Upper West Side

Summertime… And the Waitlists Are Moving: How NYC Families Can Get Into the Schools Of Their Choice
Finding the Right School · School Choice

Summertime… And the Waitlists Are Moving: How NYC Families Can Get Into the Schools Of Their Choice

Alina Adams1 Comment

Not a day has gone by over the past couple of weeks that a family I’m working with hasn’t emailed to cheer that they’ve finally gotten off the waitlist at their first-choice school, usually kindergarten, but sometimes other grades, all the way up through high school. For most parents, summer is the time when you… Continue reading Summertime… And the Waitlists Are Moving: How NYC Families Can Get Into the Schools Of Their Choice

School Is NOT a Family: Why This Flawed Metaphor Hurts Your Kids
School Choice

School Is NOT a Family: Why This Flawed Metaphor Hurts Your Kids

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

As soon as THAT video hit the internet, viewers assigned sides: The mother who whined she’d spent $5,000 on test prep so her child could attend the best public middle school in District 3 (Manhattan’s Upper West Side) was the villain. Henry Zymeck, principal of The Computer School who defended the proposal to set aside… Continue reading School Is NOT a Family: Why This Flawed Metaphor Hurts Your Kids

What Happened The Last Time NYC Took Over School Admissions (Hint: Not What They Said Would Happen)
School Choice

What Happened The Last Time NYC Took Over School Admissions (Hint: Not What They Said Would Happen)

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

On April 6, 2018, I published a post called Cynthia Nixon on Education: Look At What She Did, Not What She Says. In it, I called out the gubernatorial candidate for standing with Mayor de Blasio on removing the screening process from New York City’s top performing public schools, and with the teachers unions on… Continue reading What Happened The Last Time NYC Took Over School Admissions (Hint: Not What They Said Would Happen)

How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step
Blog

How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step

Alina Adams1 Comment

We’ve all seen the infamous video by now: The Upper West Side mother objecting to a proposal to set aside 25 percent of seats in New York City’s District 3 middle schools for students who score either a 2 (below proficient) or a 1 (well below proficient) on their NY state standardized tests. The conceit… Continue reading How To Make Any School a ‘Good’ School – In One Simple Step

I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!
Blog

I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!

nyschooltalk1 Comment

This post was written by Lamont Douglas, a father, advocate and blogger at Secondline. He resides in New Orleans, Louisiana where he has been a powerful voice for educational equity. For more NYST coverage of the integration uproar on the Upper West Side, see here, here, here, and here. Melba. Minnijean. Elizabeth. Ernest. Gloria. Carlotta. Thelma. Terrence.… Continue reading I Don’t Want My Children Around Those Type of White People!

A Personal Story about Gifted and Talented Programming in NYC
Accountability · Educational Equity · School Choice

A Personal Story about Gifted and Talented Programming in NYC

Laura WatersLeave a comment

Just before I turned five years old, my parents moved me and my two younger sisters from our apartment on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx to a Queens neighborhood zoned for P.S. 115. While my old elementary school is now quite segregated (77 percent Asian, 18 percent White, 22 percent eligible for free and reduced… Continue reading A Personal Story about Gifted and Talented Programming in NYC

School Choice, Mom-Shaming, and My Conversation With a Genius
Blog · School Choice

School Choice, Mom-Shaming, and My Conversation With a Genius

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Shaming is bad. Fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, slut-shaming, gender-shaming, victim-shaming, and, of course, mom-shaming. Mom-shaming is the worst. Except, of course, when it comes to school choice. Then, it’s genius! After yet another speech where she criticized all parents (New York City parents, in particular) for choosing schools they believe are best for their children, MacArthur Genius… Continue reading School Choice, Mom-Shaming, and My Conversation With a Genius

Unraveling the “Paradox” of School Choice: A New Report from the New School Gets More Wrong Than Right
Blog · School Choice

Unraveling the “Paradox” of School Choice: A New Report from the New School Gets More Wrong Than Right

Laura WatersLeave a comment

The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs issued a report today called “The Paradox of Choice: How School Choice Divides New York City Elementary Schools” and I find it underwhelming. Lead authors Nicole Mader, Clara Hemphill and Qasim Abbas draw broad conclusions from limited data sets, leave important questions unacknowledged (let alone unanswered),… Continue reading Unraveling the “Paradox” of School Choice: A New Report from the New School Gets More Wrong Than Right

Is Education a Zero Sum Game?
Accountability · Blog

Is Education a Zero Sum Game?

Alina AdamsLeave a comment

Zero-Sum Game: A situation in game theory in which one person’s gain is equivalent to another’s loss, so the net change in wealth or benefit is zero. (Definition: Investopedia) Admissions, a play by Joshua Harmon, ends its run at the Lincoln Center Theater this Sunday, May 6. Admissions stars Jessica Hecht (Susan, wife of Carol,… Continue reading Is Education a Zero Sum Game?