admissions · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · New York City · NYC high school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Integration

We’re All in This Together: NYC Parents Offer Advice To Other Districts On Using Lottery for High School Admissions

Using a lottery system to determine high school admissions is creating turmoil and strife in Philadelphia, PA and prompting protests from students, parents, and teachers. New York City parents, who have already experienced the roller coaster ride of lottery high school admissions, offer their advice to cities like Philadelphia, as well as Alexandria, VA, San… Continue reading We’re All in This Together: NYC Parents Offer Advice To Other Districts On Using Lottery for High School Admissions

achievement gap · admissions · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools

Which NYC Schools Will Open Promised New Gifted & Talented Programs in 2022?

(This is a guest post by David Gorvitz, who previously wrote NYC Drops Popular Gifted & Talented Program: A Parent’s Take.) I recently wrote this to the Superintendent of NYC DOE District 3 (Upper West Side/Morningside Heights/part of Harlem), which is considering allocating some of the 100 Kindergarten and 1,000 3rd-Grade seats being added to… Continue reading Which NYC Schools Will Open Promised New Gifted & Talented Programs in 2022?

achievement gap · admissions · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · NYC high school · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · School Choice · school diversity · School Integration

Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School

The New York City Department of Education defines racially representative schools as “those that enroll between 50 percent and 90 percent black and Hispanic students.”  By that definition, the public high school my sons attended, even though it was only 18 percent white, was still not diverse. That’s because it was also 71 percent Asian. … Continue reading Why I REALLY Sent My Daughter to a ‘Diverse’ Public School

achievement gap · admissions · Advanced Placement · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC high school · NYC Kindergarten · NYC middle school · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools · specialized high schools

Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!

You can’t blame The New York Times for lagging behind. They’ve spent so many years arguing for the abolition of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), the exam that qualifies New York City students for entry into the eight Specialized High Schools believed to be the best, it’s inevitable they’d be a day late… Continue reading Finally! Even the NYT Admits What’s Really Needed To Diversify Specialized High Schools!

achievement gap · admissions · Educational Equity · NYC high school · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Integration · screened nyc schools · specialized high schools

All High Schools Are Equal… Some High Schools Are More Equal Than Others: NYC Admissions 2022

Earlier this month we looked at the changes – and hypocrisy – of this year’s Middle School admissions process. This week, we turn our gaze towards New York City public High School admissions for 2022. The application went live on Thursday, January 27, 2022 and is due by Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Specialized High Schools… Continue reading All High Schools Are Equal… Some High Schools Are More Equal Than Others: NYC Admissions 2022

admissions · coronavirus · Educational Equity · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC middle school · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration · screened nyc schools

NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy

In 2019, Brooklyn’s District 15 unscreened all of their middle schools, meaning incoming 6th graders couldn’t be assessed for admission via grades, test scores, portfolios or interviews. All schools now had to accept students exclusively by lottery. Yes, even the arts schools. Before any classes selected via this method had graduated, before any classes selected… Continue reading NYC Middle School Admissions 2022: Changes… and Hypocrisy

Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · literacy · New York City · NYC Election · NYC Schools · School Attendance Policy · School Budget · School Choice · School Integration · Vote Local

When It Comes to NYC Schools, Why You Should #VoteLocal

Non presidential year elections tend to result in low voter turn-out in New York City.  Which is a shame, because, as I wrote exactly one year ago: I have been offering open-to-the-public Getting Into NYC Kindergarten and Getting Into NYC High School workshops for about 15 years now. But it was only four years ago… Continue reading When It Comes to NYC Schools, Why You Should #VoteLocal

admissions · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · NYC Schools · School Choice · School Integration

NYC Cuts Gifted School Programs, Unveils New Approach Proven To Fail Poor & Minority Students Most

On Friday, October 8, 2021 (right before a long holiday weekend, as per usual), New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio decreed that Gifted and Talented programming would be discontinued in public schools as of September 2022. (Remember that engagement he promised with families and communities to hear their thoughts on the matter? Didn’t happen.)… Continue reading NYC Cuts Gifted School Programs, Unveils New Approach Proven To Fail Poor & Minority Students Most

achievement gap · admissions · DOE incompetence · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · literacy · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · school diversity · School Integration

NYC Endorses Gifted & Talented Approach Determined To Do Least Good For All Students (But Especially Minority and Low Income Ones)

On August 26, 2019, New York City’s School Advisory Diversity Group (SADG) proposed that the ideal way to integrate schools would be to get rid of stand alone Gifted and Talented Citywide and District programs, and replace them with an Enrichment For All Model. What would that look like? Chalkbeat reported at the time: (I)t… Continue reading NYC Endorses Gifted & Talented Approach Determined To Do Least Good For All Students (But Especially Minority and Low Income Ones)

Accountability · NYC Schools · school diversity · School Integration

NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students

In June 2018, in a post entitled, What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan (Part #1): The Mayor’s Hidden Agenda, I wrote: Unlike the SHSAT schools, the Mayor doesn’t need a vote in Albany to change admissions to Screened Schools. He could implement his 7 percent plan with the stroke of a… Continue reading NYC Has a New School Chancellor: What This Change Means For Your Students