When New York City shut down due to the Covid pandemic in March of 2020, my middle child was a sophomore in high school. We were informed that Spring parent-teacher conferences would be held over Zoom. I was excited by the idea. At that point, I’d spent close to a decade of my life attending… Continue reading Are Remote Parent-Teacher Conferences Here To Stay?
(This is a guest post by Rova Raveloson, who was a student at Townsend Harris High School. He is now a sophomore at Vassar College where he is exploring the intersection of Economics and Chinese in International Economics. At Vassar, Raveloson is spearheading a potential video game design start-up with his friends, focusing on gamifying… Continue reading NYC Student On Importance of Having the Right Guide on the Road to College
When I first planned to write this Olympic-themed post (back in 2020, oops), I was going to talk about two things: Simone Biles’ athletic feats being deliberately underscored due to “a fear that Biles is so good that she might run away with any competition she enters simply by doing a handful of moves that… Continue reading What NYC Schools Can Learn From Simone Biles & Olympic Gymnastics
(In our May 10, 2021 post, NYC Endorses Gifted & Talented Approach Determined To Do Least Good For All Students (But Especially Minority and Low Income Ones), we printed an excerpt from a PS 163 parent about their school dropping its G&T program. We now present the letter in its entirety.) On or around June… Continue reading NYC School Drops Popular Gifted & Talented Program: A Parent’s Take
Advocates for requiring SAT or ACT for college applications revere these tests as an admissions factor which only strongly favors wealthier students instead of overwhelmingly favoring wealthy students. They don’t seem to realize that it’s college admissions officers who intentionally and systematically do the favoring. These admissions officers are the people who decide what characteristics… Continue reading Why Getting Rid Of the SAT Won’t Bring Equity To College Admissions: Here Is the Only Thing That Will
In July of 2020, I wrote a post called, It’s Not a Plot, It’s Incompetence: Is the NYC Department of Ed Deliberately Undermining Some Schools? After reviewing the conspiracy theories behind the disaster that was remote learning, the debacle that was Gifted & Talented, and the exit of several principles from top schools, I concluded:… Continue reading Recycled State Tests & Lies About In Person Learning: NYC Schools Plot Or Incompetence?
In a change from previous years, in 2021, New York City parents need to decide whether to opt their children in –rather than out — of the annual state tests. The deadline to sign up for 3rd through 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) exams was April 15, and the deadline to sign up for… Continue reading Should You Opt Your Child Into NYC State Tests? The Pros and Cons!