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Some Families Don’t Know How To Exercise School Choice. Others Don’t Know They’re Already Doing It: An Open Letter To Both
Finding the Right School

Some Families Don’t Know How To Exercise School Choice. Others Don’t Know They’re Already Doing It: An Open Letter To Both

Alina Adams1 Comment

Kindergarten Connect, the form New York City parents use to apply to public school Kindergarten for September 2019, came out on December 5 after being delayed from its originally announced date, December 3, presumably due to the ongoing disaster that is the new Parent Portal. Kindergarten Connect was designed to help all families exercise school… Continue reading Some Families Don’t Know How To Exercise School Choice. Others Don’t Know They’re Already Doing It: An Open Letter To Both

Is NYC Education an Even Playing Field For All Families?
Accountability · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Is NYC Education an Even Playing Field For All Families?

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In response to my posts about how New York City parents can raise the odds of their children getting into a Gifted & Talented public school program, a reader wrote to sarcastically congratulate me on destroying what had previously been a perfectly even playing field. Her child, it seems, took the G&T test with absolutely… Continue reading Is NYC Education an Even Playing Field For All Families?

Top 5 NYC School Issues That Enraged Parents in 2017 – And What Will Happen In 2018
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Top 5 NYC School Issues That Enraged Parents in 2017 – And What Will Happen In 2018

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2017 was a big year for New York City school news. Universal Pre-K was rolled out for 3 year-olds, even as the program for 4 year-olds struggled. There was a contentious elementary school rezoning on the Upper West Side, middle-school admissions came under the microscope, and yet another plan to diversify Specialized High Schools went… Continue reading Top 5 NYC School Issues That Enraged Parents in 2017 – And What Will Happen In 2018

5 Mistakes Parents Make When Ranking Schools on Kindergarten Connect – And How You Can Avoid Them
Blog · Finding the Right School · School Choice

5 Mistakes Parents Make When Ranking Schools on Kindergarten Connect – And How You Can Avoid Them

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Kindergarten Connect, the online form that New York City parents use to apply their children to Kindergarten for 2018, opened on Tuesday, November 28. It is scheduled to close on January 12, 2018. Every year, I receive frantic emails from parents who made a mistake in ranking their choices, and are now stuck with a… Continue reading 5 Mistakes Parents Make When Ranking Schools on Kindergarten Connect – And How You Can Avoid Them

Mistakes Parents Make When Ranking NYC School Choices, From Pre-Kindergarten to High School
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Mistakes Parents Make When Ranking NYC School Choices, From Pre-Kindergarten to High School

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

As I wrote last week, it’s school application time  for 2018 in New York City! Public high school applications are due on December 1 (excluding Specialized schools). Public Middle-School applications will become available in November and are also due on December 1. Kindergarten Connect, for all public school general ed programs, is scheduled to open… Continue reading Mistakes Parents Make When Ranking NYC School Choices, From Pre-Kindergarten to High School

Beyond The Zone: All Your NYC Elementary School Options (And How To Get Into Them) Explained!
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Beyond The Zone: All Your NYC Elementary School Options (And How To Get Into Them) Explained!

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For her last post in Education Week’s Bridging Differences blog, education scholar and advocate Deborah Meier writes: The notion that we can leave (education) to the whims of individual parent choice in marketplace fashion is problematic. Good parents are inclined to put their own children’s immediate interests first. Meier, as her bio states at the bottom,… Continue reading Beyond The Zone: All Your NYC Elementary School Options (And How To Get Into Them) Explained!

NYC’s Top 10 Elementary Schools By Test Scores: What Makes Them Special – And How You Can Get In
Blog · Finding the Right School · School Choice

NYC’s Top 10 Elementary Schools By Test Scores: What Makes Them Special – And How You Can Get In

Alina Adams1 Comment

New York State released their 2017 standardized public school test scores in August, and New York City led the pack. We take a look at the top ten achievers, and explore whether we can find an instructional magic bullet among them: Rank: 1 School Name: Special Music School Average Standard Score: 99.7 % of Students… Continue reading NYC’s Top 10 Elementary Schools By Test Scores: What Makes Them Special – And How You Can Get In

Pros and Cons of Starting Accelerated Kindergarten Before Age 5: NYC Mom Tells All!
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Pros and Cons of Starting Accelerated Kindergarten Before Age 5: NYC Mom Tells All!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Hunter College Elementary School (HCES) opened its kindergarten 2018 application on Friday, September 1. Despite the misnomer of it being a Department of Education-run public school (it’s closer to a charter), HCES is considered New York City’s top gifted school. Over 2,500 Manhattan four year-olds vie for 50 kindergarten spots. Their families believe the (no-tuition) accelerated… Continue reading Pros and Cons of Starting Accelerated Kindergarten Before Age 5: NYC Mom Tells All!

Why Do I Make My Daughter Do Homework Over the Summer?
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Why Do I Make My Daughter Do Homework Over the Summer?

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My daughter struggled through much of 4th grade. She was put in Special Learning with a wonderful teacher who helped her catch up. We didn’t want all that progress to disappear over the summer. While some parents may have gone with a tutor, that wasn’t in our budget. Instead, we asked the school for workbooks… Continue reading Why Do I Make My Daughter Do Homework Over the Summer?

Why I Make My Son Study For the “Ridiculous” SHSAT
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Why I Make My Son Study For the “Ridiculous” SHSAT

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My older son graduated from a New York City Specialized High-School this June. Now it’s my younger one’s turn to prep for the qualifying Specialized High-School Admissions Test (SHSAT). “You realize how ridiculous this is,” my 13 year-old posited after taking yet another practice test from one of the many books we’ve purchased for the… Continue reading Why I Make My Son Study For the “Ridiculous” SHSAT