This past week, we asked parents what they’d do if they had the deep pockets Education Secretary Arne Duncan promised educators in federal-stimulus funds. More than 600 people voted - see the results here.

Nearly half of the respondents wanted smaller classes (although, as a sizable vote attests, it’s hard to have smaller classes unless there are more actual classrooms to absorb the additional students).

This week we are wondering whether you think students should still go outside for recess when the temperature dips down low. An article in the Times this week argued that recess is as important as academics, but not everyone agrees that school time should include play time, especially when it is uncomfortably cold out. Tell us what you think!

DOE officials announced yesterday that applications for pre-K will be available on March 6th, online as well as on paper, for New York City parents. Children who will celebrate their fourth birthday in 2009 are eligible to apply, and directories will be on hand (also starting the 6th) at local elementary schools, borough enrollment offices, and community-based organizations. (See more here.)

The deadline for submission is April 3d, and the DOE says that they’ll notify families of placement offers on May 18. As was the case last year, siblings of current elementary-school students have priority enrollment at their sibling’s school, provided that school is ranked first on the pre-K application. New this year, though, is the online application process, which will include a confirmation email sent by DOE to assure parents their application has been received.

Starting March 3rd, DOE representatives from the office of enrollment and early-childhood education will host a series of 11 evening information sessions citywide. And eager parents, take a note: the DOE says each session will cover the same basic info, so there’s no need to attend multiple meetings.

Last night, hundreds of parents attended a forum dedicated to overcrowding issues at elementary and middle schools in Chelsea and the Village. The meeting, sponsored by the Community Education Council for District 2 and a series of elected officials, consisted of a speech by DOE official John White, during which he outlined the overcrowding problems and proposed several solutions. His talk was followed by a Q&A session. Some parents used the opportunity to deliver their own 60-second speeches (sometimes veering off-topic). Below are a few of the points White made:

• The proposal to move the School for Writers and Artists out of the over-crowded PS 11 building is “off the table”–for now. Parents wearing buttons and t-shirts protesting the potential move rejoiced.
• The DOE will take a closer look at the state-owned building at 75 Morton Street, which members of the community have lobbied for as a middle school site. White cautioned, however, that they had “serious concerns” about whether the building will be suitable for a school.
• Moving Greenwich Village Middle School out of PS 3 would grant the overcrowded elementary school more space and allow the middle school to expand. The DOE recognizes that GVMS should stay in the Village long-term but doesn’t necessarily have the capital funds to create a new space for it in the short-term. One solution would be to temporarily move it to one of the two new elementary schools being constructed in lower Manhattan before their student populations grow to capacity.
• Quest to Learn, a new 6-12th grade school partnered with the New< School University, may eventually be moved to the Bayard Rustin building but it would need a temporary space for a year or two while Bayard Rustin High School phases out. Parents from the Lab School spoke out strongly against the new school being incubated in the Lab building. White would not say definitively whether the Lab building was being considered.
• White would like the CEC to consider rezoning the neighborhood for PS 3 and PS 41, since the schools’ populations are increasing. For the fall of 2009, he hopes that all the sibling and zoned students who register will be able to attend one of the two popular schools but mentioned that “cluster” rooms (typically rooms used for music, art, and science) may need to be converted to traditional classrooms to accommodate all of the students. Parents were upset at that suggestion.

“We know that some of the best ideas come from where the rubber meets the road,” White said in the beginning of the meeting. “I am here tonight to listen to your feedback.”

There seemed to be no shortage of feedback, but solutions may be harder to find.

Whatever you think of the myriad standardized state exams grade- and middle-schoolers take every year, the New York State Education Department wants to know — and quickly, too.

The state’s Board of Regents is considering changes to the elementary and middle-school testing program, and is asking all New York City public school parents to weigh in here with their thoughts.

The deadline to respond is this Friday, February 27. Completing the 10-question survey should only take a few minutes (although there’s space to elaborate on responses, if you so desire).

It’s a given that parents want to influence their child’s experiences with standardized testing. For what it’s worth, here’s a chance to speak out — please do, and feel free to forward as widely as possible to be certain that the greatest number of New York City parents make their opinions known.

Insideschools.org has learned about an overlooked bit of bureaucrat-ese that deserves wide exposure — and considerable challenge as well, especially given the Chancellor’s recent endorsement of parent involvement — see powertotheparents.org – and his administration’s long record of shutting down similar channels under the guise of school reform and restructuring.

Chancellor’s Regulation 660 prohibits ordinary public citizens, not to mention their elected representatives, members of the wider community, and advocates of every stripe, from attending Parent Association meetings unless express permission for their visit has been granted by a prior vote of the entire PA . That’s right: The whole parent association should approve any potential guests or speakers ahead of scheduled PA meetings. Here’s a snippet from the reg, and a link to a pdf of the whole text (see page 54, II D for the section below).

“Other than the principal or his/her designee, outside observers and speakers are prohibited from attending unless the PA bylaws specifically allow attendance by invitation of the association after the vote. A PA must vote to invite an outside speaker for a specific purpose at a particular meeting.”

What this would mean, in practice, is that attendance at PA meetings would be strictly and completely controlled by the PA itself, excluding any and all outside observers, including prospective parents, expert speakers, consultants and others interested in the city’s schools. It means that you, as a parent, can’t drop in on a PA meeting at a school you’re considering for your child, because you’re not yet part of that school community. Any guests or speakers must be approved by prior vote, after which an invitation may (or may not) be extended. This doesn’t seem, on face value, like a strategy that’s designed to increase parent participation. This seems the total opposite, a directive that’s designed to stifle communication and profoundly inhibit dialogue.

Whether the regulation violates state education law, Section 414(1)(c) which permits public access to school property that’s used for “social, civic, and recreational meetings” is, as the wonks say, above my pay grade. (But worry not, the NYCLU is learning more about the regulation, too. ) And whether Parent Associations will actually bar speakers and uninvited public from their meetings seems highly debatable. One activist PA president listed more than 25 guests and speakers who have enriched school meetings this year alone — and invited the Chancellor to fire him for violating the regulation.

The core question: What is the DOE trying to prevent, in this regulation? And following on that, if the DOE and Chancellor Klein actually intend to increase the voice of parent-stakeholders in school reform — as they say they do — how does shutting people out of public meetings achieve that purpose?

In January, Toni wrote about a citywide meeting for high-school students looking to explore student government. The meeting will take place tomorrow, Thursday, February 26th at 5 pm at 50 Broadway; visit the student union website for details and directions.

The student leaders are hopeful for a strong, energetic turnout. Please pass the word along to any adolescent or teen activists in your household…

“Hi. My name is Marni, and I am addicted to autism parent support groups.”

Is there a 12-step-program out there for me? And if so, do I have to start attending another series of monthly meetings to break my addiction to my current monthly meetings?

It all started when Brooks first got diagnosed. My Early Intervention Service Coordinator suggested that my husband and I attend a support group, which we agreed was a good idea, but it took us a little time to actually get there. First of all, we were in the midst of scheduling 20 hours a week of therapy for our 18-month-old, which seemed no less complicated or foreign to us than launching a space shuttle. Secondly, and more to the point, we didn’t want to go. Our rationale was that Brooks would catch up to his peers within a few months, we didn’t need a support group — “nose to the grindstone” was our modus operandi.

When it became abundantly clear that we could benefit from the kind of help that only others in our situation could offer, and that dealing with this pesky autism problem meant more than a few months, we finally showed up to a meeting. And we’ve been showing up ever since. We pass around pictures of our kids, we talk, we sometimes cry (at least, I sometimes cry — although not so much anymore). We share information: this worked, that didn’t, try this school, offer this supplement, read this book…the subtext of each question or comment always: “Tell me my child will be okay.” And all the while, a gentle and caring moderator keeps us from disintegrating into despair and chaos, turning our deepest fears into opportunities to help one another.

At this point, you might be wondering what the problem is. What’s the downside of all this support? The problem is that these groups multiply. Exponentially. In addition to the original one, there are two groups from Brooks’s old school, one from his new school, one from the Y — and the ones I learn about every few months that I force myself not to sign up for.

Over the holidays, I finally came to the realization that my overall well-being might be better served if I stayed home occasionally and cooked dinner for my family (don’t laugh, people who know me — I sometimes do that!) instead of going to yet another meeting to talk about how I wish I had more time to stay home and cook dinner for my family.

So it is with conflicting emotions that I am about to stop regularly attending that original support group, and most of the others. In a positive sense, I feel like I’ve graduated: I no longer feel the desperate need for the safety net of a steady Brooks-related place and time to fall apart or celebrate, whatever the case might be. On the other hand, I feel compelled to stay connected with at least one group, and I’ve thankfully been offered welcome mats to stop back in to any group I’ve left should the need arise, or just to check in.

I’m sad, too, because I know that it will be easy to lose touch with a lot of people I’ve come to know and respect, but I’m hopeful that I can find some way to maintain these relationships. I’m proud to have been in the trenches with these parents: they have helped my family time and time again, and I hope that the help has gone both ways.

So now, Brooks can stop asking: “Mommy, are you going to a meeting?” and start asking “Mommy, what are you making for dinner?” Now my problem is (and those of you who know me and my lack of kitchen skills will know this already), how to learn to expand my dinner repertoire beyond hot dogs. Any “Parents Who Can’t Cook” support groups out there?

Today marks the launch of the third annual school learning environment survey through which the DOE aims to hear from 1.5 million New Yorkers — parents, students, teachers, and other schools professionals. Students in grades 6 through 12 are invited to make their opinions known, as are parents and educators citywide. The surveys inform each school’s annual Progress Report (learning environment counts for 15 percent of the grade) and are useful to direct change and improvements at individual schools, according to those at the DOE. Surveys will come home from school in bright green envelopes (for secondary, middle and high school students) or be delivered by mail.

Building on a strong online response in 2008 and on steadily increasing participation since 2007, the DOE encourages people to respond electronically, either from personal computers (at home, work, or school) or from public-access free computers at the city’s libraries. To see how your child’s school did last year — or how it stacks up compared to other schools — check out DOE’s Survey Quest, a new feature this year.

Nearly 500 schools opted for paperless surveys for students and teachers this year, a move that the DOE says will save more than a quarter-million sheets of paper. Compressing the survey from last year’s two-page, 8×14 format to 2009’s single sheet translates to major resource conservation as well: According to the DOE’s press release, that’s the e-equivalent of six tons of paper — and a whole forest or two full of trees.

Q: I read your column about scholarships for minority students. What about websites for Asian Americans? Any scholarships here?

A: You could start by looking at the websites for Asian American Alliance and Asian Pacific Fund, but the best thing is to go to a comprehensive site that has a database of thousands of scholarship opportunities. FastWeb has one of the most complete listings, and you can also search for scholarships on collegeboard.com.

There is a great deal of information out there — you just need to do the research. And remember that ethnicity is just one of many factors on which you can do a search. There are scholarships for veterans, children of veterans, musical students, tall students, left-handed students, students who will be the first in their families to attend college, students who invent things — and many others.

One thing I will warn everybody about: Ignore any offer you read about or receive that offers you scholarships for a fee. Scholarship information is free. Applying for scholarships should be free too. Don’t let anyone charge you. Likewise, “honor” societies that may inform you of your “nomination” or “selection” for membership — for which there is a charge — are not truly honor societies. They are businesses, trying to profit from students’ college-admission anxiety. Look near the end of any such offers; if there is a price mentioned, just toss the papers.

Good luck in your scholarship search. It involves work, not just to research, but to enter, as essays are sometimes required. A $500 prize may not seem like much, but if you win several small awards, they can certainly add up!

 Have a question for Jane?  Search archives | Contact the College Counselor

Harlem parents seeking alternatives to their zoned public schools will find options at the Harlem Education Fair on Saturday, Feb. 28. Unlike the city’s Department of Education fairs, which only feature public schools, this fair, sponsored by Harlem Success Charter School network and several community groups, will bring together 52 schools, including private and parochial schools.

“I don’t think children should be condemned to failing schools because of their zip code. It’s my right as a parent to choose my child’s school. I helped organize this fair because parents need to know they are not bound to their zoned school, they have options,” Sabrina Williams, a member of Harlem Parents United, a group of parents whose children attend Harlem Success Charter Schools, wrote in an e-mail to Insideschools.org.

In New York City, most elementary school students attend their zoned school, which is determined by a student’s address, but many parents remain unaware that their children have other options. Central Park East, whose representatives will be at the fair, admits students based on their interest in the school, not on their test scores or their zipcode. Other schools, such as the Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering middle school, accept students who score above average on state tests. Like new posh restaurants, charter schools in Harlem are sprouting up and spreading across the neighborhood each year. Representatives from 22 charter schools, which admit students through a lottery, will be at the fair.

Organizers expect as many as 3000 people to attend, due to extensive mailings reaching homes in the far reaches of the Bronx as well as Upper Manhattan. Harlem Parents United members slipped fliers under apartment doors in every Harlem public housing building, organizers said.

The fair, to be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Nat Holman Gymnasium at City College (138^th St. and Convent Ave.), will also include free food. Chancellor Joel Klein is expected to attend and speak. Also in attendance will be representatives from community organizations such as Advocates for Children, Insideschools.org, the Children’s Aid Society, and the Children’s Scholarship Fund.

Dear Judy,
My daughter did not get into any of her main round choices despite having a 96+ average. She got into Brooklyn Latin but does not want to go there. I have serious concerns about the school’s neighborhood. Do we have a chance to go back to the main round, secondary round or for an appeal? I feel like the specialized high school process was presented as a method to find out early about your main round choices but no one mentioned this scenario.

Thanks for any help on this,

Disappointed in the 1st round

Dear Disappointed in the 1st round:

You still have a couple of days to reconsider. Acceptances are due Feb. 26. Think through the decision carefully. Try taking the trip she would take to Brooklyn Latin again. Speak to current students and listen to what they have to say about the neighborhood. Call the precinct to find out if there are incidents involving kids from the school or others in the community. Check out what other parents have to say on the Insideschools.org forum. If she still rejects Brooklyn Latin, your daughter’s application will be automatically entered in the main round.

Realize that once she turns down a specialized high school, she cannot change her mind about it. But, importantly, she can amend the application to reorder her choices, or add new ones, including the new schools that are opening next fall. According to Bonnie Gross, director of high school admissions, she not only can, but should revise her application. But remember: don’t list anything you would later rule out.

Results of the main round are due March 25. At that time, if the placement is unsatisfactory, there is still another chance to submit a supplementary application, and results are due out April 30.Then, there is an appeals process, so somewhere along the way your daughter has a good chance of getting into a good high school.

Another option: 9th graders can reapply to high school. Your daughter can take SHSAT test again, for possible placement to a specialized high school in 10th grade, and apply to other high schools as well.

Act fast and good luck.

Judy

 Have a school question for Judy?  Search archives | Contact Judy

CEC veteran and regular contributor Jennifer Freeman takes nuts-and-bolts questions about CECs in advance of the upcoming CEC elections.

Q: Why should people run for their Community Education Council?

A: CEC members are advocates for parents on local, district-level education issues, such as how school buildings are used and how DOE policies affect schools in each district. Being a CEC member is a way of giving back to your community.

Right now there’s a debate going on about the role of CECs, District Leadership Teams, and the Panel for Education Policy, all of which are drastically weakened versions of the community school boards and Board of Ed that existed before mayoral control became law. It may be that some powers and duties will be strengthened during the coming term. In any case, the new candidates could be a part of the debate.

Q: How do CEC members get their voices heard?

A: Since public policy is made by individuals, getting to know people at DOE gives you a chance to influence that policy. As a member of your CEC, you get to sit in a room every once in a while with 30 to 40 other parent advocates and speak directly to the chancellor. (Even the state education committee doesn’t have this kind of access.) You also have opportunities to meet and talk with parent leaders from across the city. You can get to know your community superintendent and DOE officials by working with them at meetings. If you seek information from the DOE, your calls are likely to be answered.

Q: How do people run for CEC positions?

A: Parents of current public school students can nominate themselves through March 14 via an online process created and administered by the Department of Education. DOE says the process will be online starting Monday, February 23rd at the new website they are calling “powertotheparents.org.” Candidates will have the chance to present their ideas at one candidate forum, and elections will be held in mid-May.

The DOE has hired a small nonprofit organization called Grassroots Initiative to try to get more parents to step up and run. Jeff Merritt, Grassroots’ founder, used to work for the federal government helping recruit candidates and set up elections in new democracies such as Croatia and Albania. Back in the States, he founded Grassroots Initiative to help open up opportunities for people to participate in our democracy at home, starting by running for local office. Merritt’s goal is to help make the CEC selection process more inclusive and participatory. He said he will reach out in the coming weeks to parent leaders and community activists in each district and seek a wide variety of people to run for the councils. “Information will be distributed through elected officials, community-based organizations, houses of worship, libraries, on-the-street outreach, advertising, email, direct mail, and, to some extent, through the schools,” he said.

Families who covet seats at lower Manhattan’s prize elementary schools PS 234 and PS 89 are legion — and, if the Times’ trend story is any harbinger, their number will climb in the coming kindergarten seasons.

Following DOE admissions protocol, both schools turn to lotteries if their applications for kindergarten enrollment exceed available seats. Inevitably, that means that some families, even those who live very close to the schools, risk being shut out and sending their youngsters elsewhere. This fall, local kids will go to the new schools that will incubate at Tweed, PS/IS 276 and the Spruce Street School. (The oft-fraught Ross Global Academy, which has been housed at Tweed, will move to new quarters at 420 East 12th St.) But, DOE reps say, Tribeca locals have another shot at 234 and 89, according to the Downtown Express – which reports that the DOE will grant families who live “near” the schools entry in first grade, in 2010, but never exactly defines what “near” actually means.

For parents curious about the new neighborhood schools, check out Principal Terry Ruyter’s PS/IS 276 blog and Principal Nancy Harris’ Spruce Street blog. If you want your info in person in addition to online, two open houses are scheduled for this week: February 25 from 5 pm to 7 pm at Tweed (52 Chambers Street) and February 26, 6:30 pm to 8 pm, at Manhattan Youth Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren Street.

President’s week vacation is plenty popular among city parents — nearly half said “don’t change a thing” in our weekly poll. (Another quarter would trade away this break to start summer a week earlier.)

This week, we wonder what you’d do with nearly two billion dollars to spend on city schools. Weigh in on our poll, and write us with other ideas we didn’t include on our short-list of projects.

Happy back-to-school…

Earlier this week, the DOE released calendar guidelines for pre-kindergarten admissions. (Funny how these announcements often coincide with vacation season, when parents are more likely to miss the news… but never mind.) Children who will celebrate their fourth birthdays in 2009 are eligible for universal pre-K, either at a public elementary school or through a DOE-approved community-based organization.

Starting March 6, directories and applications are available at public elementary schools and CBOs. (CBOs set their own admissions calendar; learn more about 2008-09 CBO programs here.) Applications will be accepted starting March 6 and can be submitted electronically or on paper.

The application period closes on Friday, April 3.

About six weeks later, during the week of May 18, school-placement offers will be sent to families by US mail; those who apply by email can get placement news electronically, if they wish.

Registration follows, through May 29.

Information sessions are planned across the city from March 3 through March 12, to help parents understand their pre-K options and the ins and outs of the admissions process. For extra information, have a look at our resources, at the DOE’s site, or sign up here for DOE’s pre-K email newsletter.

Good luck to all, with sincere hopes for a smoother process this year than last.

Just a few weeks after Mayor Bloomberg warned that 14,000 city DOE workers, including teachers, might be laid off, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced - at a Brooklyn charter school - that federal funds would be allocated to states in time to avert such layoffs across the country.

“We need to invest this money quickly, thoughtfully and transparently to protect kids, create jobs and drive reforms,”said Duncan. UFT/AFT President Randi Weingarten, principals’ union President Ernest Logan, Chancellor Joel Klein, and Mayor Bloomberg stood nearby, nodding throughout his remarks.

Out of the $100 billion in emergency funding being granted to American schools, New York City schools can expect about $1.9 billion, Duncan said. The City anticipates that approximately $300 million of those funds will be to expand Title 1 funding, $100 million will expand Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) funding, and more than $25 million will be earmarked for educational technology. “This stimulus package saves a generation of kids,” Weingarten said.

The total amount of money being granted by the federal government, broken down by state, is now available online.

“This in once-in-a-lifetime money,” Duncan said. He emphasized that while the majority of funding will likely be used to plug budget short-falls and save teaching jobs, some will also be used for innovation, including $5 billion reserved for grants supporting achievement-gap-closing initiatives at the state or local level.

“We have to keep moving forward,” the Education Secretary stressed. “We can’t take a step back.”

The Secretary also said that he will work to establish common standards across the nation, and he voiced his support for standardized tests as a means of measuring progress. (No direct mention was made of No Child Left Behind [NCLB] President Bush’s signature education policy, which comes up for review, and possible revision, this year.) Mayor Bloomberg then jumped in to heartily agree on the testing point in particular, saying that it was “outrageous” to argue against testing.

The optimistic mood amongst the ed bigwigs outlasted the press conference, when most of the photographers and crews had left. Someone from the school asked Weingarten to take a picture of her sometimes-nemesis/sometimes-friend Klein with a group of students. “Say ‘weekend’!” said Weingarten, alluding to the fact that unlike most city children, the charter school students didn’t get a vacation this week. A few minutes later, Chancellor Klein was behind the camera as several teachers posed with Duncan. “We should get a picture of our Chancellor taking this picture!” one teacher said. Staffers for Duncan, Klein, and Weingarten stood by, looking slightly bemused.

But on her way out the door, it was back to business for Weingarten. “I would like to talk to your teachers,” she said to someone from Explore Charter School, which, like many charter schools, is not part of the teachers union.

In keeping with the positive, polite and largely uncritical spirit of the day, the educator nodded and smiled - congenial but noncommittal - and went back to work.

In a caravan that’s likely to draw mighty media scrutiny — and perhaps a few earnest protesters — Education Secretary Arne Duncan will tour the Explore Charter School in Brooklyn at noon today, hosted by Chancellor Joel Klein, Mayor Bloomberg and UFT/AFT president Randi Weingarten. The DOE says classes are in session — no president’s week vacation for this Flatbush school — and to expect remarks on the federal stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that will focus on New York’s education budget shortfalls.

Conducting the visit at a charter might be considered a pretty strong predictor of future directions in education reform; Chicago’s charters, though, haven’t outstripped the city’s conventional high schools, despite longer days, fewer high-need students, and Duncan’s abiding commitment to charter education. Time — and the midday press op — will tell.

About three years ago, we took a rare family day in Brooks’s favorite Central Park playground, the one with the big stone slide. It was one of the first beautiful summer days, and Brooks giggled and cooed all the way down his umpteenth turn on the slide. Giggling and cooing was his primary means of communication back then, because Brooks, at almost 3 and a half, still had practically no language.

Since he wasn’t yet toilet-trained, I took him aside for a diaper change. As he was standing there naked in a perfect summer breeze, he looked at me, right into my eyes, and said very slowly and clearly: “ha - ppy.”

“What?” My response was all reflex: My son was not able to use the muscles in his mouth to produce words. He did not have enough social awareness to initiate a spontaneous conversation. This was obviously a random, meaningless verbalization. Except that Brooks said it again: “ha - ppy.”

In that instant, I tried to wrap my head and heart around what, possibly, was happening here. My son, who had been primarily silent for the first three years of his life, was perhaps starting to talk.

I thought about the hundreds of mornings I had spent with him watching specialized videos, pausing them until he verbalized the first sound of the object on the screen. I thought about the other thousands of hours therapists and teachers had spent with him, gently pushing and prompting and cajoling him into speech. We were terrified that he might not be able to do it. No matter how many compassionate, caring, smart professionals tell you point blank that he will develop speech, you can’t really permit yourself to believe it. Because you’ve never heard him talk. Because so many of the notes in the therapists’ communication books describe a mostly silent child who has never, not once, initiated communication with language.

“Do you mean you’re feeling happy?” I asked him, my heart overflowing with hope. Brooks’s eyes lit up, and he gave me a big hug.

Over the next weeks and months, this tiny, sublime moment opened up a floodgate of words, many in my son’s professional team responded as emotionally as I did. We shared our tears of relief that the little boy had managed to figure it out, and in those tears, we forged a bond. The unique richness of our relationships with these teachers/friends/heroes is the yin and yang of autism: if we had never experienced the challenge, we would never have experienced the unprecedented gratitude we feel for those who pulled Brooks through to the other side. Not to mention the unprecedented joy we feel on some level every time he speaks. The everyday stuff: “Daddy, I want to go on the big bed and play monster and then the wompers” or “Can I have hot dogs for dinner but just the hot dogs without the bun?” We can hardly even bring ourselves to correct him when he says, in public: “I need to make a poop.” Subconsciously and in muted tones, we simply can’t bring ourselves to stop celebrating.

But I have to admit that as time goes on, we celebrate less. I suppose it’s human nature to take things for granted, to forget these hard-fought gains. Truthfully, I hardly think about the frighteningly-silent child Brooks used to be. That’s why I write down these stories. Because it’s too easy to forget. And because I need to remember.

Yesterday afternoon, Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters sent out an email blast castigating the DOE’s own class-size report for “increases … at all grade levels” — the biggest bump in the Bloomberg/Klein era, despite state funding specifically targeted at reducing the head count in the city’s classrooms. (The City Council held hearings on the issue earlier in the day.) It’s the first time in ten years, Haimson says, that class sizes have increased in every grade — a distressing milestone — and challenges DOE to explain why.

Shortly after Haimson’s e-blast, the UFT sent a response from Randi Weingarten, castigating the DOE for “disheartening and inexcusable” class-count rises, which look particularly flagrant in light of the $149.5 million the city received in Contracts for Excellence funding and $152 million in “maintenance of effort funds.” Weingarten says the state could rescind funding if the city ignores the law, adding “It’s time for the city to quit making excuses and comply with the law.”

In today’s Times, Jennifer Medina has a response from none other that Garth Harries at DOE, who pooh-poohs the $300 million within the $17 billion DOE budget. The DOE basically says that principals are at fault (autonomy again; they make their own decisions) and predicts that class sizes may continue to grow in the future. So is the DOE remiss in meeting the requirements tied to the state funding? It appears so, despite Harries’ comments and thinly-veiled threats.

But as is often the case in the whack-a-mole universe of the NYC DOE, a new question crops up when another is, nominally, answered: What is Garth Harries doing taking these questions at all? According to Deputy Chancellor Marcia Lyles’ testimony to the City Council Education Committee, Harries is now 100% dedicated to special-education review. What’s going on?

In a column unfortunately slated to run during the opening weekend of school vacation, NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof wakes up at last to the schoolyard bell: Education is the issue, and the key to unlocking the nation’s potential.

With $ 100 billion in stimulus funding for education in excess of anything that’s ever been spent before, will the movers, shakers and deal-makers heed Kristof’s call? It seems that the funds will at least stanch New York’s threatened teacher bleed – but can wholesale change be legislated, or funded, from on high — from the federal to the hyper-local level? Will NCLB undergo Obama-eque “rebranding” (as the Bush-era TARP morphed into the current stimulus plan)? Will national standards become routine — or will independent localities prevail, as American education history shows again and again?

While the answers await the test of time and Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s leadership, placing education at center stage is a welcome, and long-overdue, arrival. Thank you, Nick Kristof, for kick-starting the conversation.

By a margin of nearly three to one, parents say that DOE should mail high-school placement news home, to preserve kids’ privacy (and prevent public embarrassment, teasing, and the real disappointment that many kids endured in schools and on sidewalks last week, when SHSAT offers went out). Only 21 percent of parents endorsed the “tell-them-in-public” model — while 60 percent wanted the news mailed home, and another 15 percent thought guidance counselors could help ease potential disappointments.

This week, we’re curious about your vacation plans: Is President’s Week a welcome break — or a crazy-making scramble for child care, mini-camps, and playdates, not to mention Netflix overload?

Last night in Queens, parents packed into an overfull auditorium to have the chance to address Garth Harries, who has been charged with reviewing DOE’s provision of special education services citywide — despite his acknowledged lack of training as an educator or special educator. Harries, who appeared with DOE’s Marcia Lyles and District 75 superintendent Bonnie Brown, addressed the group, seeking to “quell rumors” that he would dismantle or substantially reorganize services for children with special needs. His work, Bonnie explained, was on a “macro level” — and Harries is expected to lean heavily on DOE veterans Brown and Linda Wernikoff for specific program information.

Parents and school leaders consistently stated strong concerns about Harries’ oversight of special education programs. Many expressed deep satisfaction with the services their children now receive; one pleaded, “please don’t take this away from us,” and a principal rallied the crowd with a challenge to Harries’ qualifications: “Would you go to a general practitioner to perform open-heart surgery?” Another parent, holding a portrait of her child, implored, “You need to take off your suit and tie and come to our school,” to get to know the kids and the teachers that work so hard to serve them. “Keep this photo on your desk,” she said, “and make decisions with your heart, not your pocketbook.”

Repeatedly, parents expressed their concerns that the services their children receive will be taken away. They expressed their real frustration with Harries’ steep learning curve: “I have a million things to tell you, because you know nothing.” For the most part, Harries and his colleagues listened respectfully, responding little. When one parent, responding to Harries’ statement that he did not intend to dismantle programs, asked “can you assure us that the services we have won’t change?” the DOE representatives chose not to comment.

Want to try your hand at a high-stakes challenge? Gotham Gazette’s new game gives players a taste of the budget bitters — stimulus package, education funding, tax breaks, budget cuts, union give-backs, bridge tolls, and transit fares: It’s all in your (virtual) control.

Balance the budget and send your cure to Gotham Gazette, which will report back on how New Yorkers would best stretch city dollars.

In June 2008, the Community Education Council of District 3 passed a resolution recommending that future CEC members be chosen through public elections, as had been true for local School Board members, in order to increase public participation and fairness. The DOE did not respond to our proposal or seek any further feedback.

Yet this week the Department of Education announced that it has changed the CEC selection process “based on feedback from parent leaders.” The real change: the DOE is putting the process online this year, which will save about half a million dollars. Parents will receive notification by mail from the DOE explaining how to access the new website and ‘vote’ — which won’t really count, as the vote is described by the DOE as a straw poll intended to guide the actual, real elections. Many of the changes were pure spin, some of which was very funny, for those with a skeptical streak:

1. The name of the website that will handle the online voting for CEC members, who are nearly powerless since their predecessor group was deliberately gutted by the mayoral control law, is “powertotheparents.org.” That’s a good one.

2. DOE Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy (OFEA) chief Martine Guerrier chose over-the-top exuberance for the tone of her quote, perhaps to compensate for the lack of any authentic increase in parent power. “We are changing the way we partner with parent associations and redefining the relationship between families and their elected representatives,” Guerrier gushed. Very amusing!

3. The DOE is making a big fuss over a “straw vote” in which parents are invited to state their choice of CEC members in an online poll, which will have no bearing whatsoever on the actual vote (by district PTA officers). Why this illusion of influence would make parents feel more engaged or empowered is a mystery, so that one is perhaps not as funny.

Actual increases in the CECs’ powers and duties, and real improvements in the election process, can only be made by the state legislature, when it revisits the mayoral control legislation this June. So why all this hoopla? The smoke-and-mirrors approach fits with the DOE’s apparently fervent desire to avoid actual consultation with parents, preferring instead pretend “consultation.” Do they think no one will notice the difference? Can the leadership be so tone deaf that they thought this would truly make parents feel empowered? Once again I’m left with the impression that education in this city might be improved if fewer efforts were directed at public spin, and more at public projects — like keeping kindergartens open.

Editor’s Note: Curious about the website powertotheparents.org, I asked the DOE for details: The $500,000 project is being provided by two outside consulting groups, one to engineer the technical platform and the other to do outreach and marketing. The site will launch in late February. Whether the site will evolve from the CEC straw-poll process to exist as an actual, robust exchange for parents to reach DOE leaders is not yet known. (The name itself seems to reflect all the calls for parent involvement voiced at recent mayoral control hearings, but strong skepticism persists as to whether the nomenclature reflects anything of true substance.) - HZ

Early on, when Brooks was first diagnosed, I spent most Saturday afternoons walking around New York City listening to my iPod and crying. Quite simply, it hurt too much that Brooks’s brain didn’t work properly. Since there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to cry while I was in the throes of saving his life, which was 99% of the time, walking was my outlet. And, of course, nobody noticed, which is one of the reasons I love this city.

It was during one of my tearful outings that I happened upon A Slant of Sun on a bookstore shelf. I devoured it then, and I find myself re-reading passages to this day, sometimes just to revisit an old friend, and other times, to inform Brooks-related decisions. Although it was written over 10 years ago, it is timeless, which is all the more incredible because autism books generally date quickly. But this is less a “how-to” book about what families should do after a diagnosis, and more a thoughtful, insightful and passionate look at what happens to these families. As author Beth Kephart describes her son Jeremy’s PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified) diagnosis, she explores the definition of normal and struggles to help her son without destroying his essence.

Kephart’s deep and enduring love for her son is palpable on every page. She admits that the only response she can bring herself to utter to people who tell her that her son is handsome is: “I know.” She is “never modest about [her] son. There’s no disputing how beautiful he is.”

Every obsessive behavior or speech abnormality or food intolerance is not looked upon as an undesirable trait to be cut out of him, but rather studied as a puzzle piece of his heart and soul. Why is this little person doing this? No clue is too small to investigate, and there are no limits on time and energy spent in this pursuit.

Her aversion to “fixing” her son is familiar to all autism parents, and since Jeremy’s huge imagination often traversed into obsessions, she struggled mightily with how to reign it in without damaging it, and even questioned whether she should reign it in at all. She describes a playground scene on a bitter-cold afternoon where Jeremy has dreamed up a scenario where a plane with a war hero will soon fly over their heads. His anticipation is completely joyful and full of rich, colorful details, and she struggles with her response. She knows what she “should” do therapeutically: tell him that there is no plane coming and that it’s cold and they need to go home. But she can’t bring herself to do it: she knows somewhere deep inside that if she tells him she doesn’t believe the plane is coming, he might be disappointed in her and see “only a mother, nearly middle-aged, who has lost her capacity, her vision.”

Although she doesn’t deny her Herculean efforts to help her son, in the end she credits him for lighting the way. (Similarly, whenever I’m complimented on how far Brooks has come, I immediately respond that he did all the heavy lifting.) And though most of her decisions are based on instinct, she openly and honestly questions each one of them, and admits that she often doesn’t really know what she’s doing.

In the current melee of autism books about overnight cures and miracle recoveries, A Slant of Sun is a blast of welcome fresh air: a beautifully-written memoir about the painstakingly slow, all-encompassing and ever-hopeful reality that takes over your life when your child gets diagnosed.

Although I don’t think that Kephart has written about this subject for years, she currently has her own blog (which I find myself visiting often). As for her son, Jeremy? He’s in college now: she just blogged about him the other day.

Author’s Note: If you’re planning to read “A Slant of Sun,” please support Insideschools.org with your a portion of your purchase at ShopForCharityNow.com.

It’s all on the computer. My homework assignments are posted online, at Classjump. My Spanish teacher doesn’t even mention the homework in class; we simply know to check the website every night. Most of my homework assignments involve either typing documents, doing online research, or both. Though I never expected to say this, I miss sitting at my desk with some just graph paper, a textbook and a pencil to do my math homework.

In a way, it’s beautifully environmental. We are on our way (slowly) to eliminating paper completely from school. A few students are already bringing laptops into class to take notes. Rather than having us print assignments, we can save our homework to the class website where they can check it. And I’m glad teachers are encouraging us to take advantage of the revolutions in technology and information availability that have put all in the information in the world at our fingertips.

But in another way, it’s a little sad. I get home, turn the computer on, and spend the next few hours ignoring the pain in my eyes that comes from spending too much time too close to a screen. In the springtime, when I would normally do all my work in my backyard, I have to come inside every other minute to get on the computer for something. Lately, I’ve come to associate the sound of my monitor shutting off with deep relaxation and the knowledge that I am done for the night. I love computers, and am a true member of my tech-savvy generation, but once in a while, I wouldn’t mind trading the clickety-clack of my keyboard for the scratch of my pen on paper.

In yet another study that will stun savvy parents into a deep stupor, it’s been ‘exposed’ that plenty of book-fair products aren’t actual, legible books but playthings and decorations related to books — connected by the slickly effective marketing campaigns that made the Harry Potter series Scholastic’s sustaining economic juggernaut. (Recall, too, recent reports linking recess with happier, better-behaved kids.) Any parent who has sent a child to a school book fair with pocket money knows that posters, fancy doodads that perch on pencil erasers and cute, possibly fuzzy, bookmarks too often trump books.

Why is it that what parents know, in bone-deep experience, becomes reportable news when studies confirm common sense? And what do you do, when your kid brings home a Garfield poster instead of Treasure Island? Do you think schools should restrict book fairs to books only, or does that glitzy, gauzy, shiny stuff actually lure young readers into literature?

While awaiting word from the city’s specialized high schools this week, I found myself saying meaningless words to my anxious 13-year-old:“If we lived in the suburbs,” I told him, “You and your classmates would never be going through all this drama. You would all just go to the neighborhood high school.” My little speech meant nothing, however, because we have no intention of living in the ‘burbs, even if the New York City public high school process can drive parents to it.

By the time many city kids are ready for high school, they’ve developed an appreciation for riding the subway alone. They are ardent little city dwellers who can meet friends from dozens of different neighborhoods and all five boroughs at museums and movies and skating rinks without asking parents for a ride. Besides, most don’t want to move to the suburbs. But that doesn’t mean they like an arduous high school process of endless tours, tests, interviews, essays, ranking and a giant sorting out that seems arbitrary and mysterious.

Letters went out last week to the 29,000 applicants who took the exam for the eight specialty schools or auditioned for Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. Some kids opened their letters with a mob of classmates, others found out in the office of their guidance counselors; others got handed the letter on the way out; some got the letters intercepted by their parents and some have still not heard.

Lots of parents don’t appreciate this system. Jennifer from Yorkville, posting on InsideSchools.org, expressed a widespread wish for a system of academically strong and varied neighborhood high schools and noted that she does not understand how school decisions are made.

How, for example, could a kid with a 70-average and a disciplinary record get into Stuyvesant? (Answer - the probably very bright, possibly under-motivated child tests well and the specialized exams are based only on one exam)

How can so many brilliant artists be turned away from LaGuardia? Why do so many talented actors and actresses get rejected, while some accomplished students with terrific grades and great test scores get turned down at their first, second and even third choices? How do schools like Beacon and Bard that are flooded with applicants that look similar on paper make the calls?

They never say, and I don’t have the answers, but if you think parents are mystified and anxious this week, just check in on Facebook posts. If you don’t have your own Facebook to compare notes with other parents, ask your child to share — if they are willing. You will see status updates about tears and depression, along with posts expressing anger, happiness and disgust about having to wait until late March for a “match.” The Facebook friends are offering one another words of comfort, like “everything happens for a reason,” or “Not everyone likes Stuyvesant anyway.”

There are discussions of how the wrong kids get in, along with notes and advice comparing the different schools and lots of the standard: “You rock dude!” and “congrats, ur awesome!”

The news in my household was what my 13-year-old music-obsessed son wanted: acceptance into LaGuardia. His joy was tempered in part by the sobbing in his school from those who were disappointed.

The main round matches won’t be announced till March. That’s enough time, as the city debates mayoral control, for parents and policy makers to think about revamping the high school system.

Borrowing a page from New York’s senior senator’s weekend playbook, the mayor on Saturday announced the DOE’s intention to transform four languishing Catholic schools into New York City charter schools. The plan, endorsed by the mayor and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, appears to be a great potential match: With underused buildings (and famously dwindling finances), the Catholic schools can offer the city much-needed facilities and classroom space. (The plan would permit the extant schools to offer 100 new seats.) But caution is surely warranted as well: The sorry physical state of many parochial school buildings (some have been used to incubate new schools since 2002) will require significant capital investment. And whether the charters will continue or extend the academic work of the Catholic schools they replace deserves close scrutiny: At least one charter school in Brooklyn, which began as a private school for a once-vibrant Greek community, was able to sustain the core of its original curriculum, thanks to the infusion of state funds. It’s election season, of course, and bridge-building makes a campaign sing. But this effort is a pilot program, meant to test the waters ahead of other possible parochial-to-public-charter conversions. In a time when the city’s established public schools are threatened with cuts of every stripe, does an investment in new charters, with the support and endorsement of the Church, make good economic sense?

In a hearing that began promptly at 10 a.m. and continued well into the afternoon — with testimony scheduled from more than 65 witnesses, including heavy hitters like Learn NY/Harlem Children’s Zone Geoffrey Canada and New Visions president Robert Hughes — the State Assembly Education Committee, headed by Catherine Nolan, convened a hearing on mayoral control in their offices at 250 Broadway.

Notably, Chancellor Joel Klein appeared at the hearing to testify in favor of mayoral control, accompanied by Deputy Mayor Derek Walcott and other officials from the DOE. His support for mayoral control was no surprise; what was notable was that Klein appeared at all, a fact Assembly Member Nolan pointedly remarked on. This hearing, she said, “was the first opportunity the Chancellor has given us to question him” in the years that Nolan has headed the state education committee. (Years, plural, without a hearing with the Chancellor. No typo.)

Committee members posed questions to the Chancellor — some barbed, some thoughtful, some both — who responded, often with the catch-phrase “we need to do a better job on that,” to criticisms of the law and its consequences: The reduction of parent voices, the virtual eradication of district superintendencies, the political evisceration of both the Board of Ed and Community School Boards, which predated the current network of Community Education Councils. The net effect, to an observer’s eye, was skillful, gracious deflection of direct criticism, framed by the insta-acknowledgment that the work was ongoing. “What we have created is not perfect,” said the Chancellor as the hearing opened. “Our work has not been without mistakes.” And of the mayoral control statute itself: “This is not a sacred text — these are not tablets.”

After more than two hours of back and forth, the Chancellor and his entourage were spirited out a side doorway, leaving the hearing. Subsequent witnesses, including City Council Member and Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson and Comptroller (and former Board of Education president) William Thompson addressed the panel. UFT President Randi Weingarten and Principal’s union head Andy Logan spoke, as well, later followed by former lawmakers, historians, and scores of advocates, school leaders, parent activists, and students.

While no individual (at least before 3 p.m.) stated outright the wish to abolish mayoral control, many, at the witness table and in the audience, strongly voiced the desire for greater transparency in DOE decision-making. They asked for an independent agency to oversee both budgets and school data, including test scores and grad rates, and for stronger, deeper, and more robust parent involvement. It’s hard to know what the folks left on the street might have said. After Chairwoman Nolan announced that the Fire Marshal would close the hearing down if the aisles and other spaces weren’t cleared, scores of people were left waiting outside 250 Broadway in the bitter cold and tons more sat in an overflow room with just the audio the proceedings piped in.

Additional hearings take place later this month and next in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. It is not known whether the Chancellor will return to this forum to field and respond to questions. It is certain, however, that hundreds of people have plenty to say — and that the debate, in the sunset season of this law, is long overdue.

More than 80 percent of the 700-plus readers who responded to our blog poll this week strongly objected to the proposal, advanced by the Mayor and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, to lay off thousands of city teachers. Much smaller segments expressed cautious concern (10 percent) or weren’t much threatened by a “forced purge” (6 percent). DOE, if you’re listening, the city’s parents are speaking loud and clear: Find other ways to save money without punishing the city’s students. Look here for the results.

This week, we’re asking readers to think about how the DOE shares important news with young students. Parents of 8th-graders, you will have wrestled with this question already — and even if your child’s still in the sandbox, you, and she, may confront the issue eventually. We welcome your responses.

Eighth-graders across the city learned this afternoon whether they had been offered seats at the city’s specialized high schools, including the eight testing schools, for which student take the Specialized High School Admissions Test, and LaGuardia High School, which requires auditions.

Of 29,000 applicants citywide for the exam schools, 5,404 were offered seats. Less than half of that group (2306 students) were offered admission at their first choice school.

Students who made the specialized exam school and LaGuardia cuts (where 1,041 kids got 1,167 offers, as applicants often do multiple auditions) also learned about their high school placements to non-specialized high schools. But the vast majority of students who participated in the specialized high school process — nearly 23,000 — went home empty-handed, to wait for March 26th, when all applicants will receive their results.

Watch our weekly poll tomorrow for more on high school decision-making, and by all means, let us know how things unfolded at your child’s middle school, either in the Comments string or on our Forum.

This weekend, the DOE is hosting a fair for New High Schools, at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn — but they still haven’t published a complete, official list of all the new high schools that will open in September 2009, although representatives say there will be a handbook listing all the new schools at the fair. It’s hard to know what will motivate parents to trek to a fair with incomplete knowledge of the schools that will be available.

Today’s announcement lists seven high schools, including two Career and Technical Education High Schools, two transfer schools for older students, and two new high school charters. That’s what’s known today, Thursday, two days ahead of the fair. All of these schools will apparently be represented on Saturday.

The Manhattan Business Academy will open with a 9th grade class, in the newly renamed High School for Humanities Educational Complex (currently, Bayard Rustin) at 351 West 18th Street; it will share space with the Landmark High School (an established school moving into the building before September) and Bayard Rustin High School, as it phases out.

The Business of Sports School, a new small Career and Technical Education (CTE) school, opening with 9th grade in the High School of Graphic Communication Arts building, 439 West 49th Street.

City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, a small CTE school opening in the George Westinghouse CTE High School at 105 Tech Place, Brooklyn.

Emma Lazarus High School, a transfer school, opening in the MS 131 Building at 100 Hester Street, where it will share space with MS 131 and Pace High School.

East Brooklyn Community High School, a transfer school, opening in a new building at 965 East 107th Street, Brooklyn, where it will share space with a new middle school, the Science and Medicine Middle School.

Believe Northside Charter High School and Believe Southside Charter School, two new high-school charters that will share space at JHS 126, 424 Leonard Street, Brooklyn.

Click here for a link to current information on all the new schools, at every level, organized by district.

I’ve been asked to provide some basics about what Community Education Councils are, and what they do. New CEC elections for all 32 school districts are coming up soon; a future post will discuss the time line and procedure. But some CEC spots are open right now. To find out if there are any vacancies in your district and how to apply, please contact Jacqui Lipson at jlipson@schools.nyc.gov.

What are CECs?: Until mayoral control, Community School Boards, comprised of local groups of elected advisors, were responsible for educational policy and spending decisions for each of New York City’s 32 community school districts. These boards were abolished in 2003, and replaced by the Community Education Councils.CECs have eleven members, two of whom are appointed by the borough president. (See below for details on the selection process.) CEC parent members serve two-year terms, after which they may run once more if they still have kids in elementary or middle school. Check here for the DOE’s FAQ about CECs.

Governor Pataki signed CECs into law in July 2003, at which time he was quoted as saying “Today’s creation of the new community governance structure will complete the final step in implementing those sweeping reforms of the city’s education system by ensuring that parents, community residents and citizens have a voice in how our children are educated.” Yet many parents and other residents continue to express concern that their voices are not well-represented in DOE policymaking.

How are CEC members chosen? In a process overseen by the DOE, CEC candidates nominate themselves and are voted on by PTA officers from their district. Many elected officials, education advocates and CEC members would like to see CEC members instead be elected in a public process, similar to the way Community School Boards were elected, but in November, as part of a larger election. To make this happen the State legislature will have to write it into the mayoral control law when it comes up for renewal this June.

What do CECs do? CECs bring parent issues and interests to the DOE at the district level. They gather information, convene meetings where parents can express their views, and pass resolutions. In most cases the role is advisory—a rare exception is that the DOE cannot change school zone lines without CEC approval. The powers and duties include approving of school zone lines and promoting student achievement. CECs generally meet twice a month during the school year, less in the summer. One meeting is public and open to all, and the other is a working session for CEC members. Issues CECs address include overcrowding and space utilization, kindergarten admission processes, and capital plan funding of school repairs.CECs discuss and debate with the DOE. This past year, our CEC dealt with zoning issues and helped schools respond to the new capital plan. We are now looking at how charter schools share space in public school buildings. We also held a mayoral control forum: most parents thought the law gives too little voice to parents.

Should you serve on a CEC?: Like most volunteer work, serving on a CEC is both gratifying and frustrating, mainly because the organization’s role in actual decision-making is almost purely advisory. But the satisfaction of achieving something once in a while for your child and community is real, and in the meantime you get to be part of the education debate, which is always lively in this town. I myself am off CEC3 come June, as my child will be graduating from middle school. The most experienced person on our CEC, Teresa Arboleda, is term-limited out. So if you have a child in District 3 Schools, please think about serving. All districts will have openings this year. You’ll be helping your kids, their schools — and their friends and your neighbors.

Four weeks into the new kindergarten application process, parents and officials at some of the city’s 800 elementary schools report a bumpy start. Parents say they are being turned away from schools that are not in their zone, and some schools aren’t following Department of Education guidelines.

The DOE standardized the timeline and admissions rules for the 2009 kindergarten class, granting parents a six-week period to apply to all schools they are interested in, regardless of their school zone. Parents may apply in person to schools by March 2, and schools will extend offers of admissions in mid-March according to a set list of priorities.

“We decided that the best way we could improve the kindergarten process was to set a clear timeline that all schools would use and eliminate some of the stress that came with first-come first-served admissions,” said Andy Jacob, a spokesperson for the DOE.

However, the transition to the new system hasn’t been entirely smooth. “Everyone has a different story,” said one parent from Forest Hills, who, like all other parents Insideschools.org spoke to, did not want to be identified by name. “No one person knows exactly the rules… I have had close to five arguments with different [employees] of the DOE before my little guy is even in the system!”

Getting the word out

The application process officially began on Jan. 12, according to the centralized timetable, but some schools were not ready for applicants. One parent said her zoned school was unaware of the process until she arrived to apply and informed them of the policy change. She waited an hour while they scrambled to come up with a system to deal with applicants.

According to the DOE, parents need to bring only two proofs of residence to apply before March 2, but some schools maintain their own requirements. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, staff at P.S. 199 told a parent to come after March 2 and to bring three proofs of residence. Parent Coordinator Carmen Russo said that PS 199 was using the information gathered from the monthly school tours to fulfill the application requirement and signing parents up for meetings with documentation afterward. A sign posted outside P.S. 234 in Tribeca states that the school will accept bank and credit card statements as proof of residence but not leases, which is a departure from the DOE’s regulation.

“One person told me that principals have the right to say what they want,” said the mother from Forest Hills. “They rule their own schools without any concern to the DOE.”

Marty Barr, the executive director of elementary school enrollment, said that principals were sent a detailed memo outlining the change in November and given specific direction through web-casts in December. Parents of pre-kindergarten students were sent postcards, and the process is prominently posted on the DOE’s website.

“We expect schools to follow the guidelines that we set,” said DOE Spokesperson Jacob. “To the extent that we can monitor it, we will, but if parents or anyone else brings something to our attention of a school not following the guidelines we set, then we will follow up with the school.”

Apply to as many schools as you want - but will you get in?

The DOE’s memo advises families to apply to “every school they are interested in having their child attend, including their zoned school,” but in reality, administrators at popular schools are dissuading families who don’t live in the zone from applying. “We are a catchment school and only accept students from our catchment,” said the parent coordinator at PS 199, although she added that the school was keeping a record of out-of-zone families who apply.

On the Insideschools.org forum, a mom posted a letter she wrote to Chancellor Joel Klein describing how an elementary school out of her zone initially refused to allow her to apply. When she returned to the school with the DOE’s memo, she said the principal responded, “Oh, yeah, I know about that, but I can tell you now, you will not be going to this school.” Only after insisting was she allowed to submit her son’s information.

The parent of a child with special needs said she thought she had misunderstood the policy after every school she called out of her zone told her that her child had no chance of being accepted.

A Brooklyn mother in District 21 asked the administrative assistant at her zoned school if her child would be accepted. “She told me there is no guarantees,” the parent wrote in an e-mail to Insideschools.org. “If I were to play it safe, I should go to another school and apply there, as well.” She followed the advice and went to a second school. “The office worker at the second school told me that most likely we will get accepted to our zone school and didn’t understand why they were sending people to other schools,” she said. “I don’t know if I should submit the application to the second school because I don’t want to [weigh] them down with paperwork that isn’t necessary.”

Extra work for the schools?

Parents and administrators question whether asking families to apply this early and encouraging them to apply to multiple schools creates unnecessary work for the schools. A mother who lives on the Upper West Side admits that her family is not sure of their plans, and although they applied at their zoned school, they are waiting for admissions decisions from private schools and scores on the gifted and talented test.

At PS 234, the lines of parents trying to apply have stretched down the block each morning, one father reported to Insideschools.org in an e-mail. Since the school has hired extra staff to help with the process through Feb. 6, the school is encouraging parents to apply by the end of this week.

Christina Fuentes, principal of PS 24 in Brooklyn, reports that her staff has established “a nice, orderly process” for parents. She anticipates having room for 120 kindergarteners, and as of Feb. 2, had accepted applications from 86 families, seven of whom don’t live in the school’s zone. But she expects a lot of movement before school opens in September.

“We have a lot of mobility in our community,” she said, especially as the economy has faltered. “This process feels like it is potentially a lot of paperwork for us and a lot of contact with families that may be a moot point because then they are gone by September.”

Parents who are experiencing difficulties in applying for kindergarten can call the central elementary school enrollment office at 212-374-4948.

How do you think the kindergarten process is working? Join the conversation on our forum.

Historically, most New York City high school students have been eligible to earn Local or more rigorous Regents diplomas. But reforms set in motion over a decade ago by New York State Regents now require all high school students, beginning with the current freshman class, to meet the more stringent Regents standards for graduation — a challenge the city’s schools, and students, are ill-equipped to meet, according to a report released today by the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice.

While overall graduation rates have been inching upward, Regents diploma rates fall far short: 52 percent of students graduate in four years, according to the DOE, but only 37 percent earn Regents diplomas. Among students of color, Regents rates are lower still: 28 percent of African-American and 26 percent of Hispanic teens earn Regents (with boys consistently earning fewer Regents credentials than girls).

Schools that serve struggling communities, which the report describes as high-poverty schools, graduate many fewer Regents students than do low-poverty schools (32 percent vs. 58 percent) and offer only about half the advanced-study opportunities, limiting options for even the most ambitious, motivated students. Small high schools post comparatively higher grad rates (78 percent, according to a New Visions report referenced in the CEJ study) — but less than half of their grads, or 36 percent, earn Regents credentials.

Big picture: 10,000 recent graduates would not have qualified for diplomas, under the new, more rigorous standards. Approximately 22,000 current high school students attend schools where three-quarters of the student body do not graduate with Regents diplomas. These students are predominantly poor; their economic and personal futures, without sufficient academic preparation for college or “promising jobs,” are bleak. (Graduation and Regents-diploma rates are lower still for students with disabilities and those learning English, but the CEJ report primarily addresses the mainstream population.)

The report recommends that the DOE “redesign and expand time for learning,” including a longer school day and broad enrichments for high school students. It also endorses remaking low-performing schools into “community schools,” which would provide academic instruction as well as medical, social, and emotional supports to students and families. (How communities would access their schools in the climate of citywide school choice, where zoned schools are at a minimum, is a puzzle for another time.)

The CEJ, under the auspices of the Annenberg Institute, knits together a broad coalition of parent and advocacy groups and has had marked success in prior efforts to improve science instruction (securing $444 million for middle and high school science labs), middle-school reform (a $30 million DOE grant to address low-performing schools) and improving teacher quality and mentoring. One can only hope that the powers that be attend to the group’s current publication — before it is too late to prepare tens of thousands of New York City students to meet the high standards set by the city and state.

First and foremost, thank you for saving my son’s life. I am not being overly dramatic here. My husband and I owe you a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay.

Brooks is in the self-contained Intensive Kindergarten program at PS 178 which feeds into the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Nest program. These pilot programs gave my son the opportunity to start school with compassionate teachers, therapists and principals. They not only understand his comprehensive IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) backwards, forwards and inside out, they collaborate daily to ensure that that IEP works and keeps on working. That is why my son is making steady progress. No, let me rephrase that: that is why my son is thriving.

So with a lump in my throat and great hesitation, I need to ask for more.

I have been in this situation before, when Brooks was 3 years old and still had almost no language. By that age, most children receive speech therapy 2 or 3 days a week, but we knew that Brooks needed to continue his 5-days-a-week regimen. We were told by some that he wouldn’t get those kinds of hours, but my husband and I (and many of Brooks’s therapists) knew he needed that level of support.

When it came time for our assessment, we had piles of documentation — and a posse of articulate, persuasive therapists. Luck smiled: we were assigned an amazing administrator, who understood Brooks’s need for intensive speech — and who looked me in the eye and promised: “He will talk.” At that meeting, I broke down, overwhelmed by gratitude. We knew that Early Intervention had saved Brooks, and we felt selfish that we had to say: “Okay, we know you saved his life, and thanks for doing that, but now we need this and this and this.”

And here I am, again: We know that your department saved Brooks’s life, but now we need this and this and this. And not just for my son, but for thousands of city kids as well.

For every 5-year-old whose IEP is respected, a multitude of others are being more or less ignored. Recent news of yet another DOE reorganization of special education (the third since 2002) is truly disheartening, since according to Advocates for Children (AFC), so many of the recommendations submitted by various advocacy organizations for the first reorganization remain unaddressed. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine that this third go-around will accomplish more than respond to impending budget cuts, particularly since it’s being headed up by a business executive, not an educator (let alone a special educator!).

I listened carefully to the testimony at the Education Committee of the New York City Council hearing last Thursday. A picture quickly emerged of a very broken special education system. I know that easy solutions are few, and that this system was broken long before mayoral control was a fact of law. But I also know that the advocates who spoke that afternoon are in the trenches with these under-served kids and their families every day, and I’m willing to bet they lie awake at night because of them. I urge you to act on their advice.

I am also deeply worried by DOE’s investment in attorneys to fight tuition requests by special-needs families, and what looks like reluctance to develop new sites and programs. Believe me, it’s plenty hard to raise a non-verbal child. And it’s harder still for that child to be denied a lottery spot in the single ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) public school in New York City, and to then have to bear the burden of a $90,000 private school tuition even when you bring a lawsuit against the DOE to pay it back over a year later. But to lose that lawsuit, or to win it, but have a DOE appeal overturn the verdict, ventures beyond hardship to true punishment. This is not one of those complicated problems that has no easy solution. It seems to me that this is, quite simply, wrong. And we should, quite simply, find a way to stop it.

Your department funds the ASD Nest program. You know how to save these kids and help their families. And they, and we, need you, now more than ever.

Please understand that all I say is grounded in appreciation for all you’ve done for my family, in no way intended as harmful or mean-spirited. My simple plea is that other families gain the benefits our family enjoys — that you find ways to extend your expertise to other families who are truly hurting.

Brooks was pretty much non-verbal until he was 3, and I know what it’s like to ache for the sound of his voice; I used to dream at night about what it might sound like. Thanks in large part to the DOE, I don’t have to do that anymore. And as far as how much my son loves his school, don’t take my word for it. Miraculously, Brooks can tell you himself:

DOE officials have announced the phase-out of Brandeis High School, one of the last remaining “comprehensive” — ie, large and struggling — high schools on the Upper West Side. Current students will be permitted to remain in school; Brandeis will graduate its last class in 2012. (It’s not yet clear if students will be able to transfer to other high schools, as is permitted when schools are closed by No Child Left Behind regulations.)

Three new schools will open in the Brandeis High School building this fall: Two high schools, the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers (a career and technical education school) and the Global Learning Collaborative will each open with a 9th grade class and gain a grade a year. Innovation Diploma Plus, a transfer school for older students, will enroll students considered overage and undercredited - those who are at least two years behind in earning credits toward graduation.

The new schools will have information available at the New High School Fair this weekend at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn; it’s hoped that DOE will be able to provide additional details on these schools and the others that are new to the system before the fair begins.

Update: Detailed coverage of the Brandeis phase-out is here, here, and here. Once again, parents, school leaders, and community representatives were not consulted prior to DOE’s decision to close the school.

Elizabeth Green, late of the lamented New York Sun and currently reporting for GothamSchools, will join the national board of the Education Writers Association, along with Scott Elliott, multi-award winning author of the Get On the Bus blog. Elliott is based in Dayton, Ohio.

They’re the first official bloggers to make the board; looks like the ‘net thing is finally catching on.

Things have developed. I am now not only skipping SAT prep, I’m skipping the SATs entirely, in favor of the ACTs. For lots of East Coast schools, the ACTs are newer, less common and therefore less trusted than the SATs. However, almost every college in the country accepts ACTs in place of the SATs. Neither one is a “better” test. But many people who find themselves struggling with the SATs score much higher on the ACTs. When I took the practice tests, that’s just what happened to me.

The ACT is only around three hours long, as opposed to the six-hour SAT, and because it’s divided by subject and doesn’t jump back and forth like the SAT, there’s no gear-switching between writing, reading and math. The ACT also includes a science section, but I found I didn’t need a lot of memorized facts or reference information to do well. It mainly tests your ability to interpret graphs and tables and apply information to specific scenarios.

The math section of the ACT is not necessarily harder or easier than the SAT, but it is different. For the SATs, the key to doing well on the math section is familiarizing yourself with the wording of the test — the tricks that confuse test-takers — and the strategies you can use to decipher their questions. The ACTs, on the other hand, seem to me to be much for straightforward. They really measure your knowledge and learning without trying to mess you up. ACT math questions sound more like questions your teacher might give. You can answer them by thinking of topics you learned in school, rather than strategies you learned in a test prep class.

The reading section of the ACT is very similar to the SAT, though most people seem to find it easier. There’s an “optional” writing section, but most colleges (and guidance counselors) recommended taking it.

Clearly, I am biased: I’m one of those kids who did better with the ACT than the SAT, but everyone is different. I’d just like to remind any fellow SAT-strugglers out there that there are other options.

The best thing to do is take both practice tests; see which one best suits you. (Since the scores are not measured in the same way, it’s hard to do a direct comparison. To determine which one you scored higher on, you can check the ACT and SAT requirements of colleges you are interested in and see which required test score you come closer to — or exceed!) Good luck!

Rejection isn’t easy to take, no matter how it arrives. When my toddler son didn’t get accepted to a neighborhood pre-school more than 10 years ago, I was new to the concept of competition for education — a commonplace of New York City life. And because he could not read the letter, I saw no reason to explain: “Umm, you weren’t allowed to play Lego and learn the alphabet at School X because too many other three-year-olds wanted to do the same thing and there wasn’t enough room…”

Now, before high school, the stakes are much higher. On Thursday, about 27,000 eighth-graders will learn if they’ll be offered seats at one of the city’s eight specialized high schools. Fewer than 6,000 students scored high enough last year to earn entry. This year as last year, another 9,000 applicants vied for just 664 spots at Fiorello H. Laguardia. And this week, the kids who took the tests and auditioned will get their placement results.

Many parents worry about especially fierce competition this year, as private-school students and their families consider free public options. Regardless, thousands of bright, talented and deserving students may not be admitted to these schools at all. Those that do may have to settle for second and third choices.

How and where students learn the actual news can be public or private. Middle-school guidance counselors are the first to learn, on February 5th, the same day results are distributed to students. At my son’s school, kids can choose how they want to hear the news, and whether they’ll get word in front of their equally nervous friends, with middle school staff on hand. “In the past, our students have been very supportive of one another,” wrote my son’s guidance counselor in a note to parents. The school also offered to contact parents before the letters go out “so you can be aware and support your child.”

All this reminds me, in the pit of my stomach, just how it felt when I was hoping for a thick envelope from my first-choice college a lifetime ago. But now, I won’t be opening the letter. I’m grateful to my son’s middle school for taking the envelope out of my hands.

I hope the students will be kind and supportive of one another, no matter what news they get. And I hope that those who are disappointed by the specialized schools will match at high schools that suit their needs and interests.

I haven’t been through the entire process yet, but I can’t help wondering if there is a better system for matching students to city high schools. Suggestions, anyone?

Teachers union leader Randi Weingarten threw the union’s collective glove at the mayor’s feet yesterday, in a challenge to Mayoral Control that proposes reshaping the Panel for Educational Policy – the majority-mayor-appointed committee that replaced the admittedly partisan former Board of Education. Controlling the PEP, including ousting recalcitrant members, has been critical to education reform, say DOE leaders; spokesman David Cantor wrote to journalists: “The union’s proposal for a central, political Board…is an almost exact replica of the worst part of the old system.”

Lost in the sauce — and in the media scrum — was the principal union’s mixed-bag endorsement of mayoral control, with specific caveats, most notably restoring the requirement that an actual, professional educator head the city’s Department of Education – and specifically opposing the waiver that allowed Joel Klein to ascend to the Chancellorship.

Q: I need assistance in choosing a good, affordable SUNY college that offers film. Any suggestions?

A: Your question addresses two issues: affordability and film studies. You are in luck. SUNY schools are affordable, certainly more so than private colleges, and that’s because, as state educational institutions, their mission is to provide high quality education at an accessible price to residents of New York State. A typical SUNY education tuition, room, meals, books, everything runs about $18,400 a year. That’s before financial aid, grants, and scholarships are applied. Private colleges today cost anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000 annually, so a SUNY education is a terrific value. Talk to SUNY financial aid counselors about how to help make college affordable.

Don’t forget about CUNY! The City University of New York offers excellent academics at an affordable price.

You didn’t say whether you are interested in film studies or in filmmaking. I have suggestions for both and you have several options, both at SUNY and CUNY.

First the CUNYs:

Brooklyn College offers film production, film studies, and screenwriting

City College offers film and video production in its Media and Communication Art Department

The College of Staten Island offers a BA in Cinema Studies

Hunter College has a program in Film and Media Studies

Queens College (the College Counselor’s alma mater) offers a BA in Film Studies

Three SUNY campuses offer degree programs in film:

Binghamton: has a Cinema Department where you can study both the history and mechanics of filmmaking

Buffalo: the Department of Media Study offers courses in digital art, world cinema, film history, and robotics

Purchase: You can learn filmmaking techniques, editing, scriptwriting, directing, and production in the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program

As you can see, you can learn everything about the history of cinema and about how to create your own movies right here in the city, or at several locations throughout the state. I suggest that you visit the CUNY campuses to check out their programs first, then arrange to visit Purchase, which is in Westchester County. Speaking with professors and students in these departments will give you a more complete picture. Have fun!

 Have a question for Jane?  Search archives | Contact the College Counselor

I have an 8 year old daughter who is in the top class; however the teacher told me that she is not interested in reading, writing and math, and is only interested in being social with the other children. She suggested I give her incentives. Can you give me some ideas to motivate my child to like reading, math and writing?

Puzzled Mom

Dear Puzzled Mom,

Do you know why she lost interest in her studies? Is she concentrating on friendships because she feels insecure and has to work hard to make and keep friends? Does she have a chance to see her friends after school or on weekends? You can help boost her self confidence by arranging playdates with friends. Is the work too difficult? If so, ask the teacher to schedule extra help or tutoring for her. Or, is she bored because the work is dull? If that’s the case, here are some ideas on how to keep her interested.

Introduce her to fun series books such as Ramona by Beverly Cleary, Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgrin, Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol, or Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osborne. Good books are great motivators. Teachers may see these books as too easy, but they usually have kids clamoring for more. Once she is hooked on a series, the next title could be a reward for reading what the teacher assigns. Tapes and movies of these books in combination with the published versions make stories come alive. Take the time to read, watch, or listen with her. You can find plenty of other appealing books at the public library. Ask a librarian to help find those that are geared to her interests.

Encourage your daughter to write to grandparents, aunts and uncles, or neighbors who all welcome mail from kids. She can start with e-mail, and if she gets a correspondence going, she can move on to cards for special occasions and then longer letters. Writing in a diary is also fun, made even more appealing if you give her a special notebook with a pretty cover. She can write privately after she does the required school journal writing. Or, you and your daughter can read poetry and write poems together. Your participation is really important!

If you or other family members are good at math, share fun problems and puzzles. Some kids like to do arithmetic in workbooks at home. Others respond to just fooling around with a calculator or using it to solve problems that come up in shopping, like figuring out which box of raisins is the best buy or making change.

With the teacher’s cooperation, (she’ll report to you the good behavior days) your daughter can have a notebook full of stickers - one for each time she pays attention in school and does her homework willingly. When the agreed upon number is reached, you’ll reward her with something you both agree upon: Some small change? A toy she’s been yearning for? A special treat?

And, if you’d like to hear an expert speak on the topic of motivation, consider going to a talk by Rick Lavoie, author of “The Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning on the Tuned-Out Child”. He will be speaking in Brooklyn on Feb. 11. See our calendar for details about this free event..

Good luck and have fun.

Judy

 Have a school question for Judy?  Search archives | Contact Judy

Two recent Times stories bookend the issue of parent involvement. At the first Mayoral Control hearing, held by members of the State Asssembly last week, an engaged and occasionally boisterous crowd held officials for hours as they asked questions and raised grievances. (Detailed coverage on the hearing is here.) These parents had plenty to say, and it seems they welcomed the chance at last to enter the forum of public opinion and speak their minds.

Today, a story on the closing of PS 90 in the Bronx circles around the idea of parent involvement, with comments from DOE leadership (Garth Harries, again), teachers’ union president Randi Weingarten, school leaders, and outside thinkers and education scholars — but scant representation of parent voices. Paul Weissman, commenter # 8 in the Times string, uses a harsh term I’d never encountered before– “educational orphans” — to describe kids whose parents can’t or don’t engage in active advocacy. (The term itself ignores the challenges faced by parents from other cultures, who constitute a large fraction of the PS 90 community, according to Principal Pat West, who spoke about the issue in November) But nomenclature aside, the question is real: Is the DOE making choices for kids who are basically free agents in the city’s school system?

Javier Hernandez’ Times story today quotes Garth Harries on the ‘nuances’ in the process of deciding whether to close a school. From outside, this looks as if DOE is trying to play both sides of the field: On one hand, statistical data (test scores, progress report grades, standardized measures of student progress) drive up-and-down decisions. On the other hand, schools with similar or identical scores can face different destinies — some closing, others surviving, depending on subjective factors. And no matter how DOE spins it, parents are systematically excluded from the decision-making dialogue that decides whether a school will close — a reality that’s sure to play a large role in the Mayoral Control debate. Another hearing will take place this Friday, February 6, in Manhattan. If you’ve got something to say, make the time to make your voice heard.