School Choice

NYC Cuts Gifted School Programs, Unveils New Approach Proven To Fail Poor & Minority Students Most
admissions · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · School Choice · School Integration

NYC Cuts Gifted School Programs, Unveils New Approach Proven To Fail Poor & Minority Students Most

Alina Adams3 Comments

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

Will NYC Parents Strike On the First Day Of School – And Beyond?
coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · NYC Teacher · online learning · Parents Helping Parents · remote learning · School Attendance Policy · School Budget · School Choice

Will NYC Parents Strike On the First Day Of School – And Beyond?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Despite last week’s City Council hearing on the September 13, 2021 return to school plans, where Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and a cohort of parents advocated for a remote education option, Mayor Bill de Blasio and School Chancellor Meisha Porter insisted that, save for listed medical exceptions*, all students, vaccinated or not, would be… Continue reading Will NYC Parents Strike On the First Day Of School – And Beyond?

What NYC Schools Can Learn From Simone Biles & Olympic Gymnastics
achievement gap · admissions · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · School Choice

What NYC Schools Can Learn From Simone Biles & Olympic Gymnastics

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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

What Mayor Eric Adams Might Mean For NYC Schools
literacy · NYC Election · NYC Schools · School Choice · school diversity

What Mayor Eric Adams Might Mean For NYC Schools

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

As soon as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his $635 million dollar Academic Recovery Plan, focusing on early literacy, increasing digital access, college and career counseling, bolstering special education programs, building a new universal curriculum and expanding emotional support, supporters and detractors leapt in with follow-up questions. This isn’t surprising as, like… Continue reading What Mayor Eric Adams Might Mean For NYC Schools

George Clooney Loves School Choice: Now We Can, Too!
Blog · NYC School Admissions · School Choice

George Clooney Loves School Choice: Now We Can, Too!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Movie stars love school choice. Even (especially?) when they don’t realize they’re exercising it. For instance, Good Will Hunting himself, Matt Damon, narrated a documentary about how charters are “draining funds from our public schools” and why everyone should attend their zoned option in order to keep that from happening. While sending his own daughters… Continue reading George Clooney Loves School Choice: Now We Can, Too!

Choosing My Daughter’s High School To Please Mayor DeBlasio
admissions · NYC high school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · School Choice · screened nyc schools

Choosing My Daughter’s High School To Please Mayor DeBlasio

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Regular readers of New York School Talk know how important Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approval is to this NYC mom. Hizzoner was most displeased with the high-school choices I made for my two older sons. I have only my daughter left. This is my last chance to get it right! When trying to figure out… Continue reading Choosing My Daughter’s High School To Please Mayor DeBlasio

How NYC School Waitlists Work – And How They Don’t
admissions · NYC high school · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Waitlists · screened nyc schools

How NYC School Waitlists Work – And How They Don’t

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Waitlists had long been a fact of life for New York City Kindergarten and Gifted & Talented admissions, Hunter College Elementary, and other public charter schools. But Mayor Bill De Blasio only added them to middle and high school admissions in 2019. (Previously, there had been a Second Round for teens who didn’t get any… Continue reading How NYC School Waitlists Work – And How They Don’t

One Size CAN Fit All! A Student’s Take On School Choice
admissions · Educational Equity · School Choice · student voices · transferring schools

One Size CAN Fit All! A Student’s Take On School Choice

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

School choice advocates see that a student may be faced with a situation where if a school is a bad fit, they’re stuck there anyway. They want to help students by making it so that if they don’t like it where they are, they can leave and take their government funding with them to any… Continue reading One Size CAN Fit All! A Student’s Take On School Choice

NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!
admissions · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Waitlists · transferring schools

NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Early on the morning of April 8, families began emailing me to report that New York City’s parent portal was acting funny. General Ed Kindergarten results were appearing in the waitlisted section, then promptly disappearing. This is good news, I told them. Based on previous years, when results arrived via blank and garbled documents, this… Continue reading NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!

Free At Last! Why New Yorkers Can Admit To Loving School Choice Again
admissions · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC School Admissions · School Choice

Free At Last! Why New Yorkers Can Admit To Loving School Choice Again

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New Yorkers love school choice. Especially those who don’t realize they have it. As I wrote in December 2018, those are the parents who insist everyone should attend their zoned public school. It’s the moral thing to do. But then they apply to progressive unzoned schools. And dual language programs. And Gifted & Talented programs.… Continue reading Free At Last! Why New Yorkers Can Admit To Loving School Choice Again