Specialized High Schools

It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools?
Blog · coronavirus · DOE Fails · Gifted & Talented · NYC School Admissions · specialized high schools

It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools?

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Even before COVID-19 struck in earnest, the 2019-2020 school year seemed more riddled with screw ups than usual (and that’s saying something). There were the traditional Parent Portal malfunctions when it came to applying kids to every grade level, from Universal Pre-K through High School.  Mayor Bill De Blasio first refused to close schools in… Continue reading It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools?

This Change Could Make Getting Into High School Easier For NYC Kids!
admissions · Finding the Right School · School Choice

This Change Could Make Getting Into High School Easier For NYC Kids!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

When I give my “Getting Into NYC High School” workshops to parents and community groups around the city, I warn families that “getting Into NYC high school makes getting into NYC Kindergarten feel like puppies and kittens in a warm basket.” (I don’t even invoke getting into NYC middle school, which manages to combine the… Continue reading This Change Could Make Getting Into High School Easier For NYC Kids!

3 Things NYC Can Do TODAY To Integrate Public High Schools!
Blog · Finding the Right School

3 Things NYC Can Do TODAY To Integrate Public High Schools!

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I give up. New York City School Chancellor Richard Carranza has decreed that the most important issue facing our public high schools isn’t that close to 80% of students aren’t graduating college-ready, SAT scores are well below the national average, or there’s a  lack of access to Advanced Placement (AP) classes. No, according to the… Continue reading 3 Things NYC Can Do TODAY To Integrate Public High Schools!

What Can NYC’s Specialized Schools Learn From Chicago? Getting Beyond SHSAT Prep.
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What Can NYC’s Specialized Schools Learn From Chicago? Getting Beyond SHSAT Prep.

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This is a guest post by my friend and colleague Maureen Kelleher, a senior writer and editor at Education Post. Previously she spend a decade as a reporter, blogger, and policy analyst, publishing in platforms as diverse as Education Week and the Center for American Progress. While New Yorkers debate the merits of scrapping the… Continue reading What Can NYC’s Specialized Schools Learn From Chicago? Getting Beyond SHSAT Prep.

By the Numbers: Math the NYC Department of Education Really Doesn’t Want Parents To Do
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By the Numbers: Math the NYC Department of Education Really Doesn’t Want Parents To Do

Alina Adams3 Comments

When my editorial, The Drive To Change Elite School Admissions Is All About Killing the Messenger, ran in the New York Post on March 21, I received many compliments from friends and readers. My husband was not impressed. He started peppering me with questions: What are the numbers for this? What are the numbers for… Continue reading By the Numbers: Math the NYC Department of Education Really Doesn’t Want Parents To Do

The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids
Accountability · Finding the Right School

The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids

Alina Adams2 Comments

In the January issue of Big Apple Parents Paper, author James Breakwell asserted, “Nobody has secret math. Math at one school will be the same as it is at another school even if the other school has a swimming pool and a polo field.” That is… an astounding amount of privilege. Breakwell (a pseudonym) is… Continue reading The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids

These Are the Top 10 NYC School Outrages Which Appalled Parents in 2018 – Plus Tips On Navigating the New Parent Portal!
Blog · Finding the Right School

These Are the Top 10 NYC School Outrages Which Appalled Parents in 2018 – Plus Tips On Navigating the New Parent Portal!

Alina Adams1 Comment

Last year, our overview, Top 5 NYC School Issues That Enraged Parents in 2017 enumerated the posts that received the most hits during the course of the year, and speculated about what would happen in 2018. It says something about how much the Department of Education (DOE) cares about what New York City parents want… Continue reading These Are the Top 10 NYC School Outrages Which Appalled Parents in 2018 – Plus Tips On Navigating the New Parent Portal!

Will Changing Admission to Specialized High Schools Change Specialized High Schools? How Do We Find Out?
Finding the Right School

Will Changing Admission to Specialized High Schools Change Specialized High Schools? How Do We Find Out?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

This past weekend, 30,000 New York City 8th graders took the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) in hope of being among the 4,000 students accepted to one of the eight schools which use the SHSAT as its sole qualifying measure. This year, twenty percent of seats at every school are being set aside as… Continue reading Will Changing Admission to Specialized High Schools Change Specialized High Schools? How Do We Find Out?

Want To Make NYC Schools More Diverse? Fix These Parent Portal Problems First!
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Want To Make NYC Schools More Diverse? Fix These Parent Portal Problems First!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Thursday, October 11, 2018 was the last day New York City parents could sign their children up to take either the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) or audition for LaGuardia School of the Arts. It was also the first day when NYC parents could sign their children up to take the Gifted and Talented… Continue reading Want To Make NYC Schools More Diverse? Fix These Parent Portal Problems First!

Low Hanging Fruit (And the Horrifying Truths They Obscure): NYC’s High-School Diversity Initiative
Blog · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Low Hanging Fruit (And the Horrifying Truths They Obscure): NYC’s High-School Diversity Initiative

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City has over 400 starkly segregated high schools. Mayor Bill de Blasio is obsessed with eight of them. Well, technically only three. Because these three of the city’s Specialized High Schools —Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech (all majority Asian, with many of those students classified as Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) recipients)… Continue reading Low Hanging Fruit (And the Horrifying Truths They Obscure): NYC’s High-School Diversity Initiative