achievement gap · admissions · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools

Which NYC Schools Will Open Promised New Gifted & Talented Programs in 2022?

(This is a guest post by David Gorvitz, who previously wrote NYC Drops Popular Gifted & Talented Program: A Parent’s Take.) I recently wrote this to the Superintendent of NYC DOE District 3 (Upper West Side/Morningside Heights/part of Harlem), which is considering allocating some of the 100 Kindergarten and 1,000 3rd-Grade seats being added to… Continue reading Which NYC Schools Will Open Promised New Gifted & Talented Programs in 2022?

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 · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · NYC high school · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · School Choice · school diversity · School Integration

Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School

The New York City Department of Education defines racially representative schools as “those that enroll between 50 percent and 90 percent black and Hispanic students.”  By that definition, the public high school my sons attended, even though it was only 18 percent white, was still not diverse. That’s because it was also 71 percent Asian. … Continue reading Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School

achievement gap · admissions · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools · specialized high schools

Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!

You can’t blame The New York Times for lagging behind. They’ve spent so many years arguing for the abolition of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), the exam that qualifies New York City students for entry into the eight Specialized High Schools believed to be the best, it’s inevitable they’d be a day late… Continue reading Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!

admissions · coronavirus · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools

NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy

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

literacy · NYC Election · NYC Schools · School Choice · school diversity

What Mayor Eric Adams Might Mean For NYC Schools

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

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 · NYC Schools · school diversity · School Integration

NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students

In June 2018, in a post entitled, What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda, I wrote: Unlike the SHSAT schools, the Mayor doesn’t need a vote in Albany to change admissions to Screened Schools. He could implement his 7 percent plan with the stroke of a… Continue reading NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students

achievement gap · admissions · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · school diversity

How NYC Parents Can Save Public School Education: It’s Up To You!

Last week, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that 2021 would be the last year his Department of Education would administer the public school Gifted & Talented test for placement into Citywide and District programs. His spokeswoman, Miranda Barbot, clarified: “We will spend the next year engaging communities around what kind of programming… Continue reading How NYC Parents Can Save Public School Education: It’s Up To You!

admissions · Blog · Educational Equity · NYC high school · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · School Choice · school diversity · screened nyc schools

An NYC Schools Admissions Plan So Crazy It Just Might Work – For Everyone

On October 29, Brooklyn City Council member Brad Lander reached out to his New York city colleagues: I am writing to request your support for Reso 1397 which would prohibit the use of screens for admission into community school district middle schools for the 2021-2022 school year. To counter, I shared my May 2019 post,… Continue reading An NYC Schools Admissions Plan So Crazy It Just Might Work – For Everyone