School Choice

Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #2)
achievement gap · coronavirus · educational equity · online learning · remote learning · School Choice · school diversity

Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #2)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Last week I hammered home one of my favorite points: One educational size doesn’t fit all. This applies to traditional versus progressive learning, ethnocentric classrooms, acceleration, dual language programs, and more. While engaging in my favorite activity of advocating for giving every family what they want, and giving every student what they need, I asked… Continue reading Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #2)

Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #1)
admissions · coronavirus · educational equity · Finding the Right School · online learning · remote learning · School Choice

Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #1)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Ever since New York City School Chancellor Richard Carranza advised colleagues that one should “never waste a good crisis” in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, NYC parents have been in a panic. They assume he’ll use it as a backdoor method for ramming through all the changes he hasn’t been able to make via the… Continue reading Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #1)

How To Choose a School — When Schools Are Closed: Tips for Families On What To Ask (And How To Evaluate the Answers)
admissions · coronavirus · Finding the Right School · School Choice

How To Choose a School — When Schools Are Closed: Tips for Families On What To Ask (And How To Evaluate the Answers)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

New York City notified 8th graders of their public high school placement for September 2020 on March 19th, and 5th graders of their middle school placement on April 6. Most charter schools held their lotteries on April 1 for all available grade levels. Still to come is General Education Kindergarten placement in “late April,” according… Continue reading How To Choose a School — When Schools Are Closed: Tips for Families On What To Ask (And How To Evaluate the Answers)

School Choice Goes to the Movies: The Sequel!
Blog · Finding the Right School · New York City · School Choice

School Choice Goes to the Movies: The Sequel!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Just in time for Democratic Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren to unveil her education plan severely limiting school options for low-income families, and the release of 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores in math and English (spoiler: New York City stayed flat overall and went down in math), comes Miss Virginia, a movie about… Continue reading School Choice Goes to the Movies: The Sequel!

Ditch “Gifted” Testing & Accelerate Any Child Who Wants It? NYC Parents Weigh In!
Finding the Right School · New York City · School Choice

Ditch “Gifted” Testing & Accelerate Any Child Who Wants It? NYC Parents Weigh In!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Earlier this month, I offered A Modest Proposal for Turning NYC School Admissions Upside Down – & Letting Parents Decide the Education They Want For Their Kids. The gist of it boiled down to: What if … A computer algorithm more sophisticated than the one in use now aggregated students by interest and location to… Continue reading Ditch “Gifted” Testing & Accelerate Any Child Who Wants It? NYC Parents Weigh In!

Middle School Mayhem: Prospective Admissions Changes… And Their Consequences
Blog · Finding the Right School · School Choice

Middle School Mayhem: Prospective Admissions Changes… And Their Consequences

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

When parents ask me why I’ve written a book called “Getting Into NYC Kindergarten,” and one called “Getting Into NYC High School,” but NOT one called “Getting Into NYC Middle School,” I explain it’s because the NYC middle school process is so convoluted and varies so much from district to district, I couldn’t write one… Continue reading Middle School Mayhem: Prospective Admissions Changes… And Their Consequences

Do NYC Arts High Schools Set Extremely High Standards… In Everything But Academics?
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Do NYC Arts High Schools Set Extremely High Standards… In Everything But Academics?

Alina Adams1 Comment

In addition to taking the “ridiculous” Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) which I so cruelly forced him to study for, my 8th grade son also auditioned for the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art & Performing Arts.  (Yes, that’s really what it’s called and that’s really how it’s punctuated, although most… Continue reading Do NYC Arts High Schools Set Extremely High Standards… In Everything But Academics?

It’s Not My Kid’s Job To Make Your Kid’s Educational Experience Better
Finding the Right School · School Choice

It’s Not My Kid’s Job To Make Your Kid’s Educational Experience Better

Alina Adams1 Comment

The big buzz word in New York City education is: Diversity. On October 26, 2017, yet another plan was announced, this time promising to bring diversity to Lower Manhattan’s District 1. District 1 is already a choice district, in that families are not limited to a local zoned school, but can apply to any school… Continue reading It’s Not My Kid’s Job To Make Your Kid’s Educational Experience Better

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

This School Leader Considers SUNY’s Controversial Plan to Allow Charter Schools To Certify Their Own Teachers
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This School Leader Considers SUNY’s Controversial Plan to Allow Charter Schools To Certify Their Own Teachers

Laura WatersLeave a comment

(This is a guest post from Raymond Ankrum, Sr., the Executive Director of Riverhead Charter School. It was originally published here on his blog.) SUNY, a nationally recognized charter school authorizer for New York State has recently made headlines for approving a new, innovative approach of allowing its high-performing charter schools to certify their own teachers.  Charter schools in recent… Continue reading This School Leader Considers SUNY’s Controversial Plan to Allow Charter Schools To Certify Their Own Teachers