Private Schools

Good-Bye To All That: NYC Public School Mom Explains What Drove Her Out Of the System
Finding the Right School

Good-Bye To All That: NYC Public School Mom Explains What Drove Her Out Of the System

nyschooltalk1 Comment

(This is a guest post by Allie Ryan, a former elected SLT Parent Member of her children’s Title 1 elementary school, where she has been a Co-Class Parent for several years. Her children have attended two district-wide G&T programs. Allie is also a founding member of PLACE, Parent Leaders for Acceleration Curriculum and Education, and… Continue reading Good-Bye To All That: NYC Public School Mom Explains What Drove Her Out Of the System

NYC Schools Of Choice: Then and Now
Finding the Right School

NYC Schools Of Choice: Then and Now

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

In my 2017 post, Beyond the Zone: All Your NYC Elementary School Options (And How To Get Them) Explained, I mentioned Deborah Meier as someone who didn’t believe that the primarily African-American and Hispanic families of Harlem should be forced to settle for the education their zoned public schools were offering. In 1974, she founded… Continue reading NYC Schools Of Choice: Then and Now

Should the NYC Department of Education Be In Charge of Private Schools Too?
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Should the NYC Department of Education Be In Charge of Private Schools Too?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City public schools suffer from a variety of ills: Over 50 percent of high school students graduate non-college ready and unable to pass CUNY’s placement test, requiring remediation before they can begin earning credit. Over 80% of African-American 7th graders cannot do math at grade level. Even at the “best” General Ed  schools,… Continue reading Should the NYC Department of Education Be In Charge of Private Schools Too?

Giving the Gift of Opportunity to New York Children
School Choice

Giving the Gift of Opportunity to New York Children

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This is a guest post by Darla M. Romfo, who serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF), a nonprofit that provides partial scholarships for low-income children in grades K-8 to go to the school that best meets their needs. This school year, CSF and its partner programs nationwide are… Continue reading Giving the Gift of Opportunity to New York Children

FAQ’s: 20 Questions NYC Parents Have About Applying To Kindergarten – Answered!
Finding the Right School

FAQ’s: 20 Questions NYC Parents Have About Applying To Kindergarten – Answered!

Alina Adams5 Comments

There is no nice way to put this: The Department of Education’s Parent Portal is an unmitigated disaster. Since it opened, I have received literally hundreds of emails from frustrated families who are having trouble registering, getting confirmation, or even logging on. Their calls to the DOE are going unanswered, requiring multiple hour wait times,… Continue reading FAQ’s: 20 Questions NYC Parents Have About Applying To Kindergarten – Answered!

Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite
Accountability · Finding the Right School

Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City schools are off for Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, on Monday, September 10, and Tuesday, September 11. (To read why I think all cultures should be allowed to take off their holidays, and how that would work in practice, click here.) One of the rituals of Rosh HaShanah is tashlich, where… Continue reading Why My Kids Accuse Me of Being a NYC Public Schools Hypocrite

Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.
Blog · Finding the Right School

Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.

Laura Waters1 Comment

Parenting typical children is hard. Parenting children with special needs is harder. (I get to say this; I’ve got three of the former and one of the latter.) For our youngest son with multiple disabilities that range from moderate to severe, we have committed ourselves to finding the best educational placements for him. But what… Continue reading Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes
Accountability · School Choice

What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last week, I dove into New York City’s plan to diversity Specialized High School admissions by scratching the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), currently the only method of admission, in favor of a model wherein the top 7 percent of all public middle school students would be accepted at an SHSAT school, as long as… Continue reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting a New SHSAT Plan [Part #2]: Who Will Win & Who Will Lose When It Passes

Want To Know What New School Chancellor Will Do In NYC? Take a Look At San Francisco! (And How It Worked Out….)
Accountability · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Want To Know What New School Chancellor Will Do In NYC? Take a Look At San Francisco! (And How It Worked Out….)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City’s new School Chancellor, Richard Carranza, comes to America’s largest district from San Francisco (after a suspiciously brief 18 month tenure in Houston). For the first 24 hours following the appointment, Carranza being in the International Mariachi Hall of Fame was the leading news fluff. Little about his policies. Which left NYC parents… Continue reading Want To Know What New School Chancellor Will Do In NYC? Take a Look At San Francisco! (And How It Worked Out….)

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

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

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