Most of NYC’s 1.1 million public school students are doing remote learning. Every student needs an internet-connected device. As of mid-October, 77,000 students were still missing devices necessary for distance learning. I don’t doubt that 77,000 devices can be distributed in ten weeks, but I do doubt that they have been. Mostly because thousands of… Continue reading COVID Rates Rise, Remote Learning Continues: How You Can Help
On Thursday, December 10, 2020, almost exactly nine months after he first closed New York City public schools, Mayor Bill De Blasio triumphantly announced that he finally has a plan for dealing with the disruption and learning loss. He calls it the 2021 Student Achievement Plan! (But wasn’t the bulk of the disruption and learning… Continue reading A Matter Of Trust: Why Some Families Have Lost All Faith In NYC Schools
The National Assessment for Education Progress (NAEP) — nicknamed “America’s Report Card” — released their 12th grade scores at the end of October. The horrifying results: Just 37% of 12th-graders reached or exceeded the academic preparedness benchmarks for both math and reading that would qualify them for entry-level college courses. (Ed. note: They are being… Continue reading The Other Epidemic: Majority of American High School Seniors Aren’t Proficient at Reading Or Math
Even though they had six months to plan for re-opening New York City’s schools, Mayor Bill De Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza still insisted on doing everything at the last minute. Schools were supposed to begin remote learning for all on Wednesday, September 16, and blended/hybrid for those who chose it on Monday, September 21. … Continue reading Straight From the Trenches: Parents Report What Really Happened During NYC’s First Days Of School
Last May, I reported on how the Department of Education lost dozens of Gifted & Talented tests — and waited almost four months to inform families (after weeks of telling them the tests weren’t lost, the parents must have done something wrong!). Retests were offered to those affected along with students new to New York… Continue reading Lost Scores, Retests & The Current State of Gifted & Talented Programs in NYC Schools
Fearing a teachers’ strike, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio pushed back public schools’ starting date from September 10 to September 16 for all remote learning, and September 21 for the hybrid model. Since Hizzoner closed public school buildings on Monday, March 16, communication and information have been in painfully short supply. Families have… Continue reading Parents’ Top 5 Concerns About NYC Schools 2020
Mayor Bill De Blasio officially shut down New York City public schools as of Monday, March 16, 2020. Since then, he and School Chancellor Richard Carranza have had over five months to plan for how to reopen them in September. In July, they announced that families would have a choice: They could opt to continue… Continue reading The (Last Minute) Plans of Mice and Men… and NYC Schools
In October of 2016, I reported that New York City had finally made it easier for students to transfer schools if the child “is not progressing or achieving academically or socially.” In July of 2020, I am sad to report, that permission has been halted. As of last week, the Department of Education’s page on… Continue reading NYC Department Of Education Decrees: Bad Education Not Good Enough Reason To Transfer Schools
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?
Every year, I brace myself. Every year, as soon as it’s time for the New York City Department of Education to take some kind of action, my email box instantly fills up with questions from confused and frustrated parents. This year, it was Thursday, April 23. That was the day the DOE was supposed to… Continue reading The Latest Word on Lost Gifted & Talented Scores
