Kindergarten Admissions

NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!
admissions · NYC Kindergarten · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · Parents Helping Parents · School Choice · School Waitlists · transferring schools

NYC Parents Sound Off on 2021 Kindergarten Admissions: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions… Answered!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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!

How NYC Parents Can Save Public School Education: It’s Up To You!
achievement gap · admissions · Educational Equity · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · school diversity

How NYC Parents Can Save Public School Education: It’s Up To You!

Alina Adams1 Comment

Last week, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that 2021 would be the last year his Department of Education would administer the public school Gifted & Talented test for placement into Citywide and District programs. His spokeswoman, Miranda Barbot, clarified: “We will spend the next year engaging communities around what kind of programming… Continue reading How NYC Parents Can Save Public School Education: It’s Up To You!

Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition
admissions · coronavirus · Finding the Right School · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten · NYC School Admissions · School Choice

Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition

Alina Adams6 Comments

A post that I wrote this past August receiving as many new hits per day as more recent updates suggests that New York City parents are desperate for information about how to apply their children for Kindergarten in 2021. Here are where matters stand as of Monday, December 21, 2020. General Education Public Schools: Unlike… Continue reading Answering Parent Questions About Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition

Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition
Blog · coronavirus · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten

Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City parents have lots of questions about schools in September 2020: Remote Or Hybrid Instruction? Who Will Teach My Children? If We Leave Now, Will Our Children Be Allowed To Return To Their Public Schools Later? Not to mention: Whatever happened with those lost G&T Scores? But, because this is New York City,… Continue reading Getting Into NYC Kindergarten 2021: COVID-19 Edition

Your General Ed and G&T Kindergarten 2020 Admissions Questions – Answered!
admissions · Blog · Gifted & Talented · NYC Kindergarten

Your General Ed and G&T Kindergarten 2020 Admissions Questions – Answered!

Alina Adams4 Comments

Let me recap the New York City schools week of April 18 to April 24, 2020 for you. First, on Saturday, April 18, the Parent Portal, which malfunctioned so spectacularly in so many ways last year, continued to glitch in we-obviously-haven’t-fixed-it-yet ways. General Education Kindergarten offers of admission, at that point scheduled to be released… Continue reading Your General Ed and G&T Kindergarten 2020 Admissions Questions – Answered!

Will NYC Students Have To Repeat a Grade? Can They? Should They?
Accountability · achievement gap · admissions · coronavirus

Will NYC Students Have To Repeat a Grade? Can They? Should They?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Will They? On Saturday, April 11, 2020, New York City mayor Bill De Blasio announced that, due to Coronavirus, all school buildings will remain closed for the duration of the academic year, which is scheduled to end on June 26. Remote learning, however, will continue.  A few hours later, NY governor Andrew Cuomo countered with… Continue reading Will NYC Students Have To Repeat a Grade? Can They? Should They?

What’s “Enrichment,” Anyway? Can It Really Replace Gifted & Talented Programs?
Blog · Finding the Right School

What’s “Enrichment,” Anyway? Can It Really Replace Gifted & Talented Programs?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

When I give my Getting Into NYC Kindergarten workshops to community organizations, I explain the differences between New York City’s two types of Gifted & Talented programs. The five Citywide G&T’s are Accelerated. That means that, because there is no such thing as a G&T curriculum, these schools take the standard NYC school curriculum and… Continue reading What’s “Enrichment,” Anyway? Can It Really Replace Gifted & Talented Programs?

Happily Ever After In NYC: Parents Share School Choice Success Stories – And How They Made Them Happen
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Happily Ever After In NYC: Parents Share School Choice Success Stories – And How They Made Them Happen

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

I didn’t always write about education. Once upon a time, I wrote books – romances, mysteries, non-fiction. I also worked in soap operas – ABC Daytime, Procter & Gamble Productions, the Daytime Emmy Awards. But then I had children. And I applied those children to schools in New York City. And I found out how… Continue reading Happily Ever After In NYC: Parents Share School Choice Success Stories – And How They Made Them Happen

The Butterfly Effect: Good and Bad News About Your NYC Public School Waitlist
Blog · Finding the Right School

The Butterfly Effect: Good and Bad News About Your NYC Public School Waitlist

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Spring is a major holding pattern for New York City families. Middle school placement, Universal Pre-K, and Gifted & Talented scores are due “any minute.” Kindergarten General Education, charter schools, and high school offers are out. But the process is far from over. High schools hold a Second Round for those unhappy with their initial… Continue reading The Butterfly Effect: Good and Bad News About Your NYC Public School Waitlist

How It Really Works: Behind the Scenes of a NYC Public School Waitlist & More Parent Portal Glitches!
Accountability · Blog · Finding the Right School · School Choice

How It Really Works: Behind the Scenes of a NYC Public School Waitlist & More Parent Portal Glitches!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City families who’d been ripping their hair out for over two months finally learned where their children had been placed for General Education public school kindergarten on March 28th. The results had been posted for nearly a full day before the Department of Education notified anxiously waiting parents that they were available. When… Continue reading How It Really Works: Behind the Scenes of a NYC Public School Waitlist & More Parent Portal Glitches!