, Home schooling nearly doubled in NYC since pandemic’s start, instantly caught my eye. They reported that: This school year, roughly 14,800 children across the five boroughs have opted to learn outside of school walls, according to internal education department data obtained… Continue reading Everything You Need To Know About Homeschooling in NYC But Didn’t Know Whom To Ask. Your Cheat Sheet Is Here!

Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School
achievement gap · admissions · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · NYC high school · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · School Choice · school diversity · School Integration

Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

The New York City Department of Education defines racially representative schools as “those that enroll between 50 percent and 90 percent black and Hispanic students.”  By that definition, the public high school my sons attended, even though it was only 18 percent white, was still not diverse. That’s because it was also 71 percent Asian. … Continue reading Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School

Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!
achievement gap · admissions · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools · specialized high schools

Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!

Alina Adams1 Comment

You can’t blame The New York Times for lagging behind. They’ve spent so many years arguing for the abolition of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), the exam that qualifies New York City students for entry into the eight Specialized High Schools believed to be the best, it’s inevitable they’d be a day late… Continue reading Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!

All High Schools Are Equal… Some High Schools Are More Equal Than Others: NYC Admissions 2022
achievement gap · admissions · Educational Equity · NYC high school · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Integration · screened nyc schools · specialized high schools

All High Schools Are Equal… Some High Schools Are More Equal Than Others: NYC Admissions 2022

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Earlier this month we looked at the changes – and hypocrisy – of this year’s Middle School admissions process. This week, we turn our gaze towards New York City public High School admissions for 2022. The application went live on Thursday, January 27, 2022 and is due by Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Specialized High Schools… Continue reading All High Schools Are Equal… Some High Schools Are More Equal Than Others: NYC Admissions 2022

Who’s Schools Are They Anyway? Should Parents Have Any Say In Education?
Accountability · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Teacher Voices · Teaching in NYC

Who’s Schools Are They Anyway? Should Parents Have Any Say In Education?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

In response to recent state, local and school board elections where education finally(!) became a key voting issue and parents turned out in unprecedented droves to support their candidates, the Michigan Democratic Party tweeted out the following statement: This is not a winning strategy. And deciding that THIS is why parents are families are frustrated… Continue reading Who’s Schools Are They Anyway? Should Parents Have Any Say In Education?

NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy
admissions · coronavirus · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools

NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

In 2019, Brooklyn’s District 15 unscreened all of their middle schools, meaning incoming 6th graders couldn’t be assessed for admission via grades, test scores, portfolios or interviews. All schools now had to accept students exclusively by lottery. Yes, even the arts schools. Before any classes selected via this method had graduated, before any classes selected… Continue reading NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy

Back To School NYC: What Really Happened the First Week
coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · Parents Helping Parents · School Attendance Policy

Back To School NYC: What Really Happened the First Week

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

My daughter came home from her first day back to New York City public school on Monday, January 3, 2022 and announced, “There are so many teachers and kids out it’s like after The Snap.” Not exactly. While Thanos, of Marvel movie fame, snapped his fingers and made half the residents of the universe disappear,… Continue reading Back To School NYC: What Really Happened the First Week