NYC Schools

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?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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?

NYC Teen Says: Those Who Benefit Most From the School System Are Those Who Are Lucky Enough Not To Need It
educational equity · homeschooling · NYC Schools · student voices

NYC Teen Says: Those Who Benefit Most From the School System Are Those Who Are Lucky Enough Not To Need It

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

It wasn’t individual willpower or any unique rebellious tendencies that allowed me to escape my junior year at Stuyvesant High School and begin homeschooling myself. Instead, it was that many students were pushed out of my way in order for me to reach this exit. I hope my writing about my experience will offer some… Continue reading NYC Teen Says: Those Who Benefit Most From the School System Are Those Who Are Lucky Enough Not To Need It

NYC Mom Pushes Back Against “Coerced Consent” COVID-19 Testing in Public Schools
coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · Parents Helping Parents

NYC Mom Pushes Back Against “Coerced Consent” COVID-19 Testing in Public Schools

nyschooltalkLeave a comment

(As a coalition of parents and teachers sues the DOE to stop the testing, this is a guest post by Diana Brogan, an attorney but currently stay-at-home mom of two elementary school students. She is PTA President and Executive Committee member of the District Presidents’ Council.) Last Monday morning thousands of New York City public… Continue reading NYC Mom Pushes Back Against “Coerced Consent” COVID-19 Testing in Public Schools

A Matter Of Trust: Why Some Families Have Lost All Faith In NYC Schools
coronavirus · DOE Fails · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · online learning · remote learning · Social-Emotional Learning

A Matter Of Trust: Why Some Families Have Lost All Faith In NYC Schools

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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

Naked Came the Mother & Other Embarrassing Remote Learning Stories
Blog · coronavirus · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · Parents Helping Parents

Naked Came the Mother & Other Embarrassing Remote Learning Stories

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

My husband is a teacher. He’s back at work five days a week. My oldest son is a junior in college. They sent him home back in March, and already informed us they’ll be remote for the entire 2020-2021 academic year. My younger son is a junior in high school. He has opted for all… Continue reading Naked Came the Mother & Other Embarrassing Remote Learning Stories

Did NYC Sell Student & Teacher DNA to a Biotech Company?
coronavirus · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · NYC Teacher · NYC Teacher Voices · Teacher Voices · Teaching in NYC · UFT

Did NYC Sell Student & Teacher DNA to a Biotech Company?

nyschooltalkLeave a comment

(This is a guest post by Michael Kane, who has worked as a New York City public school teacher for over 13 years and is a steering committee member of NY Teachers For Choice, a grassroots organization of educators. He is a former UFT union delegate who served on consultation committees addressing problems with working… Continue reading Did NYC Sell Student & Teacher DNA to a Biotech Company?

Back To In-Person Learning: How Some NYC Schools Are Making It Work
Blog · coronavirus · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · remote learning

Back To In-Person Learning: How Some NYC Schools Are Making It Work

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last week, we heard from New York City families about how the first week of remote learning went for them, culminating with one mother proclaiming, “It. Does. Not. Work.” This week, we asked those schools which managed to re-open in person to share some tips with those who will only begin opening their doors this… Continue reading Back To In-Person Learning: How Some NYC Schools Are Making It Work

NYC Mom Asserts, “Remote Learning? It. Does. Not. Work!”
Hybrid Learning · NYC Parent Voices · NYC Schools · online learning · Parents Helping Parents · remote learning

NYC Mom Asserts, “Remote Learning? It. Does. Not. Work!”

nyschooltalkLeave a comment

(The author of this guest post wishes to remain anonymous.) Caveat – my vantage point is primary school; I have a kindergartner and a third grader and I believe that the principal and teachers at my daughters’ school are genuinely and in good faith trying their best to make this school year as positive an… Continue reading NYC Mom Asserts, “Remote Learning? It. Does. Not. Work!”

Parents’ Top 5 Concerns About NYC Schools 2020
coronavirus · DOE Fails · DOE incompetence · DOE Screw Ups · Hybrid Learning · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening

Parents’ Top 5 Concerns About NYC Schools 2020

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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

De Blasio & Carranza: Open (Schools), Says Me
coronavirus · NYC Schools · NYC Schools Reopening · remote learning · UFT

De Blasio & Carranza: Open (Schools), Says Me

Alina Adams1 Comment

As of Monday, August 24, clicking on the link: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/calendar produces the message: No items were found. That’s certainly reassuring. Nonetheless, the majority of stakeholders, from Mayor Bill De Blasio to School Chancellor Richard Carranza to UFT President Michael Mulgrew to, oh, yeah, parents and students (remember them?) are operating on the assumption that the… Continue reading De Blasio & Carranza: Open (Schools), Says Me