New York City · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · Teaching in NYC

Project Based Elementary School Pivots To Teacher-Led/Parent-Owned Model: Could It Work For Your Child?

(This is a guest post by Amanda Reeves Fellner, Ed.D. Amanda is a mom of a first grader at Portfolio School and is committed to project-based learning as a method for elementary education. She is also a Lecturer in the Early Childhood Program at Teachers College, Columbia University where she works with pre-service teachers and… Continue reading Project Based Elementary School Pivots To Teacher-Led/Parent-Owned Model: Could It Work For Your Child?

Finding the Right School · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents

Parents Reveal What It Would Take To Get Them Back Into NYC Public Schools

According to Chalkbeat: Overall, K-12 enrollment has dropped by 9.5% since the pandemic began. Officials are expecting 30,000 fewer K-12 students to be on the rolls this fall compared to last year.  In this most recent school year, three-quarters of schools saw fewer students, a Chalkbeat analysis previously found. Enrollment of Black and white students… Continue reading Parents Reveal What It Would Take To Get Them Back Into NYC Public Schools

admissions · DOE Fails · DOE Screw Ups · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · New York City · NYC high school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents · School Waitlists

NYC Mom Exposes School Admissions Deception

It’s been a long, arduous, and stressful New York City public school admissions season. And, unfortunately, it’s not over yet. The Department of Education (DOE) has now pushed admissions to public Gifted & Talented programs for grades Kindergarten through 3rd to “late July.” Meanwhile, families of rising 9th graders are still hoping for a seat… Continue reading NYC Mom Exposes School Admissions Deception

Accountability · DOE Screw Ups · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents

District 30 Reacts to the Unceremonious Dismissal of Beloved Superintendent: Where’s the Engagement We Were Promised, Mayor Adams?

(This is a guest post by Jennifer Tuttle, currently the PTA President of PS166Q, Henry Gradstein School, where her first grade son attends school in Astoria, Queens. She is also the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Speech at The City College of New York.) As part of his agenda to reshape the DOE,… Continue reading District 30 Reacts to the Unceremonious Dismissal of Beloved Superintendent: Where’s the Engagement We Were Promised, Mayor Adams?

Dual Language programs · literacy · NYC Schools · school diversity

The “Polyglot Boardinghouse” and the Many Benefits of Bilingualism

(Excerpted and adapted from Parenting with An Accent: How Immigrants Honor Their Heritage, Navigate Setbacks, and Chart New Paths for Their Children by Masha Rumer (Beacon Press, 2021). Reprinted with permission from Beacon Press. Masha Rumer is the author of a nonfiction book about immigrant families, Parenting with an Accent: How Immigrants Honor Their Heritage, Navigate Setbacks,… Continue reading The “Polyglot Boardinghouse” and the Many Benefits of Bilingualism

achievement gap · admissions · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · School Choice

How NYC Can Implement – And Improve – Gifted & Talented Programs for 2022 and Beyond: A Parent’s Take

(This is a guest post by T. Hunter Dare, the parent of a 6th grader at MS104 where he serves on the School Leadership Team. He is also Co-Chair of PLACE NYC’s G&T Advocacy Team.  Hunter is passionate about developing a public school system that identifies, nurtures, and challenges all advanced learners, particularly those from… Continue reading How NYC Can Implement – And Improve – Gifted & Talented Programs for 2022 and Beyond: A Parent’s Take

Accountability · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents

NYC Parents Reveal What They’d Like To See More – and Less – Of in Education Reporting

Last month, Alexander Russo wrote in his newsletter, The Grade: Good news. A new study, Keeping up with the ed beat, shows that parents love and value information about schools. The bad news? They say that news coverage is too negative and it doesn’t include enough of the kinds of information that they really want.… Continue reading NYC Parents Reveal What They’d Like To See More – and Less – Of in Education Reporting

coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · Parents Helping Parents · preK

No More Masks in K-12 NYC Schools: Parents Weigh In

New York State lifted its mask mandate on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. New York City followed suit for Kindergarten through 12th grade public schools starting on Monday, March 7. (Many private schools already struck it in response to the state law.) However, on Thursday, March 3, Gothamist reported: New York City students who are under… Continue reading No More Masks in K-12 NYC Schools: Parents Weigh In

Accountability · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Teacher Voices · Teaching in NYC

Who’s Schools Are They Anyway? Should Parents Have Any Say In Education?

In response to recent state, local and school board elections where education finally(!) became a key voting issue and parents turned out in unprecedented droves to support their candidates, the Michigan Democratic Party tweeted out the following statement: This is not a winning strategy. And deciding that THIS is why parents are families are frustrated… Continue reading Who’s Schools Are They Anyway? Should Parents Have Any Say In Education?

coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · Parents Helping Parents · School Attendance Policy

Back To School NYC: What Really Happened the First Week

My daughter came home from her first day back to New York City public school on Monday, January 3, 2022 and announced, “There are so many teachers and kids out it’s like after The Snap.” Not exactly. While Thanos, of Marvel movie fame, snapped his fingers and made half the residents of the universe disappear,… Continue reading Back To School NYC: What Really Happened the First Week