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
Say Goodbye To Hollywood: How Much For a ‘Good’ NYC Public School?
Blog · School Choice

Say Goodbye To Hollywood: How Much For a ‘Good’ NYC Public School?

Alina Adams1 Comment

News broke last Tuesday, March 12th, that some rich parents, including actors Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) and Lori Loughlin (Full House), paid from $15,000 to $500,000 to fraudulently arrange their children’s acceptances into colleges ranging from Yale to University of Southern California. The usual suspects made the appropriate shocked noises. Like when Major Strasser learned… Continue reading Say Goodbye To Hollywood: How Much For a ‘Good’ NYC Public School?

How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth It Is To Have Ungrateful NYC Families!
Finding the Right School

How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth It Is To Have Ungrateful NYC Families!

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On Monday, March 3, 2019, the Board of Trustees for the State University of New York approved 13 new charter school applications. However, only 7 of those will be allowed to open, due to the charter cap. Among them is a new middle school for Manhattan’s District 3 (Upper West Side and parts of Harlem)… Continue reading How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth It Is To Have Ungrateful NYC Families!

Universal Pre-K Closes Without Warning, Kids Left With Nowhere To Go: Parents Tell All!
Accountability · Blog · Finding the Right School

Universal Pre-K Closes Without Warning, Kids Left With Nowhere To Go: Parents Tell All!

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I’ve been keeping a close eye on New York City’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program since Mayor Bill de Blasio first triumphantly announced his signature initiative in 2014. I read every press release about what would happen… and compared it to what actually happened. I explained why, despite posters insisting it was so, UPK was neither… Continue reading Universal Pre-K Closes Without Warning, Kids Left With Nowhere To Go: Parents Tell All!

A SHSAT School For All Who Want One!
Finding the Right School

A SHSAT School For All Who Want One!

Alina Adams3 Comments

New York City public high school placement letters usually come out mid-March. But expect a delay in 2019. At issue is Mayor Bill de Blasio’s vow to set aside 20 percent of seats in Specialized High Schools for low-income students attending low-income middle schools who just missed the qualifying cut-off score for admission. Asian-American groups… Continue reading A SHSAT School For All Who Want One!

NYC Parents Sound Off On Department Of Education Incompetence! (Part #2)
Finding the Right School

NYC Parents Sound Off On Department Of Education Incompetence! (Part #2)

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On January 21, I wrote about Kids Left Waiting In the Cold as NYC Public Schools Cancel G&T Testing – But Don’t Notify Parents! This disaster was hardly the only one of the 2018-2019 admissions season. After my post  ran, more parents contacted me. You can read their Department of Education stories of incompetence below.… Continue reading NYC Parents Sound Off On Department Of Education Incompetence! (Part #2)

Is It Cultural Appropriation To Believe In School Choice For All?
Blog

Is It Cultural Appropriation To Believe In School Choice For All?

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Photo Credit: Ballet Hispánico School of Dance © Christopher Duggan This past weekend, I sat at Ballet Hispánico, watching my 15-year-old son perform in their annual Winter Showcase. His exhibition consisted of three performances: Ballet, Modern Dance, and Flamenco. My three children are not even a little bit Hispanic. When my older son spit in… Continue reading Is It Cultural Appropriation To Believe In School Choice For All?

The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids
Accountability · Finding the Right School

The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids

Alina Adams2 Comments

In the January issue of Big Apple Parents Paper, author James Breakwell asserted, “Nobody has secret math. Math at one school will be the same as it is at another school even if the other school has a swimming pool and a polo field.” That is… an astounding amount of privilege. Breakwell (a pseudonym) is… Continue reading The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids

Kids Left Waiting In the Cold as NYC Public Schools Cancel G&T Testing – But Don’t Notify Parents!
Accountability · Finding the Right School

Kids Left Waiting In the Cold as NYC Public Schools Cancel G&T Testing – But Don’t Notify Parents!

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When word of a snowstorm predicted to hit New York City over Martin Luther King Day weekend first surfaced, I sent out an email to my mailing list letting them know that the public school Gifted & Talented testing scheduled for that weekend might also be cancelled, and how to maximize their strategy for rescheduling.… Continue reading Kids Left Waiting In the Cold as NYC Public Schools Cancel G&T Testing – But Don’t Notify Parents!

To Each Their Own: Power To the Parents!
Finding the Right School

To Each Their Own: Power To the Parents!

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Less than 24 hours after my post, New Year, Old NYC School Argument, ran on NY School Talk, The New York Times published their piece on the same subject, Why Black Parents Are Turning To Afrocentric Schools. Now, I’m not suggesting that my post had anything to do with it. The NYT article had obviously… Continue reading To Each Their Own: Power To the Parents!

New Year, Old NYC School Argument
Finding the Right School · School Choice

New Year, Old NYC School Argument

Alina Adams2 Comments

Kindergarten Connect, the form New York City parents use to apply their children to public school Kindergarten for September 2019, is scheduled to close on Monday, January 14th, although on-going problems with the “new and improved” online Parent Portal may cause the deadline to be pushed back due to technical difficulties. To help parents know… Continue reading New Year, Old NYC School Argument