Alina Adams

Alina Adams is a New York City mom of 3 school-age children and a New York Times best-selling author of soap-opera tie-ins, figure-skating mysteries and romance novels. She is a contributing writer to TODAY Show Parenting, Mommy Poppins, BlogHer, Red Tricycle, Café Mom, and Kveller. After going through the NYC school application process with her own children and realizing just how convoluted, Draconian and needlessly complex it was, Alina resolved to help make all parents aware of all their school choices—and how to get them—via her books, “Getting Into NYC Kindergarten” and “Getting Into NYC High-School,” as well as her podcast, “NYC School Secrets: Parents Helping Parents.” Read more and listen at: www.NYCSchoolSecrets.com
Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More
admissions · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · School Waitlists

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More

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Last week, we answered the most immediate questions about how Gifted & Talented admissions will work for September 2021. This week, we dig deeper into the details. Question: Do we know if teachers at private daycares/early learning centers that are not DOE affiliated will be able to evaluate, or only pre-K for all? What about… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #1)
admissions · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions

Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #1)

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After his own Panel For Education Policy (PEP) voted down a one year extension for the contract that would test incoming Kindergarten through 3rd graders for Gifted and Talented programs, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio put his reputation on the line when he promised parents that they’d still be able to apply for… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #1)

Biden Vows To Reopen All US Schools in First 100 Days: What That Means For NYC
coronavirus · NYC Schools Reopening

Biden Vows To Reopen All US Schools in First 100 Days: What That Means For NYC

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Joe Biden’s inauguration promised to usher in a fresh era of sense and science. Americans rejoiced. Joe Biden vowed to re-open all schools closed by the COVID-19 pandemic within his first 100 days in office. Parents rejoiced. Then the details began emerging. High schools would not be included in the reopening plans, only Kindergarten through… Continue reading Biden Vows To Reopen All US Schools in First 100 Days: What That Means For NYC

Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy
admissions · DOE incompetence · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · screened nyc schools

Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy

Alina Adams1 Comment

As a whopping 40+(!) candidates gear up to run for Mayor of New York City, we thought we’d take a comprehensive look at the education legacy of Gracie Mansion’s current occupant. Bill de Blasio was sworn in as NYC’s 109th Mayor on January 1, 2014. He told a Tale of Two Cities and promised to… Continue reading Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing: NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Education Legacy

NYC Mayor Promises Gifted School Programs for 2021: How This Could Benefit ALL Kids
achievement gap · admissions · educational equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions

NYC Mayor Promises Gifted School Programs for 2021: How This Could Benefit ALL Kids

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New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and his School Chancellor Richard Carranza have been railing against elementary school Gifted & Talented programs since they both stepped into office. (Despite not having a very good grasp of what ‘gifted’ actually meant or why NYC families were so desperate for the meager programming the Department of… Continue reading NYC Mayor Promises Gifted School Programs for 2021: How This Could Benefit ALL Kids

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

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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

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

Alina Adams1 Comment

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!

Will It Be Easier To Get Into Your First Choice NYC School For September 2021 – Or Harder?
coronavirus · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · School Choice · School Waitlists

Will It Be Easier To Get Into Your First Choice NYC School For September 2021 – Or Harder?

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My December 21, 2020 post, Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition, prompted an avalanche of — what else? — more questions. On top of asking whether there will be Gifted & Talented testing and how seats will be filled at those schools if there isn’t (answer: we still don’t know;… Continue reading Will It Be Easier To Get Into Your First Choice NYC School For September 2021 – Or Harder?

Pollyanna Alert! Three Potential Silver Linings to Unscreening All NYC Middle Schools
admissions · educational equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · NYC Teacher · screened nyc schools

Pollyanna Alert! Three Potential Silver Linings to Unscreening All NYC Middle Schools

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I’ve been called a Pollyanna so often, I was even featured in an article on it at the start of the pandemic. My husband accuses me of being able to see the silver lining in absolutely anything. (I’d wonder if he meant it as a compliment, but I’m such a Pollyanna I have no doubt… Continue reading Pollyanna Alert! Three Potential Silver Linings to Unscreening All NYC Middle Schools

Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition
admissions · coronavirus · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · School Choice

Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition

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A post that I wrote this past August receiving as many new hits per day as more recent updates suggests that New York City parents are desperate for information about how to apply their children for Kindergarten in 2021. Here are where matters stand as of Monday, December 21, 2020. General Education Public Schools: Unlike… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition