Blog

“Your Job is to Let the White Kids Know that Black Kids Are Just as Smart as They Are, And You are Not Doing Your Job!”: A Teacher’s Reflections
Blog

“Your Job is to Let the White Kids Know that Black Kids Are Just as Smart as They Are, And You are Not Doing Your Job!”: A Teacher’s Reflections

Glenn Mason1 Comment

One day I was walking through the 30th Street train station in Philadelphia when I heard someone shout, “Hey you!”  Surely this wasn’t meant for me. I was a stranger to Philadelphia after all. But this was followed with, “Boy! Don’t you hear me calling you?!” I turn around this time and see a somewhat… Continue reading “Your Job is to Let the White Kids Know that Black Kids Are Just as Smart as They Are, And You are Not Doing Your Job!”: A Teacher’s Reflections

The Sorting Hat: How NYC’s Kindergarten Admission Really Works
Accountability · Finding the Right School

The Sorting Hat: How NYC’s Kindergarten Admission Really Works

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last week, I received the following email from a parent: I‘m being told by the parent coordinator at our zoned school (PS 11Q) that general ed school choice is not real, and my child will be attending the zoned school no matter what I ranked. The PS 11Q parent coordinator did not schedule any open… Continue reading The Sorting Hat: How NYC’s Kindergarten Admission Really Works

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?

Have I Been A Victim of Racism In My School? How Do I Develop the Ability To Spark Change? A Black Girl Speaks Out.
Blog

Have I Been A Victim of Racism In My School? How Do I Develop the Ability To Spark Change? A Black Girl Speaks Out.

Guest Blogger (via Vivett Dukes)Leave a comment

This is a guest post by Jade Arielle Bolden, a 15-year-old student at the College Preparatory Academy in Houston, Texas. She was born on Long Island and aspires to move back to New York and attend Columbia University. She runs track, is part of Voices of Black Youth (an organization run by her her school), and… Continue reading Have I Been A Victim of Racism In My School? How Do I Develop the Ability To Spark Change? A Black Girl Speaks Out.

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!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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!

The Case for Afrocentric Schools: Can Traditional Schools Fairly Serve “Distinct” Students?
Blog

The Case for Afrocentric Schools: Can Traditional Schools Fairly Serve “Distinct” Students?

Guest Blogger (via Vivett Dukes)1 Comment

This is a guest post by Kraig Knibb, a doctoral student at Stony Brook University in the School of Social Welfare. He is a social justice researcher, with a specific focus on education, culture, and power  among students of African-American descent. He attributes his penchant for social justice to his Panamanian mother and his emphasis on… Continue reading The Case for Afrocentric Schools: Can Traditional Schools Fairly Serve “Distinct” Students?

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!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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!

We Tried The Integration Route — It’s Not Working. Afrocentric Schools May Be a Viable Answer.
Finding the Right School

We Tried The Integration Route — It’s Not Working. Afrocentric Schools May Be a Viable Answer.

Vivett DukesLeave a comment

Here we go again. Yet another teacher in yet another school has assigned yet another assignment pertaining to slavery that is asinine and insensitive. According to The Tennessean, The hand-written assignment, which touched on issues of slavery, immigration and child labor, was given out Wednesday in an eighth grade social studies class at Sunset Middle. One box… Continue reading We Tried The Integration Route — It’s Not Working. Afrocentric Schools May Be a Viable Answer.

This NYC Student Takes Offense at A Teacher’s Cavalier Abandonment of “Disruptive” Children.
Blog

This NYC Student Takes Offense at A Teacher’s Cavalier Abandonment of “Disruptive” Children.

Guest Blogger (via Alina Adams)Leave a comment

This is a guest post by Gregory Wickham, a student at Stuyvesant High School. Gregory is a 2013 2nd place winner of the Michael Perelstein Memorial Scholarship Discover Your Passion Competition, and a quarter-finalist in the 2014 Young Rewired State Festival of Code. You can find his website at  gregorywickham.com.   A certain woman wrote an article detailing some of… Continue reading This NYC Student Takes Offense at A Teacher’s Cavalier Abandonment of “Disruptive” Children.

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!