(This is a guest post by Irina B., an NYC mom just starting on her public school journey.) My daughter, Ava, was offered a public pre-K spot at PS 347. We accepted our offer in May, got a call from the school, toured it and confirmed our acceptance with the below email From: noreply@myschools.nyc Subject:… Continue reading The UPK Seat That ‘Just Disappeared’ & the NYC Mom Who Fought Back!
It’s been a long, arduous, and stressful New York City public school admissions season. And, unfortunately, it’s not over yet. The Department of Education (DOE) has now pushed admissions to public Gifted & Talented programs for grades Kindergarten through 3rd to “late July.” Meanwhile, families of rising 9th graders are still hoping for a seat… Continue reading NYC Mom Exposes School Admissions Deception
Anywhere else in the country (the world?), the idea that New York City families start worrying about where their children will attend school over a full year in advance is considered insane. But that’s when the official process starts here. NYC private schools put up their applications as early as August, but no later than… Continue reading What We Know So Far: Applying to NYC Schools for 2022
This past May, I wrote a post called, How NYC School Waitlists Work – And How They Don’t. What I should have called it was How NYC School Waitlists Are SUPPOSED To Work. Consider this post to be the And How They Don’t part (with tips on what you can still do about that). 2021… Continue reading Where’s the Transparency? Behind the Scenes With NYC Public School Waitlists – And What Families Can Still Do To Get In!
Waitlists had long been a fact of life for New York City Kindergarten and Gifted & Talented admissions, Hunter College Elementary, and other public charter schools. But Mayor Bill De Blasio only added them to middle and high school admissions in 2019. (Previously, there had been a Second Round for teens who didn’t get any… Continue reading How NYC School Waitlists Work – And How They Don’t
NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!
Early on the morning of April 8, families began emailing me to report that New York City’s parent portal was acting funny. General Ed Kindergarten results were appearing in the waitlisted section, then promptly disappearing. This is good news, I told them. Based on previous years, when results arrived via blank and garbled documents, this… Continue reading NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!
New York City families who applied to private high schools this year were obliged to turn in their enrollment contracts — and put down a deposit on tuition — by noon of last Friday, March 12, 2021. In previous years, NYC Specialized, Screened, Arts, Ed-Opt, P-Tech, and all other public high schools would also notify… Continue reading Why NYC High School Admissions Will Be Very Different This Year: How Families Can Make It Better
Last week, we answered the most immediate questions about how Gifted & Talented admissions will work for September 2021. This week, we dig deeper into the details. Question: Do we know if teachers at private daycares/early learning centers that are not DOE affiliated will be able to evaluate, or only pre-K for all? What about… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About NYC Gifted & Talented Admissions 2021 (Part #2): Remote Evaluations, Waitlists & More
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?
Mayor Bill De Blasio, multiple members of the City Council, and Chancellor Richard Carranza insist there is only one action which will solve all of New York City’s school woes —including over 50 percent of students performing below grade level, dismal college readiness rates, and more. That action is: Integration. You see, all of these… Continue reading How NYC Department of Education Is Thwarting School Choice – And Integration
