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
Every year, I brace myself. Every year, as soon as it’s time for the New York City Department of Education to take some kind of action, my email box instantly fills up with questions from confused and frustrated parents. This year, it was Thursday, April 23. That was the day the DOE was supposed to… Continue reading The Latest Word on Lost Gifted & Talented Scores
Last week I hammered home one of my favorite points: One educational size doesn’t fit all. This applies to traditional versus progressive learning, ethnocentric classrooms, acceleration, dual language programs, and more. While engaging in my favorite activity of advocating for giving every family what they want, and giving every student what they need, I asked… Continue reading Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #2)
Ever since New York City School Chancellor Richard Carranza advised colleagues that one should “never waste a good crisis” in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, NYC parents have been in a panic. They assume he’ll use it as a backdoor method for ramming through all the changes he hasn’t been able to make via the… Continue reading Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #1)
In March, the New York City Department of Education announced they would be cancelling state tests for the 2019-2020 academic year. Then, at the end of April, they revised the grading system so that those in elementary school will receive a final Meets Standards or Needs Improvement assessment, while those in middle school might also… Continue reading No Tests, No Grades, No Problem: What NYC Can Still Do
Let me recap the New York City schools week of April 18 to April 24, 2020 for you. First, on Saturday, April 18, the Parent Portal, which malfunctioned so spectacularly in so many ways last year, continued to glitch in we-obviously-haven’t-fixed-it-yet ways. General Education Kindergarten offers of admission, at that point scheduled to be released… Continue reading Your General Ed and G&T Kindergarten 2020 Admissions Questions – Answered!
Will They? On Saturday, April 11, 2020, New York City mayor Bill De Blasio announced that, due to Coronavirus, all school buildings will remain closed for the duration of the academic year, which is scheduled to end on June 26. Remote learning, however, will continue. A few hours later, NY governor Andrew Cuomo countered with… Continue reading Will NYC Students Have To Repeat a Grade? Can They? Should They?
New York City notified 8th graders of their public high school placement for September 2020 on March 19th, and 5th graders of their middle school placement on April 6. Most charter schools held their lotteries on April 1 for all available grade levels. Still to come is General Education Kindergarten placement in “late April,” according… Continue reading How To Choose a School — When Schools Are Closed: Tips for Families On What To Ask (And How To Evaluate the Answers)
When I give my “Getting Into NYC High School” workshops to parents and community groups around the city, I warn families that “getting Into NYC high school makes getting into NYC Kindergarten feel like puppies and kittens in a warm basket.” (I don’t even invoke getting into NYC middle school, which manages to combine the… Continue reading This Change Could Make Getting Into High School Easier For NYC Kids!
Following the closing of schools due to Coronavirus, New York state announced that English Language Arts (ELA) and Math assessments would be canceled for the 2019-2020 academic year. Though these annual exams are required by law, NYC applied for and was promptly granted a waiver from the federal government, in light of the ongoing health… Continue reading NY State Cancels ELA & Math Exams for 2020 – What Might Happen Next
