Finding the Right School

Finding the right school is one of the most important decisions parents and families make for their kids, but it can sometimes be the hardest, especially in New York City.

FAQ’s: 20 Questions NYC Parents Have About Applying To Kindergarten – Answered!
Finding the Right School

FAQ’s: 20 Questions NYC Parents Have About Applying To Kindergarten – Answered!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

There is no nice way to put this: The Department of Education’s Parent Portal is an unmitigated disaster. Since it opened, I have received literally hundreds of emails from frustrated families who are having trouble registering, getting confirmation, or even logging on. Their calls to the DOE are going unanswered, requiring multiple hour wait times,… Continue reading FAQ’s: 20 Questions NYC Parents Have About Applying To Kindergarten – Answered!

Could This Change Make NYC Kindergarten Admissions Easier – Or Harder?
Finding the Right School

Could This Change Make NYC Kindergarten Admissions Easier – Or Harder?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Are you a New York City parent applying your child to public school Kindergarten for September 2019? Congratulations! Here are just some of the forms you’ll need to fill out: Interested in a traditional zoned Kindergarten? That goes on Kindergarten Connect! (Whether it’s your zoned school or not.) Unzoned Kindergarten? Dual language Kindergarten? Magnet school?… Continue reading Could This Change Make NYC Kindergarten Admissions Easier – Or Harder?

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!

NYC’s Top 25 Elementary Schools for 2018 & How You Can Get In!
Finding the Right School

NYC’s Top 25 Elementary Schools for 2018 & How You Can Get In!

Alina Adams1 Comment

Last year’s post on NYC’s Top 10 Elementary Schools By Test Scores: What Makes Them Special – And How You Can Get In proved such a reader favorite, we’ve updated it! Because many schools make a return appearance, we’ve expanded our list to the top 25, and added details about how some of them get… Continue reading NYC’s Top 25 Elementary Schools for 2018 & How You Can Get In!

Who Will (And Won’t) Benefit From Unscreened NYC Schools
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Who Will (And Won’t) Benefit From Unscreened NYC Schools

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last month District 15 in Brooklyn announced the elimination of all screening processes for admission to middle school.  (Yes, even the performing arts one).) Instead of taking into consideration grades, test scores and more, Park Slope’s 11 middle schools will assign seats by lottery, with 52 percent of slots in every school set aside for… Continue reading Who Will (And Won’t) Benefit From Unscreened NYC Schools

Should Schools Teach Your Child Values?
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Should Schools Teach Your Child Values?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

PJ Library, a non-profit which sends out free Jewish children’s books, also has a book club for parents. Their most recent selection was Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do To Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children by Marjorie Ingall. In Chapter 6: Emphasize – But Don’t Fetishize – Education, Ingall, as all New York… Continue reading Should Schools Teach Your Child Values?

Not Backpacks Full of Cash: Backpacks Full of Rights! NCSECS Takes On Special Education Equity in Charter Schools
Accountability · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Not Backpacks Full of Cash: Backpacks Full of Rights! NCSECS Takes On Special Education Equity in Charter Schools

Laura WatersLeave a comment

It’s a common complaint among those who turn down their collective nose at public charter schools: they don’t serve their fair share of students with disabilities, or at least those with moderate to severe disabilities, and they counsel out kids who can’t deal with academic rigor, either back to their sending districts or to private… Continue reading Not Backpacks Full of Cash: Backpacks Full of Rights! NCSECS Takes On Special Education Equity in Charter Schools

Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite
Accountability · Finding the Right School

Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City schools are off for Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, on Monday, September 10, and Tuesday, September 11. (To read why I think all cultures should be allowed to take off their holidays, and how that would work in practice, click here.) One of the rituals of Rosh HaShanah is tashlich, where… Continue reading Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite

Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.
Blog · Finding the Right School

Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.

Laura Waters1 Comment

Parenting typical children is hard. Parenting children with special needs is harder. (I get to say this; I’ve got three of the former and one of the latter.) For our youngest son with multiple disabilities that range from moderate to severe, we have committed ourselves to finding the best educational placements for him. But what… Continue reading Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.