admissions · DOE incompetence · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents

Just When You Thought NYC Gifted & Talented 2021 Couldn’t Get More Absurd…. Parents Tell All!

A month ago, I asked: Where Is the Equity? Different Students Face Different Tests for NYC Gifted & Talented School Admissions. The current state of affairs is so absurd it even got covered nationally. Qualifications letters went out on June 4. When I notified my mailing list about it, a parent wrote back, “It’s so… Continue reading Just When You Thought NYC Gifted & Talented 2021 Couldn’t Get More Absurd…. Parents Tell All!

admissions · DOE incompetence · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents

Where Is the Equity? Different Students Face Different Tests for NYC Gifted & Talented School Admissions

After his own Panel For Education Policy voted down renewing the contract that had been used to test students for New York City public school Gifted & Talented programs in January of 2021, Mayor Bill De Blasio swore that parents of incoming Kindergarteners would still be able to apply their children for admission… somehow. In… Continue reading Where Is the Equity? Different Students Face Different Tests for NYC Gifted & Talented School Admissions

achievement gap · admissions · DOE incompetence · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · literacy · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration

NYC Endorses Gifted & Talented Approach Determined To Do Least Good For All Students (But Especially Minority and Low Income Ones)

On August 26, 2019, New York City’s School Advisory Diversity Group (SADG) proposed that the ideal way to integrate schools would be to get rid of stand alone Gifted and Talented Citywide and District programs, and replace them with an Enrichment For All Model. What would that look like? Chalkbeat reported at the time: (I)t… Continue reading NYC Endorses Gifted & Talented Approach Determined To Do Least Good For All Students (But Especially Minority and Low Income Ones)

Accountability · achievement gap · coronavirus · DOE Fails · DOE incompetence · Educational Equity · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools Reopening

Recycled State Tests & Lies About In Person Learning: NYC Schools Plot Or Incompetence?

In July of 2020, I wrote a post called, It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools? After reviewing the conspiracy theories behind the disaster that was remote learning, the debacle that was Gifted & Talented, and the exit of several principles from top schools, I concluded:… Continue reading Recycled State Tests & Lies About In Person Learning: NYC Schools Plot Or Incompetence?

admissions · DOE incompetence · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · screened nyc schools

Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy

As a whopping 40+(!) candidates gear up to run for Mayor of New York City, we thought we’d take a comprehensive look at the education legacy of Gracie Mansion’s current occupant. Bill de Blasio was sworn in as NYC’s 109th Mayor on January 1, 2014. He told a Tale of Two Cities and promised to… Continue reading Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy

Blog · coronavirus · DOE incompetence · Hybrid Learning · NYC Parent Voices · Parents Helping Parents · remote learning

NYC Mayor Pressures Families to Opt Into Hybrid Learning: Parents Fire Back!

To date, our most popular post of 2020 has been: The (Last Minute) Plans of Mice and Men… And NYC Schools, listing all the ways in which Mayor Bill De Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza have been announcing, then walking back, then changing school reopening plans since the spring. Now comes another bait and switch:… Continue reading NYC Mayor Pressures Families to Opt Into Hybrid Learning: Parents Fire Back!

achievement gap · Blog · coronavirus · DOE Fails · DOE incompetence · DOE Screw Ups · Educational Equity · Hybrid Learning · NYC Parent Voices · online learning · remote learning

Straight From the Trenches: Parents Report What Really Happened During NYC’s First Days Of School

Even though they had six months to plan for re-opening New York City’s schools, Mayor Bill De Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza still insisted on doing everything at the last minute.  Schools were supposed to begin remote learning for all on Wednesday, September 16, and blended/hybrid for those who chose it on Monday, September 21. … Continue reading Straight From the Trenches: Parents Report What Really Happened During NYC’s First Days Of School

admissions · Blog · coronavirus · DOE Fails · DOE incompetence · DOE Screw Ups · Gifted & Talented · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · online learning · remote learning · School Waitlists

Lost Scores, Retests & The Current State of Gifted & Talented Programs in NYC Schools

Last May, I reported on how the Department of Education lost dozens of Gifted & Talented tests — and waited almost four months to inform families (after weeks of telling them the tests weren’t lost, the parents must have done something wrong!). Retests were offered to those affected along with students new to New York… Continue reading Lost Scores, Retests & The Current State of Gifted & Talented Programs in NYC Schools

coronavirus · DOE Fails · DOE incompetence · DOE Screw Ups · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening

Parents’ Top 5 Concerns About NYC Schools 2020

Fearing a teachers’ strike, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio pushed back public schools’ starting date from September 10 to September 16 for all remote learning, and September 21 for the hybrid model.  Since Hizzoner closed public school buildings on Monday, March 16, communication and information have been in painfully short supply. Families have… Continue reading Parents’ Top 5 Concerns About NYC Schools 2020

Accountability · Blog · coronavirus · DOE Fails · DOE incompetence · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools Reopening · online learning · remote learning · UFT

The (Last Minute) Plans of Mice and Men… and NYC Schools

Mayor Bill De Blasio officially shut down New York City public schools as of Monday, March 16, 2020. Since then, he and School Chancellor Richard Carranza have had over five months to plan for how to reopen them in September. In July, they announced that families would have a choice: They could opt to continue… Continue reading The (Last Minute) Plans of Mice and Men… and NYC Schools