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
2022 brings a new mayor to New York City, Eric Adams, and a new School Chancellor, David Banks. What are the most important issues facing NYC schools for 2022 according to parents? We count down our most popular posts of 2021 as an indicator: 5) Department of Ed Hard Sells BrilliantNYC: Are Parents Buying? Excerpt:… Continue reading NYC’s Top 5 Education Issues For 2022: According to Parents
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn’t had a lot of luck with his School Chancellors. His first pick, Carmen Farina, opened multiple Dual Language programs… but barely lasted through de Blasio’s first term. His second, Alberto Carvalho, accepted the job, then backed out at the last minute – on live television. He… Continue reading NYC, Meet the New School Chancellor: What This Means For Your Child
In February of 2021, when New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced the end of elementary school Gifted & Talented programming, he also promised: We will spend the next year engaging communities around what kind of programming they would like to see that is more inclusive, enriching, and truly supports the needs of academically… Continue reading Department of Ed Hard Sells BrilliantNYC: Are Parents Buying?
With Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday, it’s a logical time to think about what I’m thankful for this year when it comes to New York City schools. This is a personal list. I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of broader issues such as school reopenings, vaccine mandates, masking kids, or the… Continue reading 5 Things I’m Thankful For This Year (NYC Schools Edition)
Non presidential year elections tend to result in low voter turn-out in New York City. Which is a shame, because, as I wrote exactly one year ago: I have been offering open-to-the-public Getting Into NYC Kindergarten and Getting Into NYC High School workshops for about 15 years now. But it was only four years ago… Continue reading When It Comes to NYC Schools, Why You Should #VoteLocal
On Friday, October 8, 2021 (right before a long holiday weekend, as per usual), New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio decreed that Gifted and Talented programming would be discontinued in public schools as of September 2022. (Remember that engagement he promised with families and communities to hear their thoughts on the matter? Didn’t happen.)… Continue reading NYC Cuts Gifted School Programs, Unveils New Approach Proven To Fail Poor & Minority Students Most
This past May, I wrote a post called, How NYC School Waitlists Work – And How They Don’t. What I should have called it was How NYC School Waitlists Are SUPPOSED To Work. Consider this post to be the And How They Don’t part (with tips on what you can still do about that). 2021… Continue reading Where’s the Transparency? Behind the Scenes With NYC Public School Waitlists – And What Families Can Still Do To Get In!
When I first planned to write this Olympic-themed post (back in 2020, oops), I was going to talk about two things: Simone Biles’ athletic feats being deliberately underscored due to “a fear that Biles is so good that she might run away with any competition she enters simply by doing a handful of moves that… Continue reading What NYC Schools Can Learn From Simone Biles & Olympic Gymnastics
In February 2021, when describing the new Gifted & Talented programs he was planning for the 2022-2023 school year, New York City Mayor De Blasio promised: “We will spend the next year engaging communities around what kind of programming they would like to see that is more inclusive, enriching, and truly supports the needs of… Continue reading If NYC Mayor Won’t Engage With Communities, We Bring the Community Engagement To Him! Parents Speak Out On Gifted & Talented ‘Reimagining’
