Parent Voices

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes
Accountability · School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last week, I dove into New York City’s plan to diversity Specialized High School admissions by scratching the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), currently the only method of admission, in favor of a model wherein the top 7 percent of all public middle school students would be accepted at an SHSAT school, as long as… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes

I Witnessed My Mother Endure Blatant Disrespect At The Hands Of Her Students Today
Blog

I Witnessed My Mother Endure Blatant Disrespect At The Hands Of Her Students Today

Vivett Dukes1 Comment

I have been reflecting about the ways students treat their teachers and their school facilities. As a teacher, I’ve always had excellent classroom management. That comes from being a no-nonsense mom long before I became a teacher. Kids are like dogs — they smell fear. They know who to mess with and with whom to… Continue reading I Witnessed My Mother Endure Blatant Disrespect At The Hands Of Her Students Today

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda
Accountability · Blog · School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

It’s been a hell of a week. On Saturday, June 2, 2018, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio penned an op-ed, asserting that Our Specialized Schools Have a Diversity Problem. Let’s Fix It. On Sunday, June 3, he announced two initiatives to do so. He vowed to expand the Discovery Program so that 20 percent of… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda

Four Ways to Educate Children on Rainy Days
Blog

Four Ways to Educate Children on Rainy Days

nyschooltalkLeave a comment

Jenny Wise is a homeschooling mom to four children. She created Special Home Educator as a forum for sharing her adventures in homeschooling and connecting with other homeschooling families. No one wants to be stuck indoors during bad weather, especially kids. And when they are, it can be all too easy to fall back on… Continue reading Four Ways to Educate Children on Rainy Days

School Is NOT a Family: Why This Flawed Metaphor Hurts Your Kids
School Choice

School Is NOT a Family: Why This Flawed Metaphor Hurts Your Kids

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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

What Happened The Last Time NYC Took Over School Admissions (Hint: Not What They Said Would Happen)
School Choice

What Happened The Last Time NYC Took Over School Admissions (Hint: Not What They Said Would Happen)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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)

How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step
Blog

How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

We’ve all seen the infamous video by now: The Upper West Side mother objecting to a proposal to set aside 25 percent of seats in New York City’s District 3 middle schools for students who score either a 2 (below proficient) or a 1 (well below proficient) on their NY state standardized tests. The conceit… Continue reading How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step

This Is How We Damage Our Black Students’ Prospects
Blog

This Is How We Damage Our Black Students’ Prospects

Vivett DukesLeave a comment

Growing up in my home, education was pushed as the most important resource to obtain. My parents reminded me repeatedly that I was already born with two strikes against me — being a female and being Black. They prepared me for the harsh yet true reality that although I was smart and did exceptionally well… Continue reading This Is How We Damage Our Black Students’ Prospects

I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!
Blog

I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!

nyschooltalk1 Comment

This post was written by Lamont Douglas, a father, advocate and blogger at Secondline. He resides in New Orleans, Louisiana where he has been a powerful voice for educational equity. For more NYST coverage of the integration uproar on the Upper West Side, see here, here, here, and here. Melba. Minnijean. Elizabeth. Ernest. Gloria. Carlotta. Thelma. Terrence.… Continue reading I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!

Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed
Blog

Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Transfers, a play about two students from the Bronx, one Black, one Hispanic, who are competing for a scholarship at an elite, Massachusetts liberal arts university, was originally developed in the summer of 2016 at Vassar College. But it arrives in New York City in 2018, smack in the middle of a raging controversy about… Continue reading Transfers: The Play On School Diversity NYC – And I – Needed