As soon as THAT video hit the internet, viewers assigned sides: The mother who whined she’d spent $5,000 on test prep so her child could attend the best public middle school in District 3 (Manhattan’s Upper West Side) was the villain. Henry Zymeck, principal of The Computer School who defended the proposal to set aside… Continue reading School Is NOT a Family: Why This Flawed Metaphor Hurts Your Kids
On April 6, 2018, I published a post called Cynthia Nixon on Education: Look At What She Did, Not What She Says. In it, I called out the gubernatorial candidate for standing with Mayor de Blasio on removing the screening process from New York City’s top performing public schools, and with the teachers unions on… Continue reading What Happened The Last Time NYC Took Over School Admissions (Hint: Not What They Said Would Happen)
When she was in elementary school at PS 16 in Williamsburg, Jeanette Garzon Terreros started showing up late for school and missing homework assignments. As a way to set her straight, Gazon Terreros said her mom decided to enroll her in Uncommon Schools Williamsburg Collegiate, the charter school located in the same building, one floor… Continue reading Entire Graduating Class at Uncommon Charter High School in Bed-Stuy Is Heading Off to College!
Taylor Cook is a college counselor in Rochester, New York. She grew up in Rochester, New York, until the age of 8 before moving to Fairport—a suburb a few miles east of the city. After graduating high school, Taylor enrolled and graduated from Nazareth College with degrees in Spanish and international studies. “I can’t believe… Continue reading Most of My Students Didn’t Know Any College Graduates But That’s Not Stopping Them From Going to College!
Assemblywoman Latrice Walker worked the group of energetic children gathered Thursday in the Brownsville Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library like a master teacher. “Every time you hear a name, I want you to clap twice,” Walker told the students ranging from kindergartners to second graders as she read the book “Stevie,” by John Steptoe.… Continue reading No Sliding For These Brownsville Students This Summer!
Just before I turned five years old, my parents moved me and my two younger sisters from our apartment on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx to a Queens neighborhood zoned for P.S. 115. While my old elementary school is now quite segregated (77 percent Asian, 18 percent White, 22 percent eligible for free and reduced… Continue reading A Personal Story about Gifted and Talented Programming in NYC
Shaming is bad. Fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, slut-shaming, gender-shaming, victim-shaming, and, of course, mom-shaming. Mom-shaming is the worst. Except, of course, when it comes to school choice. Then, it’s genius! After yet another speech where she criticized all parents (New York City parents, in particular) for choosing schools they believe are best for their children, MacArthur Genius… Continue reading School Choice, Mom-Shaming, and My Conversation With a Genius
The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs issued a report today called “The Paradox of Choice: How School Choice Divides New York City Elementary Schools” and I find it underwhelming. Lead authors Nicole Mader, Clara Hemphill and Qasim Abbas draw broad conclusions from limited data sets, leave important questions unacknowledged (let alone unanswered),… Continue reading Unraveling the “Paradox” of School Choice: A New Report from the New School Gets More Wrong Than Right
With a new School Chancellor taking office this month, there were bound to be changes afoot. Although, in Richard Carranza’s defense, modifications to New York City’s application system for public middle and high schools have been hotly debated topics for years. Here’s a look at the proposals on deck, whom they will help, and whom… Continue reading Changes Coming To NYC Middle and High School Admissions! What They Might Mean For You!
“How’m I doin’?” Ed Koch used to ask, when taking the temperature of the Gotham electorate. How are you doing, Mayor de Blasio, specifically regarding New York City traditional public schools’ showing in the just-released “gold standard” assessment called NAEP, short for the “National Assessment of Education Progress”? Don’t ask. Or, more productively, let’s dig… Continue reading How Are De Blasio’s School Improvement Plans Doin’? Some Answers from NAEP
