(This is a guest post by Michael N. Manta, a senior at Xavier High School who lives in Queens. Michael co-founded the nonprofit NYCMentors.org with his younger brother, Jonathan Manta, to provide mentorship to high achieving underserved middle school students.) In the age of Google and what seems to be an unlimited amount of knowledge… Continue reading The Benefits Of Peer Mentorship for NYC Teens Applying To High School
In late 2018, the New York City Department Of Education (DOE) unveiled their brand new, online Parent Portal, MySchools, which was supposed to make applying to all levels of the school system — Universal Pre-K, Kindergarten, Gifted & Talented, Middle and High School — more streamlined, efficient, and convenient. In 2019, some parents couldn’t register.… Continue reading The Spooky Case Of the Mysterious, Missing SHSAT Tickets: Parents Sound Off On Department Of Education Incompetence (Part #3)
When I speak to community organizations about Getting Into NYC High Schools, I stress that the summer between your child’s 7th and 8th grade year is the critical time to research all of your HS options, so that you can start the process of applying in September. The best tool to begin your research used… Continue reading Everything NYC Families Need To Know About Urban Assembly High Schools: Is One Right For Your Child?
Once a week, I have a class period set aside during the school day to provide my students with extra help. I teach English Language Arts so you would think that students would come to me with questions about their homework assignment on GoogleClassroom or to review questions that they got wrong on a test… Continue reading Why do the “Bad Kids” Like Me?
A December 16, 2016 report by DNAInfo.com outlined the difficulties encountered by New York City high schoolers with disabilities when looking for schools that meet their physical and academic needs. What the report didn’t cover, however, was that the problems with finding accessible schools start much earlier than high school. In fact, many elementary Gifted… Continue reading NYC Schools Are Failing Kids With Disabilities: Parents Speak Out
No, at least according to Matt Barnum who, in a recent Atlantic article called “Is Attending the ‘Best’ High School Academically Relevant?,” bases his conclusion on a study done by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. But as a New York City mom of a son in a specialized high school, I see enormous… Continue reading Does Attending a Specialized High School Make a Difference?
“Hunter is the original charter school,” offered a Hunter parent at a panel on NYC Selective School admissions that I moderated last month at BASIS Independent Manhattan School. I’d never thought of it that way but, as soon as he said it, it made perfect sense. And yet, I don’t see activists clamoring to close Hunter… Continue reading If a Charter School Operated Like This Non-Charter “Public” School It Would Be Shut Down
Last month, the New York City Department of Education finally made it easier for students to switch public schools, which should, in theory, remove some of the existing barriers to parents and students exercising their right to choose where – and how – they are educated. Previously, transfers, especially in high-school, were reserved for documented… Continue reading Do NYC Parents Have to “Game the System” in Order to Find the Right School for Their Child?
The New York Post notes today that New York City’s list of “struggling” and “persistently struggling” schools has nosedived from 145 down to 72. Party time, right? Chronically-failing schools are suddenly reinventing themselves and boosting student achievement! But hold the applause: this list was pared down because NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and his Chancellor… Continue reading This NYC High School Has Failed for Forty Years: for Mayor de Blasio, How Long is Long Enough?
Less than two weeks after I criticized the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) plan to add racial diversity to Specialized High-Schools by offering intensive test prep to high-achieving, underserved students as too-little, too-late, the Panel for Educational Policy has voted to make a major change to the test itself. But I don’t think… Continue reading As A NYC Parent, I Don’t Think the DOE’s Change to Specialized Schools Admissions Test Will Create Diversity
