Screened Schools

NYC Parent Rails Against “DOE Attack on Literacy in New York City’s Public Schools”
admissions · literacy · NYC Parent Voices · NYC School Admissions · screened nyc schools

NYC Parent Rails Against “DOE Attack on Literacy in New York City’s Public Schools”

nyschooltalk1 Comment

(This is a guest post by M. Baranski, a parent in the NYC public school system.) The DOE’s movement spearheaded by the school chancellor Carranza and encouraged by the Mayor is trying to completely undermine our already barely functioning educational system by eliminating the concept of “education” and merit based achievement from DOE’s agenda.   Carranza,… Continue reading NYC Parent Rails Against “DOE Attack on Literacy in New York City’s Public Schools”

Zero Transparency & Communication: NYC Mom Rages Against New Middle School Waitlist
admissions · DOE Fails · Finding the Right School · School Choice · screened nyc schools

Zero Transparency & Communication: NYC Mom Rages Against New Middle School Waitlist

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(The author of this post wishes to remain anonymous.) Based on my recent experience with the middle school admission process, I can say that there are many issues with the new system.  First of all, removing the appeals process makes things worse and quite difficult. For example, my kid got a surprisingly low score on… Continue reading Zero Transparency & Communication: NYC Mom Rages Against New Middle School Waitlist

No Tests, No Grades, No Problem: What NYC Can Still Do
achievement gap · admissions · Blog · coronavirus

No Tests, No Grades, No Problem: What NYC Can Still Do

Alina Adams1 Comment

In March, the New York City Department of Education announced they would be cancelling state tests for the 2019-2020 academic year. Then, at the end of April, they revised the grading system so that those in elementary school will receive a final Meets Standards or Needs Improvement assessment, while those in middle school might also… Continue reading No Tests, No Grades, No Problem: What NYC Can Still Do

Second Round Shenanigans: Hunter, Special Music School & Other NYC Schools’ Subjective Admissions
arts in schools · Finding the Right School · screened nyc schools

Second Round Shenanigans: Hunter, Special Music School & Other NYC Schools’ Subjective Admissions

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he was running for President — as a Democrat, after being elected in NYC first as a Republican, then as an Independent — on Sunday, November 24th. As with other political candidates, I am only going to talk about his education policy record. Here are two major… Continue reading Second Round Shenanigans: Hunter, Special Music School & Other NYC Schools’ Subjective Admissions

3 Things NYC Can Do TODAY To Integrate Public High Schools!
Blog · Finding the Right School

3 Things NYC Can Do TODAY To Integrate Public High Schools!

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

I give up. New York City School Chancellor Richard Carranza has decreed that the most important issue facing our public high schools isn’t that close to 80% of students aren’t graduating college-ready, SAT scores are well below the national average, or there’s a  lack of access to Advanced Placement (AP) classes. No, according to the… Continue reading 3 Things NYC Can Do TODAY To Integrate Public High Schools!

The Privilege (and Cost) Of Being “Well-Rounded.”
Accountability · Blog · Finding the Right School

The Privilege (and Cost) Of Being “Well-Rounded.”

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

About a year ago, I asked: Is an ‘Unenriched’ Spring Break Worth Living? I confessed that, despite offers flooding my inbox to sign my kids up for coding camp or a writing workshop or test prep, I was tired. So, over Spring Break, we did… nothing. In New York City, admitting you let a child… Continue reading The Privilege (and Cost) Of Being “Well-Rounded.”

Say Goodbye To Hollywood: How Much For a ‘Good’ NYC Public School?
Blog · Educational Equity · School Choice

Say Goodbye To Hollywood: How Much For a ‘Good’ NYC Public School?

Alina Adams1 Comment

News broke last Tuesday, March 12th, that some rich parents, including actors Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) and Lori Loughlin (Full House), paid from $15,000 to $500,000 to fraudulently arrange their children’s acceptances into colleges ranging from Yale to University of Southern California. The usual suspects made the appropriate shocked noises. Like when Major Strasser learned… Continue reading Say Goodbye To Hollywood: How Much For a ‘Good’ NYC Public School?

The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids
Accountability · Finding the Right School

The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids

Alina Adams2 Comments

In the January issue of Big Apple Parents Paper, author James Breakwell asserted, “Nobody has secret math. Math at one school will be the same as it is at another school even if the other school has a swimming pool and a polo field.” That is… an astounding amount of privilege. Breakwell (a pseudonym) is… Continue reading The Big Con: Why NYC’s Plan For Raising Student Achievement Isn’t Close To Good Enough For All Kids

New Year, Old NYC School Argument
Finding the Right School · School Choice

New Year, Old NYC School Argument

Alina Adams2 Comments

Kindergarten Connect, the form New York City parents use to apply their children to public school Kindergarten for September 2019, is scheduled to close on Monday, January 14th, although on-going problems with the “new and improved” online Parent Portal may cause the deadline to be pushed back due to technical difficulties. To help parents know… Continue reading New Year, Old NYC School Argument

If Grades & Test Scores Are “Better” At Predicting Student Success Why Aren’t Screened Schools “Better” Than Specialized Ones?
Finding the Right School

If Grades & Test Scores Are “Better” At Predicting Student Success Why Aren’t Screened Schools “Better” Than Specialized Ones?

Alina Adams2 Comments

Applications for New York City public schools were originally due today, Monday, December 3. However, last week, the Department of Education announced that they were extending their deadline to turn in your rankings to Friday, December 14. They went out of their way to stress it absolutely was not due to what an unmitigated disaster… Continue reading If Grades & Test Scores Are “Better” At Predicting Student Success Why Aren’t Screened Schools “Better” Than Specialized Ones?