Ten Harlem middle schools will get new math and science programs this fall, thanks to a $17.9 million, five-year grant from the General Electric Foundation, announced just this afternoon by a sun-drenched Mayor Bloomberg, flanked by CEO of GE Jeffrey Immelt, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, and Harlem’s own Charlie Rangel, House Ways and Means Committee Chair and undisputed king of 125th Street.

The largest corporate grant ever awarded to city schools, the DOE money is the lion’s share of a $29-million package that directs GE funds to Teachers College, Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Childrens’ Zone, the Council for Opportunities in Education and College for Every Student, in that corporation’s ongoing effort to develop math, science and engineering talent. Klein said that participating public schools have yet to be identified, although a Teacher’s College press-release named PS 200 and PS/IS 180 as part of the program.

We don’t yet know how the money will be spent or the programs administered, but Klein did mention that a portion of the grant might be used to “reconfigure” middle schools (translation: break them up and make them smaller). The mayor and the chancellor have reminded us often over the past week that middle schools remain their biggest challenge for reform, and they heralded this latest cash flow as a boost to their invigorated efforts. We’re curious, however, why other parts of the city, with similarly acute needs for strong math and science education, aren’t part of the powerhouse’s largesse.

School may be out, but there’s plenty buzzing in the city press — about education, budget cuts, and attendance vigilance gone awry. Plus, the Mayor’s slated to make an education statement at 1 pm today; more news will follow as the day unfolds.

In today’s Times, Jennifer Medina celebrates a terrific grad rate (and estimates the human cost) at the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, one of the city’s new, small high schools, where the principal, having marked the school’s first graduation, is leaving for another job. In the Sun, Elizabeth Green returns to MS 201, to air concerns about a new principal’s effect on test-score rises. The budget compromise comes under closer scrutiny at Gotham Gazette — yes, millions for education were restored, but deep cuts in NYCHA programs, Beacon community centers, and infant-mortality prevention efforts cast a long and gloomy shadow.

And yesterday, the News profiled a student aggressively pursued for truancy: Enrolled at a Brooklyn parochial school, she never showed up at her public high school, raising the ACS flag high. As always, the details devil the case: Inaccurate contact information, the DOE says, made finding the girl nearly impossible. That they’re looking hard for absent students is in itself a sign of progress, however misguided this effort.

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It was the last week of school, and the big story was the generally higher test scores, although the controversy continues over what the scores actually mean. Chancellor Klein was riding high on the test results, although the teachers slammed his performance in a UFT survey. New Orleans superintendent Paul Vallas, said to be short-listed for an eventual successor, says that New York students might say bye-bye to future summer vacations. Large middle schools are the first in line on the chopping block, however, as Klein suggests that he plans to slice and dice them into smaller schools (reported first here, on our blog). Maybe smaller schools will tone down the 8^th grade graduation frenzy. At best, they’ll avoid serious issues, like apparent negligence in one Brooklyn junior high school.

Another study confirms what what we already know: there is a woeful lack of playgrounds at New York elementary schools. Let’s hope the new grade school in midtown includes outdoor play space.

The Times ended the school year with a summer storm of local and national school stories: career programs seem to work; a segregated retention program is, unsurprisingly, controversial; a NYC Harbor-based high school builds confidence (see their profile for more); an immigrant parent program boosts involvement; and rent assistance keeps helps families in one place, and kids from switching schools. Whew.

The Times also cautions: summer means bad nutrition. Keep healthy and cool!

The City Council agreed with the mayor on a $59.1 billion budget last night that restores $129 million in proposed education cuts. The agreement comes days away from the July 1 deadline. The teacher’s union, which had been vocal in its opposition to proposed budget cuts, applauded the agreement.

“I’m very proud of the education community,” said Sarah Morgridge, of city council education committee chair Robert Jackson’s office. “People moved beyond their own school. They stood together and looked at the bigger picture.”On the funding front, many will now turn their attention to Contracts for Excellence (C4E). Morgridge said she wonders if Bloomberg et al are posed to push City Council and the state “to take the strings off C4E funding.” C4E funding is the fruit of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) settlement with the state, and therefore, protected by law.

With the city’s budget now on the books, keep track of the C4E debate with our calendar, and, of course, this blog.

For me, the clearest indication that my son’s childhood as he knew it was a thing of the past started with the cupcakes.

At a middle school orientation two years ago, I was the ridiculously out-of-touch mother who raised my hand in a crowded gym and innocently asked if it was still okay to bring cupcakes to celebrate a birthday in sixth-grade.

The crowd laughed. The principal rolled his eyes. I blushed and learned an important lesson about this next stage of life, which I’ve dubbed The Age of Embarrassment. It’s time for parents to back off.

Parents are all over the best elementary schools, organizing fund-drives and bake sales and penny drives, going on field trips, and yes — carrying in those giant tupperware boxes filled with cupcakes.

Not so in middle school. Two years ago, I took my sixth grader on the first day. On the second day, I walked a few blocks behind. (Could anything be worse than being seen with an actual parent?) and after that, he traveled mostly with his friends or alone. Now, if I want to stop by the school, I can’t take the same entrance.

Birthdays? Forget it. He doesn’t want anyone to know.

Not all middle schoolers become this self-conscious, of course, and none of this means middle schools don’t need support from parents — they do, more than ever! My best advice to soon-to-be middle school parents is to ask other parents how they handled the transition — and find out from the principal, parent coordinator and the PTA what’s most needed. Trust me, there is plenty to do.

Today, we said goodbye to my younger son’s elementary school, to teachers, parents and staff we knew for so many years they felt like family. There were hugs, tears and presents and then it was over.

It’s almost time to pack up all the stuffed animals and Dr. Seuss books too, reminders of the elusive and transitory nature of childhood. But first, though, I’m going to bake a batch of cupcakes. They may not be for a class party, but they’ll still fill the kitchen with the smell of childhood.

School’s out. The kids have their report cards. But official school report cards, that show school stats and test scores? Not just yet.

State-generated school report cards are built on 2005-2006 numbers. City-generated Annual School Reports use old data, too — data that predate the creation of dozens of new, small high schools, and omit principals posted since ‘05, and current counts of students and teachers. (This is especially crucial for young, growing schools; some have tripled in size and staff since the report cards were posted.) The New York State Department of Education has repeatedly said that updated report cards will post “around” the end of June. That’s Monday; we’re skeptical. (Last year, they posted before the end of May.)

We’re also waiting for the city and state to release the much-anticipated high school graduation rate, the benchmark against which Bloomberg and Klein measure their Children First reforms. For the first time in decades, NYC’s DOE and the NYSED are actually using the same basis for counting grads (in prior years, each defined grads in different ways, making direct comparison dicey). When will the grad rate post? According to Chancellor Klein, that’s up to the State, too.

Grade the kids, grade the schools; rate the principals, rate the teachers. Along with reports on how their kids progressed, parents deserve current knowledge on how the city’s schools are doing. Why is the wait for these reports stretching into summer?

An ebullient Chancellor Klein quoted ol’ Blue Eyes this morning — “it was a very good year”– and lauded the praises of students at Bronx Lab High School (whose graduates he addressed) as well as the city’s teachers. Celebrating “the boldest changes yet” in terms of school reform, he cautioned nay-sayers, “Don’t call it experimentation. You never want to stop innovation — it’s what drives success.”

What Klein sees as success, though, can appear otherwise to other eyes. For example, he said “g+t program [admissions] ran much more smoothly than ever before”– an assertion with which we’d bet plenty of parents would differ. For middle school admissions, he prescribed a “do it earlier” timeframe and stronger communications, advice that would’ve been useful when so many parents seeking answers weren’t able to reach DOE and OSEPO officials.

The Chancellor celebrated gains by ELL students, as well as test-score gains overall. The 43% grade 8 ELA proficiency, while “not a great number,” still represents a gain over the 30% proficiency when Klein took charge of the city schools. Middle school “is our greatest challenge,” he said, and suggested that the DOE might consider breaking large middle schools into smaller ones, similar to ongoing high-school reforms.

Lower numbers of Level 4 scores, especially in middle school, are a concern, says Klein, who faults NCLB guidelines for not rewarding (and thus motivating) progress beyond proficiency. Recognition aside, he didn’t offer specific ideas on how to address or even understand lower achievement by high-performing students.

Asked about the 50- to 60-hour week many teachers invest in their jobs, Klein dismissed concerns about sustainability. “When people are part of the world of changing things for children, they don’t view it as work.” This may come as news to teachers, who work hard to meet and sometime surpass the expectations of their jobs. Surely, even the most idealistic deserve not to work steady 12- or 14-hour days.

If you can’t make the rally this afternoon at City Hall (and even if you plan to attend), have a look at this parent-organized petition, asking the DOE to reconsider centralized Kindergarten admissions.

Parents of preschoolers, this policy has the potential to directly affect your family’s admissions experience.

Even if your kids are past K, consider adding your name. No one should have to go through the confusion that characterized this year’s process.

Persistent declines in level 4 middle school ELA scores and other hallmarks of flagging achievement from the top tier of New York City’s students have prompted many commenters’ heartfelt concern about the untoward effects of a test-driven education culture.

The point’s not lost on academe — eduwonkette’s post today substantiates what we’ve heard and seen, as does this study. The flip side is, no matter how dogged, test-linked, or slow, real progress is being made among the lowest-performing sets of kids; many connect the NCLB dots to rising achievement.

If moving under-skilled kids forward is the prime educational target, as Chancellor Klein has asserted multiple times, what is the cost to the city’s most-skilled students? Why do these students show poorer test scores? And how can the “two steps forward, one back” pace change to one that moves everyone forward, struggling learners and motivated, prepared, and ambitious kids alike?

G+T and other specialized, enriched programs are only part of the answer. Legions of kids just don’t ace the tests, and others aren’t offered the opportunity. The challenge, we worry, will outlast the Bloomberg era: While seeking to meet the needs of the least able, how can the city better support its top learners?

The kids who are middle- and high-school students today will quickly become the voters that define the city’s agenda. How can we best serve them to learn, and to lead, tomorrow?

Some folks may opt for picnics or the movies on the last day of school, Thursday June 26th. But if you, like thousands of city parents, worry about threatened school budget cuts, a late-afternoon visit to City Hall may be more your speed.

Join Class Size Matters activists and others to protest the budget cuts and crowded classrooms; meet on Broadway near City Hall at 3:30, ahead of a 4pm press conference.

There’s just another week before the City Council wrestles the proposed budget to some kind of compromise conclusion; if you can, before heading off to the beach, summer camp, the cineplex (or the nearest sofa), make your presence known.

Every summer since the mid-70s, the DOE’s Summer Meals program has provided free breakfast and lunch for city youth at neighborhood schools and youth centers. This year, in light of rising food prices and ever-increasing economic pressures on New York City families, the free meals will be on offer at a range of cultural sites, too, like parks, libraries, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Floating Lady pool in the Bronx.

Starting Friday June 27th and through August 29th, anyone younger than 18 can eat for free; no application or school registration is required. Call 311 to find out the location nearest you.

The Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) passed the executive budget last night. Only one member, Manhattan representative Patrick Sullivan, voted nay. Sullivan said he was concerned that more resources were devoted to testing and charter schools while the bread-and-butter, general education classes that serve the majority of students would suffer from the cuts. Of course considering the mayor appoints 8 of the members of the panel (the 5 others are appointed by the borough presidents), it is not surprising that they passed his budget - especially in light of the mayor’s history of firing members who don’t agree with his decisions.

The meeting was scantily attended, despite the uproar over the budget cuts over the past few weeks, and many of the public comments had nothing to do with the budget vote. Meanwhile, one uninvited participant - a small brown mouse - darted around the audiences’ feet at the MLK High School Complex auditorium. Chancellor Klein, who looked exhausted, sounded relieved to close the session and the monthly PEP meetings for the school year.

Insideschools’ parent organization, Advocates for Children of New York, announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed in 2003 against the DOE on behalf of parents with students with disabilities. The lawsuit contended that the DOE was not always following through on the (legally required) orders of independent hearing officers who had been called in to settle disputes over students’ special ed. services. The DOE will now follow a series of benchmarks when dealing with these cases and be monitored by an independent auditor.

If this situation sounds familiar, and the DOE has failed to act on the orders of an independent hearing officer in your child’s case, you may be entitled to compensation in the form of a voucher. The vouchers - which are for as much as $15,000 - can be used for services like tutoring, career and vocational training, assistive technology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and other educational services. Insideschool’s article on the lawsuit, the Advocates for Children press release and the lawsuit website have more information and claim forms.

New York City and State’s big gains in test scores lead the news at the Times and Daily News, and are featured at the Post and the Sun, which focuses on charter-school progress. But amid the celebratory, double-digit party (and leaving aside, for the moment, critical questions about score inflation and comparisons with national tests), disturbing trends persist, and — not surprisingly — get far less play than testing’s great leap forward.

Have a look at the test score “deck” from the DOE’s Department of Assessment and Accountability, which breaks out scores by grade and race.

The achievement gap that yawns between white and Asian students and their black and Hispanic peers has narrowed, but continues far too wide: Overall, 80% of white students earned level 3/4 (grade-level and higher) on the ELA, compared with 54% of black students and 53% of Hispanic kids. That’s a 26% or 27% gap. Even if it closes at the rate of 2 or 3 points a year (the recent, upward trend), that’s 9 or 12 years, or many kids’ entire public-school career, before the races achieve parity — if white and Asian kids’ scores don’t rise, which they likely will (again, tracking Bloomberg-era trends).

The abyss that separates 8th grade’s middling progress from 4th grade’s high scores is even more threatening: About two-thirds of white eighth-graders, 65%, earned levels 3/4 on the ELA; just over one-third of black and Hispanic students (36% and 33%, respectively) posted similar scores. Taken together, 43% of the city’s eighth graders scored level 3/4 — which means that nearly six in ten will proceed to high-school officially reading below grade level.

Cue the party horns here (or not).

Update: According to DOE, the scores were embargoed on State directive, meant for school use in planning placements (as if year-round testing didn’t yield sufficient data) and available to parents on request, but not publicly released until their presentation to the Regents yesterday.

A little-noted irony of the DOE’s many student incentives, the cell phones meant to reward middle schoolers — the ad campaign just won a prize in chic Cannes, France — are still 100% prohibited on school premises, by DOE regulation.

So, figure this: Give the kids a phone, but ban its use. Or, alternatively, teach kids that what you say — No Phones! — is far from what you do: Are you a good student? Here’s a phone, and you can ‘earn’ minutes, too.

No wonder kids say middle school is confusing.

It was a love-fest today at PS 178 for New York City’s educational leadership. Ongoing battles over budget cuts were tabled (momentarily) as the Mayor, Chancellor Joel Klein, UFT president Randi Weingarten and CSA rep Ernie Logan lauded city children’s performance on the state ELA and Math tests, which were announced today, and are posted on line here. The credit for the steadily rising test scores (with still-glaring gaps between grade 4 and grade 8 achievement), was generously shared as speakers thanked each other, the children, the parents, the teachers and, of course, themselves.

Each speaker in turn emphasized how much work educational reformers in New York City have yet to accomplish.“It’s a wonderful day for New York,” the Mayor said, before adding this caveat: “If history looks back and says, ‘this is a high point,’ shame on us.”

Scores for city schools have posted on the DOE website.

Look here for math scores; here for ELA.

We’re looking closely, too, and eager to hear what you think: surprised by the gains? skeptical or grateful? is test prep an issue in your child’s school? what’s your take?

Let us hear from you.

At high noon today, the New York State Department of Education will present the 2007-08 English/Language Arts (ELA) and Math scores for students statewide, including New York City public school students. (We’ll post a link when they go live, anticipated for noon.)

Of course, the official New York State report cards, available for most city schools, are two years out of date (with data from 2005-2006). Last year, new report cards posted in late May. This year, it’s late June and we don’t yet know when the updated report cards will go live. We’ve heard “end of June” — but who’s counting?

Update: Sorry for initial misdirect; here’s the link to 2008 ELA and Math scores. It’s an unwieldy pdf; we’re looking for a more compact, accessible link.

Just heard from David Cantor of the DOE, who says they’ll post city stats today; stay tuned.

The blog’s hitting the big-time! This morning at 11 am, Insideschools.org’s Project Manager Pamela Wheaton will be on the air with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, DOE officials, and others to talk about the g+ t admissions process this year.

Parents and commenters, your thoughts and questions made the difference; don’t take the pressure off now. Listen and call in if you can: 646 829.3729.

Don’t be shy — speak up!

It may be the last Monday of the school year, but the work of education goes on: This evening at 6 pm, the Panel for Education Policy will hold public hearings at MLK High School complex; sign up at 5:30 pm for a 2-minute speaking slot.

Of the PEP’s 13 members, 8 (including the Chancellor) are appointed by the Mayor, and 5 are named by boro presidents and must be public-school parents. As a group, the panel is charged with “approving standards, policies, objectives, and regulations that are directly related to educational achievement and student performance, as well as certain contracts, an estimated annual operating budget, and the DOE capital plan,” according to the DOE. Should be quite a lively meeting.

And an interesting juxtaposition in the Times; while the editorial page praises New York’s largely successful attempt to recruit and certify teachers who were solid, high-achieving college students, it overlooks a high attrition rate among young idealists who leave the public-school classroom, and poses, in another article, the ‘paycheck or pay back’ question, as Harvard grads flow to Wall Street and to high-power consultancies like McKinsey and Bain, instead of into public service, in medicine, government and — yes — education.

It’s the last full Friday of the school year, and it seems that we can say with confidence, at long last, that all admissions placements (save for upper-grade g+t) have been made. The appeals cycle has begun, and although we’re still waiting for word from the DOE on when, exactly, the g+t second round deadline might be, readers write in of registrations and transitions to new schools.

Not that the registrations are going smoothly. Most are, but we’ve heard from families with acceptance letters not appearing on their new school’s list, of kids boxed out of zoned schools and offered seats at distant g+t programs as consolation, and from parents whose children scored well above the g+t cut but who didn’t receive seats — anywhere. We’ve heard, as you have, of programs that won’t open, and of others that are overfull, on the risky gamble that some students may opt for other situations come fall. We’ve also heard from lots of readers reconsidering their quest for g+t, and opting for zoned schools instead.

We’ve also heard from Lisabeth Sostre, formerly of District 3, and one of the architect of their middle-school choice program, who counsels parents to harness their political power — “the strength you have as parents is huge” — and demand answers on a swath of education issues from whoever aspires to next reside in Gracie Mansion. (See “And the Winner Is…” from June 18th, here, for a heartbreakingly apt take on DOE mishaps.)

A savvy sixth-grader in Amanda Fairbanks’s post on City Room says it best; there’s likely not a parent who’s been though the admissions maelstrom this year who wouldn’t agree with her sharp-eyed
summa: “I’m just glad I survived it. We should have a party for that.”

Too busy worrying if you still have a job, your fifth grader got into middle school or the commute to Manhattan for a G&T program is plausible to read the paper? Don’t worry - we’ve flipped through the pages for you. Welcome to the first installment of our education and school news round-up. Look for it every Friday! This week, while Margaret Spellings, Chancellor Klein and Mayor Bloomberg were in Disney World speaking at Jeb Bush’s national education reform summit, a paroled felon ran from the cops ran straight into a Brooklyn elementary school, brandishing his loaded handgun. Luckily, everyone at PS 108 was okay, but some older Brooklyn students found themselves behind bars after serving a laxative laced cake that left two teachers hospitalized. While in the Magic Kingdom, Chancellor Klein wished upon a star for the ability to certify teachers and principals without a university. The College Board might wish that the new SAT had proven to be a better indicator of college success; they sure tried to spin their study results that way. At least veterans had one dream come true when Congress greatly expanded their educational grants and permitted the transfer of aid to family members. In Albany, Gov. Paterson has successfully pushed through legislation that will push sex offenders out of the classroom, but he has been less successful in convincing fellow lawmakers to cap local school property taxes, although a poll shows that 74 percent of voters support the cap. But in “America’s first suburb,” the property tax debate has been overshadowed. Town officials in Levittown complain of psychological damage to 8^th graders, who came across their town name as an answer choice on the state social studies exam and were so upset to see their community associated with Hoovervilles and tenements that they were unable to complete their tests. A high school in Massachusetts, however, has a real problem. Some students supposedly made a pact to become pregnant, and now 17 girls under 17 years-old are expecting. Wendy Kopp and Richard Barth, the Upper West Side-based education power-couple who is devoted to closing the achievement gap through Teach for America and the KIPP charter school network, might wonder why European countries are looking to the US schools as a model of desegregation. Local columnists, meanwhile, muse on Obama’s father’s day speech, and the effect of home life on school achievement. All New York public school students might soon learn more about how to be nice to each other, and a few New York private school students will study Arabic next year. Language skills, however, continue to bar many immigrants from accessing the city’s childcare offerings. And, of course, the topics covered in our blog were also covered in the papers: flaws in the new G&T admissions policy, which left the program even less diverse than in years past; the Robin Hood effect of No Child Left Behind, which has potentially created a boost in low-performing students scores while stagnating high performing students’ academic growth; the middle school placement mess; and the interview with Chancellor Klein, which focuses on Brooklyn schools but is illuminating in general.

Thoughts? Reactions? Opinions?

UPDATE (6/25/08): The story about the teen pregnancy pact has gotten a lot of follow-up ink. Was it a pact or not? Regardless, there are still 17 pregnant teenagers in one high school, several of whom have confirmed that their pregnancy was intentional.

by Liz Willen

After two middle school searches in three years, I wish I could pretend to be the seasoned pro, generous with wisdom, advice and pitfalls to avoid. But even though we did our homework carefully, visited lots of schools in District 2, and listened to the words of teachers, guidance counselors and district officials, we discovered that the middle school admissions process did not work well this year. Confusion and misinformation triumphed.

Part of it is a supply and demand problem, of course. There simply aren’t enough good public middle schools in New York City, and as more parents choose to raise their children here and want to support public education, something has to change — quickly. Demand for the best public elementary schools is on the rise, leading inevitably to crowding and more competition. So clearly, there is a need to improve the city’s middle schools.

For the record, my complaints are not directed at the personal situation my family finds ourselves in. My now seventh-grader two years ago chose the Clinton School for Artists and Writers, where the language arts program has been absolutely outstanding. The teachers, principal and parent coordinators are warm, welcoming and approachable. Truth is, there should be more schools like Clinton everywhere. And more like Lab, Salk, MAT and East Side Middle School, to name a few of the terrific schools we’ve toured, some of them twice.

Two years ago, our middle-school search went well. We gave lots of schools careful consideration before ranking Clinton first of five choices. By April, it was over.

My current fifth-grader’s class didn’t fare as well. Graduation is Friday and several of his classmates are shut out of all of their choices, as are children all over the city.

The appeals process is underway. No one knows how it will go. This year decisions did not come in until mid-June. Many kids got the wrong letters. Some didn’t get letters at all, leaving it to the patient elementary school guidance counselors, parent coordinators and principals to help sort things out.

How were decisions made? No one can say for sure, but we do know that the Department of Education decided to centralize the process — meaning, take it out of the hands of the schools and districts, even though it was working well.

Did principals even look at applications this year? Was it just a numbers game, test scores and the like? I’m thinking about the carefully crafted hand-written notes my son and some of his friends wrote to their first-choice schools, describing why they wanted to be there. And those art and writing projects they attached?

Julie Shapiro wrote a good piece in the Downtown Express, describing the frustration and shock many families whose children are shut out of schools now feel. If I had a child entering fifth-grade next year, I’d be very concerned. Will the process be changed? If so, how? What should parents know? Whatever is decided, it’s critical that schools, district officials, principals, parent coordinators and guidance counselors give out THE SAME INFORMATION, which was not at all the case this year.

My younger son, as it turns out, is also going to Clinton and I feel lucky. But I’m sick about all the great kids left hanging, and the unfortunate impression of contempt the Department of Education is showing to children and families who truly want to be here and support city schools.

A famously outspoken lot, parents of g+t youngsters had a great deal to say in response to our question yesterday afternoon. Two themes seem clear from the comments which, along with the Times’ article on waylaid hopes for diversity in the city’s g+t classes, deserve exploration.

First theme: What happened to my kid? With high demand for citywide schools (more on this later) and so many high-scoring children, parents want badly to know how their child stacked up against the competition. We hope the DOE will release data on test scores and admission, but worry about pitting adorable 4-year-olds against their playground pals in the process. How much information is enough, and how much is too much?

Second theme: What about the city’s children? Two points emerged here: Is it fair to test, and rely solely on scores, when percentiles are determined by about the same number of points as comprise the test’s margin of error? And, why aren’t ‘citywide’ schools truly citywide, in all five boros? (The idea of trekking across bridges and through tunnels for kindergarten is a parent’s logistical nightmare — not to mention, potential mayhem for playdates and birthday parties.) Should the DOE rename the three ‘citywide’ programs ‘Manhattan-wide’? The need for strong programs across all five boros has never been clearer; why is Manhattan the mother lode?

Finally, the DOE’s attempt to diversify the programs by reliance on testing has not yielded the desired result; in fact, programs in some districts aren’t opening at all.

The process this year was deeply flawed. We wonder how it might change next year, to better serve all children — yours, your neighbor’s, and the folks across town.

Parents and special-ed committee members met with DOE officials tonight at PS 721, a District 75 school in the far reaches of Brooklyn, to ask about two-week delays in middle-school admissions for students with special needs.

Parents spoke passionately of frustrations in getting information about the process; of second-rate attention for special-needs students; of questions long unanswered, from parents, guidance counselors and principals. Many protested the punishing rate of DOE change, and charged that a similar pace — four major reorganizations in five years — would likely have cost a CEO in the marketplace his or her job.

Sandy Ferguson, in his first year as executive director of middle-school enrollment, listened with equanimity and responded with welcome candor. “To be frank, we never expected this [process] would run as long as it did,” he said. “We did not communicate with parents. This was a mistake and we will look to correct this for next year.” According to Ellen Newman, executive director for special ed enrollment, letters went out to parents and to school guidance counselors today, Wednesday — except for one set that were hand-delivered to The Children’s School, which held graduation today (thanks to a coordinated email campaign spearheaded by parent coordinator Roxana Velandria).

One PS 295 parent noted a “general air of secrecy” regarding special-ed placements, and said that “when the general-ed kids got placed first, that hurt more than anything else.” (The parent asked not to be quoted, out of concern that she might somehow threaten her child’s still-unknown placement.)

Ferguson agreed, saying “It’s the thing I’m saddest about. Frankly, we just ran out of time, and [the burden] came out on exactly the wrong folks. It’s something I’m not proud of, and something we plan to correct next year.”

Broad and deep issues persist — space, crowding, access, and the practical fact that students with special needs are essentially excluded from a process ostensibly geared to inclusion, as they’re not permitted to interview or audition for middle schools along with their gen-ed peers. Whether these issues can be effectively addressed for the coming year is unknown; for this year, it’s moot.

But for those who ask, where does the buck stop? Sandy Ferguson answered, loud and clear, it stops at his desk. He’s aware of the problems (although he was unaware of their historic dimensions, as special-ed results have been consistently delayed), and seems sincerely committed their resolution — next year.

It’s not just parents and students on tenterhooks waiting for school placements. This week is incredibly stressful for the faculty and staff at many city schools, too. As principals hand out next year’s teaching assignments, some teachers are discovering that the proposed budget cuts have left them officially “excessed” — still employed by the DOE but without an active position. (While teachers historically had been automatically transfered, the 2006 UFT contract gave excessed educators control over their job search.)

Excessed teachers who don’t — or can’t — find a new school can spend up to two years in the “reserve pool,” earning full wages and benefits, temporarily assigned to schools where the principals decide their workload. Cost to the city since 2006? $81 million. Predictably, the UFT and The New Teacher Project, which has close ties to the DOE, disagree over whether or not this policy is a waste of funds.

This year, looming budget cuts may mean even more teachers in reserve; this week, when assignments are made known, the atmosphere at many schools is tense.

Readers have commented at length on the vagaries and apparent inconsistencies of the g+t admissions process this year — both citywide and district placements were delayed, couriered, mailed, faxed and variously communicated, to profoundly mixed results.

How is registration going, for those who accepted seats? For those who declined, what options did you choose instead? We’ve heard from families who are moving to be nearer their child’s school — and some who, reconsidering a long daily commute with a 5-year-old companion, elected for good local programs.

We’re hoping for clarification from the DOE on some of the more pressing issues, like whether any children got into citywide programs with sub-99 or -98 scores, why some school-based programs seems to be closing, and why some kids with 95+ scores were offered seats at schools ranked low on their lists. Let us hear from you; we’re sure there’s more you’d like to know.

As the last gathering in the opening round of Contracts for Excellence public accountability hearings, tonight’s hearing in Queens could get heated. The final meeting will come 24 hours after a reportedly intense session in Manhattan, where, according to one attendee, protesters marched out of the hearing at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the mainstream press is picking up on the hearings. Jennifer Medina posted on the Times’ City Room blog, while the Post focused on Chancellor Klein and C4E spending.We’ll follow the C4E and budget-cut hearings as they unfold; let us hear from you if you attend or have something to say.

As families with special needs students continue to wait for their middle school placement letters, officials from the DOE are showing up at the monthly meeting of the citywide council on special education to discuss the delay.Both Ellen Newman, executive director for special education enrollment, and Sandy Ferguson, executive director for middle school enrollment, will be in attendance, and anyone is invited to sign-up at the door to speak.

Patricia Connelly, a member of the council, says she is “furious about this situation.” Comments on an earlier blog post about the delay for special education students show that many of you are also infuriated. Tonight is your chance to tell the DOE!

The meeting is today at 6:30 p.m. at PS 721K: the Roy Campanella Occupational Training Center, 64 Avenue X in Brooklyn. Get there early to sign up to speak, and short and sweet is your best bet — individual public comments will be held to 4 minutes or less.

For the full story on this latest placement debacle, see the article from this week’s Insideschools alert.

Parents have long felt that city schools are set up to serve the highest achievers — via gifted and talented programs and the specialized high schools, for example — and, particularly in the current Mayoral administration, to analyze and attempt to meet the needs of the city’s neediest, lowest-performing students. Thus, an era of high-stakes testing, data-driven accountability, and the basic equation of “progress” with rising scores.

But a large swath of students have been overlooked in the alphabet soup of AYP (annual yearly progress), SURR (schools under Regents review), SINI (schools in need of improvement), and NCLB (No Child Left Behind). As Sam Dillon reported in today’s Times, and Eduwonkette put into thoughtful context, we risk losing sight of the kids who are doing well, or well enough. They’re not making as much progress as their less-able peers, mainly because the educational target has aimed at proficiency, with less emphasis on pushing the already-proficient to new levels of rigor and achievement.

Clearly, resources are finite, and a large segment of the city’s kids need and deserve real attention to the academic basics. But can we afford, as parents and as citizens, to slight the students who are already doing well?

With the Obama/McCain showdown claiming more above-the-fold newspaper space and primetime television minutes each week, I have been considering the delicate relationship between teachers’ personal politics, and their educational obligations to their students. Children have no qualms about asking blunt questions, including “who did you vote for in the last election?” which I was often asked when I taught sixth and seventh grade social studies at IS 143 in Washington Heights.

My students really wanted to know what I believed. Most of them were immigrants or first-generation Americans, and they were learning about democracy and politics for the first time in my class. They struggled in particular to understand modern political parties, and they wanted to know what the adults they looked up to believed, so that they could begin to build their own political opinions.But is it fair for teachers to share their personal political views with students or is it a teacher’s job to present the all of the ideas and arguments and teach the students the skills they need to form their own opinions? According the chancellor’s regulations, it is forbidden: all DOE employees “shall maintain a posture of neutrality with respect to all candidates,” while on the job, but in reality, this is not always followed. And remember what happened when a Bronx high school teacher and his students made a video for the Obama campaign this fall?Stanley Fish, a distinguished professor who has worked at several prominent universities, would also argue against bringing politics into the classroom. Fish writes in his New York Times blog that it is not only possible but critical that teachers don’t share their personal political opinions with their students. Gray Lady readers, particularly those who are also professors, have responded in force, igniting a vigorous debate that Fish has now responded to twice (I have even noticed some of my own professors from college chiming in).

But the relationship between politics and teaching is not just confined to higher-education. The commentators who complain that kids don’t know enough, or care enough, about the democratic process are usually quick to blame elementary, middle and high school teachers. If teachers are passionate about politics, should they share that with their students? I am inclined to side with Professor Fish and argue that politics need to be taught but not partisan ideas. In this presidential election year, do you think that teachers’ political opinions should be shared or silenced while they are at school?

More than 1,000 students, educators and concerned citizens marched outside a rain-soaked City Hall yesterday in protest of proposed budget cuts to New York City’s public schools. Others organized against the budget cuts online, meanwhile, directing an onslaught of emails to City Council members.

These two protests kicked off a busy week on the budget front. Tonight there is a public accountability hearing in Manhattan at 6:30 p.m. to evaluate the city’s use of Contracts for Excellence funding. And tomorrow, a similar hearing will take place in Queens.

In the days since middle-school placements were announced, we’ve heard repeatedly from parents of kids in CTT and self-contained special ed classes: Some students haven’t received seats in middle school, even though they will graduate from grade school in a few days.

“Special education students will receive their placements this week,” according to the DOE’s Andy Jacob, who says that “a more comprehensive approach” to placement, along with making sure needed services are in place, cost the process “a few additional days” (which others might describe as a week or more, but never mind).

Elementary school guidance counselors were told that the special-ed students’ placements would follow mainstream-ed matches, according to the DOE. Whether and when parents were similarly informed — and if not, why not — remains unclear. (We’ve asked.)

Parents who write us say there’s a two-tier approach to middle school admissions, and that special-ed kids are treated as “second-class citizens.” It’s hard to believe that’s actually true, but easy to see how parents, waiting for middle-school news and wanting the best for their children, can think it possible.

Readers, please keep us posted on when your special-needs children receive middle school placements. Also, we’d love to know how the school your child is offered compares with the choices ranked on the application. Thanks as ever for your feedback.

More than 100 people responded to our poll asking “How should the DOE respond to the UFT’s call for precautions concerning extreme heat?”

Here’s how you voted:

• 39 percent (41 votes) said the DOE should implement all of the UFT’s suggestions.
• 25 percent (26 votes) said the DOE should dismiss classes early on extremely hot days.
• 19 percent (20 votes) said the DOE should hold classes as usual.
• 16 percent (17 votes) said the DOE should cancel school altogether.

Thanks again for your votes! Enjoy the nice weather this week.

On top of admissions jitters, stormy weather and Brooklyn’s new IKEA opening, a busy week on the budget and funding fronts is ahead of us. Stay up-to-date with the Insideschools calendar as we plow towards the summer break.

Today the Keep the Promises Coalition is holding a rally against the budget cuts at 4:30 p.m., when protesters will attempt to encircle City Hall. Protesters should meet along Broadway before marching to City Hall. In an email this morning, Betty Zohar, Brooklyn’s UFT parent and community liaison, estimated some 1,500 protesters will attend.

Tomorrow and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the city will conduct public hearings in Manhattan and Queens, respectively, to discuss the DOE’s use of Contracts for Excellence (C4E) funding. Chief among its many goals, C4E funding aims to reduce class size and to bolster instruction for students with the highest needs, which include students living in poverty, English Language Learners and special-education students.

Parents, students and community members who wish to testify at the C4E public hearings should sign up at 6 p.m. The Manhattan hearing will be at Fashion Industries High School; in Queens, at I.S. 230.

–posted by Tanner Kroeger

We’ve heard troubling news from parents in Brooklyn: It seems that some rising sixth-graders with special needs, both those who participated in Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) classes and self-contained classes, haven’t yet received middle school seats. The news is especially worrisome because many elementary schools hold graduation ceremonies this week; it stands to reason that kids and families should know where they’ll be going in September.

If your child is in this situation, please let us know — and be certain, we’re asking the DOE for clarification.

Parents citywide should have g+t kindergarten and first grade placement results no later than today, according to the DOE, which used couriers to hand-deliver letters across all five boros — even in Staten Island, according to one commenter.

Apparently, the fallout from pre-K had big bureaucratic repercussions: “We identified issues that caused confusion with some pre-Kindergarten placements, so we ran additional checks on the gifted and talented placements — especially the placements for siblings,” said DOE press spokesman Andy Jacob.

The extra efforts were made to “ensure that parents receive clear and accurate information,” according to Jacob. “We delivered the letters via courier because we wanted parents to get the letters when they expected them, and with sufficient time to accept or decline their offers.” According to Elizabeth Green in the Sun, deliveries cost about $5 per envelope — plenty pricey, but less than overnight-mail fees. (Parents can also expect duplicate letters via conventional post.)

Timing is crucial for schools as well: As these last days of school unfold, schools that will receive new students need to know who’s coming, in order to plan their mix of classes.

If you expect a placement letter and don’t have one by the end of the day today, telephone OSEPO’s elementary placement office, at 212 374-4948. They’re following up on undeliverables, which they estimate to be less than 1% of letters, but a quick hello can’t hurt. (And if you have a chance, drop us a note, too - curious to see how many deliveries found their mark, and how many went awry.)

First, Happy Papa’s Day, Dads — hope your families are treating you well, soggy weather notwithstanding.

On the g+t front, one commenter to the blog either got a letter today, Sunday, or found one in her mailbox that might have been left there yesterday. Another commenter was grateful for the kindness of neighbors (pace, Tennessee Williams), when a friend from her old building found a DOE letter with her address. This gives rise to an urgent question: If a family doesn’t receive a letter, or if the hand-delivery goes awry (as above), who should be contacted? We are waiting for direct instruction and specific contact information from the DOE, and hope that very few readers will actually need it.

We’re also curious as to why the letters were hand-delivered, and — of course — have asked for amplification. We’ll report what we learn; in the meanwhile, please keep in touch, as we and parents citywide are grateful for on-the-ground reports, as they come in.

District 1 parents waiting for lottery outcomes, we’ve heard that letters went out this weekend. Perhaps someone’s had news already? If so, let us know.

District 2, still in the land o’ waiting limbo. We’ll report more as we learn it.

According to the DOE, placement letters for g+t kindergarten are in the mail, at last.

They assert some families will have news today, others, over the next few days.

We’ve also heard directly from the family of a pre-K sibling who didn’t initially get a seat — but whose case was resolved favorably this afternoon, with a place offered (and accepted!) in their first-choice school. Any others with this experience, let us know.

Please let us know when your news arrives.

Another long week for plenty of New York City parents, waiting for the DOE to deliver on their promise of g+t letters out “this week,” per their home page Spotlight a couple of days ago (but now removed).

Many commenters have written in (understandable) frustration, and we and others have had word that letters will either go out today or “as soon as possible” — which might mean today, and might not. In a DOE committed to accountability, the protracted wait and increasing delays carry a particularly sharp sting. But it also makes sense, given the pre-K experience, that they’re taking their time on this round of letters: Wouldn’t you?

Still, it’s hard to know what to say to parents who plead, ‘we met our deadlines — where’s the DOE?’ And harder still to be those parents, waiting, checking mail daily, and increasingly doubtful that the process, as established, will work.

This past winter, the DOE surveyed the city’s 1400 principals. And today, the results of the second principal survey were released, with steady improvements in many measures, including principal satisfaction with DOE support in attaining school goals, school support organizations, and DOE accountability measures. The 1000+ principals who responded (anonymously) also reported a slight decrease in satisfaction with professional development programs offered by the DOE’s Department of Teaching and Learning.

The first survey likewise highlighted many strengths — and identified shortcomings in certain critical areas, like OSEPO’s placement of special-education and English Language Learner (ELL) students and OSEPO’s response to admissions and placement issues (limited satisfaction, between 50%-53%). The current survey omits any OSEPO questions, making direct comparison from one survey to the next impossible.

The current survey is about a third shorter than the first, because principals objected to its length, according to DOE sources. Why decisions were made to omit certain subject areas, like OSEPO, and include others, related to school management and accountability, for example, isn’t quite clear. But given the prominence of OSEPO in the admissions confusion of the past couple of weeks (and ongoing, for plenty of parents), it would have been great to hear from principals, the proverbial leaders in the ‘trenches’ of academe, just exactly how OSEPO is doing.

I’m Lindsey Whitton Christ, the new Insideschools staff writer. Although I am new to the Insideschools team, I have used both the blog and the website for years, first as a social studies teacher at IS 143 and then as a journalism student at Columbia. I am thrilled to begin contributing! On a visit to PS 183 on the Upper East Side this week, I watched a group of excited fifth graders distress the edges of the paper on their own pioneer diaries, and I was reminded of my favorite computer game as a child, Oregon Trail. The students were undoubtedly so enthusiastic (they were falling all over each other to tell me everything they had learned about westward expansion) because the project let them imagine that they were pioneers experiencing the trail. The computer game had allowed me to do the same thing – although on a clunky 1980s Apple computer it was hardly the degree of computer simulation we are now used to. While computer games can be a distraction, they can also be a great tool for learning. With social studies, computers can help students to model life in the past and understand social history. Sandra Day O’Connor has even gotten in on the game. My seventh graders would have loved to use the website the former justice is helping develop about the American justice system. My sixth graders each spent a short time on computers doing an activity on mummification and then they talked about what they learned for weeks. And I know several, otherwise mature, adults who would never admit that they occasionally stay up late creating civilizations on their computer.During summer vacation when it’s too hot to go outside, which games do you encourage your children to play? And which (be honest) do you like to play with them?

This week marks the launch of two new initiatives that share strikingly similar aims — improving school outcomes for high-need urban kids.

The first report, produced by a superstar task force at the Economic Policy Institute, aims to address shortfalls of NCLB’s test-driven strictures by turning attention to the whole child, especially the socioeconomically challenged. Schools have long stood in loco parentis, despite mixed feelings and lean resources; this project endorses stronger engagement and a bigger investment in children’s development (social, emotional, academic, everything) from the earliest years. It’s a stance that’s hard to argue, and reminds some of Geoffrey Canada’s groundbreaking Harlem Childrens Zone.

The second, headed by the unlikely alliance of Chancellor Joel Klein and Brooklyn’s own Rev. Al Sharpton, the Educational Equality Project, was announced yesterday in Washington, DC. (A roster of notable participants include Newark mayor Cory Booker and DC Schools Chief Michelle Rhee.)

This effort reframes the guaranteed right to public education as the pressing civil rights issue of the 21st century — a point made even sharper in the context of vastly different graduation rates for urban students of color, compared with white and Asian peers: Although grad-rate gaps are narrowing slightly, about half of all African-American and Hispanic high school boys in New York City won’t graduate.

The end of the school year is always a time for taking stock and planning for the future. Executing those plans, and achieving lofty goals dearly held, is the challenge that awaits.

Click here for District 3 kindergarten lottery results.

Next steps: If a school is listed next to your child’s lottery number, that’s where your child will go in September. Register before school lets out this year on June 26th. You’ll need to bring the admissions letter from the DOE, which should be in mailboxes this week. (The list and the link aren’t enough.)

If you see your child’s been matched to a lottery school but you don’t have a letter by June 16th, contact OSEPO, at 212-342-8424.

We’ve been hearing today from lots of parents who haven’t yet had word on their child’s g+t kindergarten and first-grade placement. The official word from the DOE is “this week” — and as it’s ‘only’ Wednesday, more waiting’s in order. If we learn more about when news was mailed, we’ll let you know — but our bet is that the folks at OSEPO are plenty eager to get the news out. If you’ve gotten anything in the afternoon mail, let us know.

For families looking for seats in upper-elementary g+t programs, the application deadline is June 26th, with placements announced in mid-August. Details are also here on the DOE site, but go into the process with your eyes wide open: Comparatively few spots open up for upper-grade students, and competition can be fierce.

Still waiting for news on District 1, District 3, and middle-school snafus in District 15 and elsewhere. Hope for something of substance before too long…

Chancellor Joel Klein and others announced today the Education Equality Project, which will aim to hone the nation’s attention on students with the highest needs and “to focus the presidential candidates on educational equality.” The project said it plans to host forums at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

“We need to get serious about giving all children the education they need to succeed,” Klein said at the press conference held in Washington, D.C. “It won’t be easy — the status quo has lots of defenders — but it can be done and it is absolutely essential that we do it.”

Klein will serve as co-chairman of the project with the Rev. Al Sharpton. Among the leaders initially joining Klein and Sharpton are Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone and former New York Daily News education reporter Joe Williams of Democrats for Education Reform.

–posted by Tanner Kroeger

With news reaching parents on g+t kindergarten placement and middle schools, some of the furor of the past week or so seems to have fizzled. But confusion persists in some quarters — the News reported that some students have gotten letters meant for other children, and we’ve heard that up to 50 rising 6th graders at Manhattan’s coveted Anderson School received middle school placements at other schools– even though they didn’t apply for seats outside their home school, which continues to grade 8.

We’re hoping for follow-ups from the DOE today on lotteries in Districts 1 and 3 — and for additional illumination on the District 15 middle school placements, where overwhelming demand appears to have cost some students their first-round seats (or seats at the schools of their choice). It’s great news that so many strong, local schools generate such robust demand — but worrisome that the same schools can’t absorb the entirely predictable flow of in-district fifth-graders seeking seats.

One more sweltering day, with a welcome break in sight. Articles and opinions debate how best to weather this brutal weather, as a new UFT member poll weighs the Klein effect — its own kind of weather system — on the practice of teaching.

High pressure, in the form of high demand, cost some District 15 fifth-graders middle school seats, according to the DOE, which says that students who didn’t get seats or who were placed at schools not on their lists had applied to extremely popular schools. We’re trying to find out which six or so schools drew prohibitively large waves of applications — and also trying to learn what the DOE will do to prepare for next year, when a similar student tsunami may roll in.

Stay tuned — and stay cool. News to follow when we have it.

UFT president Randi Weingarten is urging the DOE to to consider protocols to protect students and teachers in schools without air conditioning from the extreme heat.

Weigh in through the Insideschools poll…

posted by Tanner Kroeger