Thanks to our readers for your many generous donations and thoughtful suggestions on how to keep Insideschools.org alive and thriving. Please know that we are exploring your ideas and many, many others.

The good news is that Insideschools will not go dark. The sad news is that we have had to let go some of our gifted and committed staff members. And given our severely constrained financial circumstances, we will be curtailing some of our features.

During the coming months we will explore many strategies to determine how to continue providing a high service to you, our loyal readers, while we focus on finding alternate, sustainable sources of revenue.

At the same time, we’ll keep sending regular e-mail alerts to bring you the latest schools news. We’ll keep you apprised on The InsideSCOOP about what’s happening with school admissions and other Department of Education news. And, with your help, we’ll update individual school information as often as we can.

But, we cannot continue to provide this service without you!

How can you help?

• Post a comment. Tell us — and others – what’s going on in your school. It just takes a minute.
• Know of an event of interest to parents? Post it on our calendar
• Start a conversation - or join a conversation - on our forum.
• Share your contacts: Do you have contacts in business, philanthropy, or government that may be interested in Insideschools.org? Let us know!
• Donate! We’re more than halfway to our goal of $10,000 in individual donations by July 31. That is a small fraction of our total operating costs, but we know that generous support from people like you will help us to secure significant funding from other sources. (A special thanks to those who have already donated!)

Thanks for your support. We’ll keep you posted.

In early June, Insideschools and GothamSchools, among other outlets, reported the nomination of Garth Harries as Assistant Superintendent of New Haven, CT, schools. Harries built a tough reputation as a “systems guy,” according to Department of Education spokesperson David Cantor, as portfolio chief at the DOE, when he oversaw the closure of dozens of city schools. Earlier this year, he was given the task of reviewing special education services despite a lack of personal experience in special education.

When the New Haven announcement was made, Harries was expected to serve in New York through the end of the month — that would be today — and to release recommendations of his special education review before he left Tweed.

It’s the end of June. We’ve asked Tweed for Harries’ recommendations, and whether today is his last day at work. So far, no one’s saying. Any wonder that the special education community feels marginalized and overlooked?

This morning at 11 am, a coalition of students, civic leaders and advocacy groups plan to release a ‘white paper’ and report card on the incidence of bullying and bias-based harassment in the city’s schools. Student leaders from the Sikh Coalition and other organizations will speak, as will representatives of the New York Civil Liberties Union and the New York City Bar Association’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Committee, which collaborated on the project, and City Council members Robert Jackson and John Liu.

The report card asks whether the Department of Education has made sufficient progress implementing the anti-bullying Chancellor’s Regulation (number A-832), announced by the Mayor and the Chancellor in September 2008. More than 1,100 students and teachers contributed to the report-card assessment. Notably, three of every four New York City middle- and high-school students report bullying in their schools.

This afternoon at 4:30, vocal opponents of mayoral control plan to celebrate its demise, also at Tweed. Event organizers say they’ll serve eviction papers at midnight to oust Chancellor Klein and his staffers; DOE spokesman David Cantor denounced the proposed gathering as “tribal” in an email response. Of course, everything depends on whether Albany legislators actually manage to meet – forced to do so by a judge’s order — and hinges on new Democratic leader John Sampson’s desire to spend more time evaluating mayoral control.

Dear Judy,

My son is entering 7th grade this fall. Should I be thinking about high school admissions already? What can I do to get prepared?

- Thinking Ahead Mom

Judy answers:

Dear Thinking Mom,

It’s never too soon for a middle school family to start thinking about high school. There are new choices every year as well as the popular tried-and-true schools to consider.

A smart move is to attend the high school admission process workshops that the Department of Education is holding for middle school families over the summer.The workshops are held Tuesday evenings at either Brooklyn Tech High School or Stuyvesant High School. The first session, an overview of options, is being held at Brooklyn Tech on June 30. The other sessions at Brooklyn Tech, on July 7 and 14, cover how to prepare for the specialized high school exam and how to prepare for auditions and portfolios for arts high schools. The sessions at Stuyvesant, starting on July 21 and going through August 11, will discuss large high schools, career and technical schools, new small schools, and charter schools.

You can also pick up a copy of the Directory of Public High Schools that the DOE publishes every year. It should be available at most middle schools and at the borough enrollment offices. The directory is getting fatter and fatter each year, and just browsing through the listings of more than 500 schools can be daunting. To help you narrow your search, check the Insideschools’ reviews in the Find a School section and purchase NYC’s Best Public High Schools by Clara Hemphill and the Insideschools staff.

Consider attending the citywide high school fair next October 3 and 4. At the fair, you and your son will have the opportunity to meet with representatives and often students from many high schools. It’s a hectic and crowded event, but it will help you to jumpstart your school search. Typically around February there are fairs to introduce new schools that will open the following September.

Whether or not you attend the DOE workshops, if your son plans to take the test or audition for one of the city’s nine specialized high schools you should get a copy of the Department of Education’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook. The handbook should be available at one of the borough enrollment offices or from your guidance counselor in the fall (although most school copies will be reserved for 8th graders.) The handbooks have a sample Specialized High School Achievement Test (SHSAT) so your 7th grader can find out what he’s up against. You can get reasonably inexpensive prep books at our bookstore. I’ve also heard about students getting together in study groups to use these prep books instead of investing in expensive tutoring courses; some middle schools hold free prep courses for 7th graders.

Bottom line: The high school application, although filed in 8th grade, shows 7th grade scores, making 7th grade a very important school year. So while you and your son take some time to attend high school fairs and open houses, don’t forget about homework and attendance! With some advance knowledge, and good grades, you’ll be ready to go through the process for real next year!

You’ve got the whole summer to enjoy. Try not to let admissions anxiety get in the way!

Judy

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

Q: My son is finishing his junior year, and so far he has not done that well in high school — his average is not quite an 80. He wants to study pharmacy. I don’t want him to go to a community college — I prefer that he attend a college with dorms so that he has the full campus experience. Where do we start?

A: Your question actually has many parts. You are concerned because going into his senior year, your son does not have a strong academic record, yet he is expressing interest in a field that is very difficult to enter. While it might be relatively easy for him to start at a community college, where he could build up his academic profile, you want him to have a residential college experience.

I can understand this — part of the excitement of college is living away from home, learning how to get along with a roommate, and enjoying those philosophical discussions at 2 a.m. Yet — without knowing anything about your home situation — I am concerned that if your son is struggling academically now, while living at home, how is he going to handle his studies while surrounded by all the distractions of campus life?

My suggestion for him, and you, is to take small steps. First, he has to make academics his #1 priority if he is going to have a successful senior year. Senior year grades do count! Let’s see if he can get that GPA above 80. You do not mention his other credentials, but he needs solid SAT or ACT scores, and Regents scores. He should be involved in some extra-curricular activities, too, so that he is a well-rounded college applicant. And that’s the next step, gaining admission to a school where he can develop his academic skills and explore various choices of majors.

As for pharmacy, it is a graduate program. Students work for six years, going beyond the regular time span for a BA or BS degree, until they earn a PharmD degree. Admission to pharmacy school is extremely competitive. Students need high grades, particularly in science and math, and also have to score well on a national exam. Does this mean that I think your son can never become a pharmacist? No, it could happen — but I think that aiming for it right now is premature.

Your son may well be one of those students who is “a late bloomer” — he will be successful, but it hasn’t quite happened yet. He ought to apply to schools where he has a good chance of acceptance and where he can build up his academic skills. Do you know that dorms are available at two CUNY schools? CCNY has a dorm, and a dorm is scheduled to open this coming fall at Queens College. Your son might also consider one of the smaller SUNY branches, such as New Paltz or Old Westbury. Of course, I cannot predict that he will be admitted to any of these schools, but they are suggestions of where to apply if he can get his GPA to a B average. If he adjusts well to college and proves that he can take on a challenging program, he might apply to transfer to a school offering pharmacy.

Ask him to think about why he is interested in pharmacy. Perhaps his desire to help people achieve better health — if that is what inspires him — will make him look at other fields, including social work, psychology, nursing, and health education. I would encourage him to keep his options open. Good luck!

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

The New York State Senate may be scheduled to reconvene at 3 pm today, but if recent experience is any guide, there’s no certainty that actual work will get done on behalf of the State’s citizens. Most pressing for many New York City residents, of course, is the law that maintains mayoral control of the schools, set to expire at midnight tomorrow, June 30.

Covered extensively in the Times, Post, News and at Gotham Schools, Gotham Gazette, and other local media, the mayoral control fight has taken on the tinge of French farce: How long can the public bickering and back-room wheeling-dealing continue? How many leaders and activists can line up for, and against, the mayor’s control of the schools? Can New York City go “Soviet,” to quote the Mayor, if the law’s not renewed? And — we hesitate to ask aloud — what about the kids?

Pro- and anti-control factions rallied and vented yesterday in Harlem. Will all the politics and posturing make a difference? Will Albany legislators wake up today and decide their duties outweigh their power struggles? Will New York’s statehouse denizens cease to be a laughing-stock and step up to their responsibilities?

With less than two days to go, the answers are anyone’s guess. The conflict is red meat for the local press, local pols, and pundits and activists on all sides. We still want to know, what about the city’s kids?

Principal Brian Culot of the Anderson School, one of Manhattan’s three citywide gifted and talented schools, has announced his resignation as principal, effective this August. In a letter to the Anderson community, Culot explained that he’s taken a position closer to his home, to permit him to spend more time with his family. He acknowledges that his departure, at a time of Anderson’s transition, relocation, and growth, comes at a challenging moment in the life of the school.

Additionally, Principal Jacqui Getz of PS 87 on the Upper West Side announced her resignation. Rumors are that Getz will assume leadership of a Manhattan charter school this fall; as of this morning, Getz would not respond to specific questions about her next position. An interim acting principal has yet to be announced.

In last week’s poll we learned that people use both electronic and human resources to get insights into their schools and community. About a third of respondents to last week’s poll turn to the Department of Education’s website;  the same number  rely on friends, neighbors, teachers, and other school personnel. Internet resources like parent listservs and education-media sites serve about 10 percent and 16 percent of responders, respectively.

Today is report-card day at schools citywide — and it’s your turn to grade your child’s school experience this year. Better yet, ask your child!

Earlier this week, departing UFT head Randi Weingarten negotiated a contract that will allow the  city’s teachers to start their school year after Labor Day.  Previously, teachers reported to work for  two prep days before the holiday, for professional development, and to get organized for the coming school year, a concession that was part of the 2005 teachers contract.

On the heels of that gain for teachers,  the Principal’s Union protested, asking (understandably) how the city could expect that school leaders, teachers, and students begin school on the same day, ready to teach and learn. Accordingly, the DOE has elected to delay the start of school by a single day — the 2009-2010 school year will begin on Wednesday, September 9 — and extend the year until Monday, June 28.

It’s hard to know just how many students will remain in school for that final Monday — ask all the parents who are packing up kids this weekend for the start of the sleep-away camp season — but adding the last Monday in June permits DOE to maintain their 180-day instructional calendar without trimming other vacation time during the academic year.

As readers who’ve contributed to our comments can attest, myriad questions persist regarding gifted and talented program placement for rising kindergarten and 1st grade students. This is the second year the Department of Education has administered the process, which had previously been managed by individual districts and schools.

First, for those who have not, at this late date, received word on their child’s placement status, Andy Jacob of the DOE provided an email address, giftedandtalented@schools.nyc.gov, as the best point of contact. Telephone calls and actual visits are less welcome, it seems, than email — despite the experiences of many parents whose emails have gone missing or remained unanswered. Some parents have had success by calling the individual schools to which they applied, and asking for information on their child’s placement status. It’s not the way it’s supposed to work, and it’s labor- and time-intensive, but it’s working, in some cases.

Andy Jacob also asked that we clarify that there are NO wait lists for G&T programs or schools. This is the DOE’s policy, and differs substantially from past years when the schools and the districts administered their own admissions. “There are no wait lists,” he wrote in an email message. “Students get only one placement, and if they reject that placement, they do not get another one.” (more…)

Standardized testing in English Language Arts and Math took place this year in January and March, respectively, but the testing calendar is set to change next year, when both tests will be offered in May, according to information sent to school principals by the Department of Education.

According to the DOE’s Principal’s Weekly, The State’s Board of Regents decided to move both tests far later in the school calendar, to May. (The State’s official 2009-10 calendar still shows the dates in January and March, however.) For many concerned that test prep already occupies too much space in the classroom, the delayed testing dates can’t be welcome news. For those who endorse the predictive strength of standardized test scores, more time to prepare likely seems like a better way to raise test scores. What’s not known is the ripple effect on the Department of Education Progress Reports, which use test-score data to assess student and school progress, and how the new testing calendar will affect the release of test scores to families and schools.

The precise dates are not yet determined, but DOE says they will post to their testing calendar (public access restricted) when they’re decided. We’re curious about the impact of the new schedule on the DOE’s assessment and accountability measures; details to follow when we learn more.

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten will be leaving the NYC-based teachers union, as has been widely rumored and reported, to focus on her duties as president of the national union, the American Federation of Teachers, a post she’s held since last July.  UFT VP Michael Mulgrew, who began his professional life as a carpenter and is a long-time advocate for career and technical education, will step up and serve as president until elections are held in 2010.

Weingarten’s most recent achievements cap her decade of service with the UFT: She succeeded in negotiating a new contract that gives teachers Labor Day weekend off (and which succeeded in angering the Principals Union), and she worked with the Department of Education’s  Charter Office and Green Dot Public Schools, the California-based charter school entrepreneurs, to secure well-paying union contracts for the new charter’s teachers.

It’s the last week of school, but the questions and concerns swirling around gifted and talented program placements continue, as the hundreds of comments responding to the previous  G&T post attest.

In hopes of getting answers to some of the questions that have been raised, we’d like to hear from readers who have not yet received news of their child’s placement — as of yesterday, at least some families hadn’t yet had word — and from those who’ve had difficulty registering their children for G&T district programs.

We are gathering questions this morning for the Department of Education; please let us know your concerns.

The high school graduation rate for New York State schools will be released at noon today in Albany, as part of a discussion with the state’s Board of Regents. As the mayoral control law sunsets (potentially) in eight days, and as Albany’s various Neros continue to fiddle away, the city’s graduation rate becomes an even more important marker for the effects of mayoral control.

In an unusual move, the NYSED has announced there will be no press conference on the graduation rate — but the Mayor is anticipated to make an education statement at noon today as well, so perhaps we’ll hear the city’s take on the 2008 grad rate then.

We’ll post links to the data and whatever information is released by the state and the city as soon as it’s available.

Update: A webcast of the State’s presentation to the Regents is here, along with the data released; while upward trends largely persist, the news is somewhat more encouraging for ELL students, and it looks like the Regents may reconsider the current phase-out of the Local Diploma, given the troubling split between Regents and Local grads in the 2004 cohort.

When I heard the disturbing news yesterday that a teacher’s aide at Brooks’s school had been arrested for child molestation, my neurotic parental instincts kicked in: how did anyone ever talk me into letting my innocent son venture out into this dangerous world?

But since I also understand that locking him inside our two-bedroom apartment is not a feasible solution, I have been trying to settle my queasy stomach and find a middle ground. There is no escaping the harsh reality of this incident nor its complexities, especially in terms of how schools should behave in its wake. But this morning, when the principal, Dede Budd, invited parents to a meeting to hammer out these issues, I was comforted — as much as any parent in these exceptional circumstances can be comforted, that is.

Ms. Budd began by presenting the facts and correcting misinformation. Mr. Benitez had been a paraprofessional at the school for eight years. On the day of the incident, the two teachers in his classroom were absent, so there were two subs. Those subs, who had worked at the school before, witnessed the “inappropriate touching” and immediately reported it. Mr. Benitez was quickly removed from the classroom, and the children’s parents were called, as was the police. According to Dede, none of the children, including the ones directly involved, were traumatized or even aware of what had transpired. Mr. Benitez was never allowed back into the classroom after the incident. To Dede’s dismay, she was not able to share any of this information with parents since it was initially classified as confidential. It is only now, after the arrest, that she is finally able to speak. (more…)

Our latest mayoral control poll showed a real split in the Insideschools readership: About a third of respondents said the state should scrap mayoral control entirely; nearly as many wanted a stronger voice for parents in school issues, and about one in five respondents thought mayoral control should remain intact as is. Strikingly few — less than 10 percent — thought the Mayor shouldn’t have the power to fire members of the Panel for Education Policy (which replaced the Board of Education), and only 1o percent said that communities should be consulted prior to school closures and new school sitings.

This week, we wonder where you get your school information — we know you’re Insideschools readers but are there other sources you turn to? Let us know — and if you’ve got a good idea we haven’t mentioned, please send us a comment and share the wealth.

At a recent middle school event, some of the newly tall eighth-graders looked down at their parents. Many had caught up with the girls who once towered above them. I saw facial hair and giant sneakers.   I glanced over at the incoming fifth-graders attending the event and wondered what these tiny, tiny children were doing in the same building.

By the end of middle school, these children may become unrecognizable in ways large and small. They might begin to tune out the voices of their parents and teachers. They’ll rely heavily on electronic communication — Facebook, text messaging, instant messaging — and, probably, on forms of e-connecting we don’t yet imagine.

I shared an observation about the unpredictable ways of eighth-graders to a teacher that faces three full classes of at least 32 thirteen and fourteen-year-olds every day. “Wait, who am I talking to?’’ I said with a shudder. (more…)

Since 2002, under the leadership of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city has closed more than two dozen large, unruly high schools and replaced them with small high schools, each enrolling fewer than 600 students. Many hoped the more intimate environment of the smaller schools would allow more students to thrive. A 68-page report released today during a conference at The New School, gives the small schools reform effort mixed reviews.

Small schools offer a more personalized setting, where staff knows students’ names and attendance and graduation rates are higher than at large schools, the report documents. It cautions, however, that teachers and principals at small high schools leave their jobs at a higher rate, and that attendance and graduation rates drop the longer schools stay open. The report, the culmination of an 18 month investigation by the Center for New York City Affairs, also finds that the opening of small schools and the closing of large schools,  has “had a harmful impact on thousands of students,” who still attend large high schools. Those schools have had to absorb increasing numbers of high-needs students.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who spoke at the meeting, disputed some of the report’s findings. He pointed out that, over the past few years, the “graduation rate went up in all schools,” not just the new small schools. He defended the practice of closing failing high schools. “[Placing] low-performing students together in large high schools, is impersonal and it’s not going to work.”

Some large high schools have found success by emulating the small schools model within their buildings. Stephen Duch, principal of Hillcrest High School, in Queens, said his neighborhood school improved by dividing students into seven smaller learning communities.

Duch sat on the panel of education experts who spoke about some of the complex issues underlying large urban school districts and the convoluted high school admission and choice process in New York City. Clara Hemphill, one of the report’s authors and former Insideschools.org director, moderated the panel. According to Hemphill, “parents who are well-educated and speak English are better off to navigate the system.”

Pedro Noguera, a New York University professor and public school parent said that while middle class parents “will do everything they can to get their kids into a good school,” the “poor kids are being left out of the better schools.”

He also raised the civil rights issue of segregation in public schools. “Racial integration does not get talked about at all,” Noguera said.  ”Looking at black and Latino males, not has much changed. They’re overrepresented in the failing schools,” many of which are large schools in poor neighborhoods, he said.

Eric Nadelstern, Chief Schools Officer at the Department of Education said, “Simply the act of closing those large failing schools made schools less segregated. Our schools have never been more integrated than before.”

The report recommends that the DOE do more to help large high schools be successful; create more midsize high schools, which post similar rates of graduation and attendance as small schools; offer more support to special education students and English Language Learners, and not “assume that all 13-year-olds have good judgment” when selecting a high school.

Editor’s Note: Insideschools’ blogger Helen Zelon was one of the report’s authors.

What’s special: Insideschools.org provides independent, professionally written reviews of all New York City public schools and gives free advice to parents about school choice.Downside: Due to a lack of funding, the website may have to fold, or severely curtail its free services. On Sunday, the Daily News urged New Yorkers to “rally to save” Insideschools.org. Calling us the “single most valuable independent source of information on New York City public schools,” the editorial lamented that we may go out of business.Our financial woes might not surprise our regular readers, who receive our appeals for donations and see the notices on the website. But many of our users have asked how we got in this financial predicament and what’s going to happen next.Since 2002, Insideschools.org has produced independent, in-depth, professional reviews of all New York City public schools. When we launched, there were 1,100 schools – today there are more than 1,500, including 100 charter schools. The New York City school system has undergone several overhauls under Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein - and we have done our best to stay apace and keep you informed of the changes.But even with a tiny (and modestly paid) staff, and a small cadre of freelancers and volunteers, it is increasingly expensive to keep doing what we do best: send trained reporters into the schools and write reviews that are professionally edited. At the same time, we’re keeping up with what’s happening in school policy, politics, and admissions. There is truly no other site like ours in the United States, but what makes us unique is also what makes us “expensive.” In today’s economy, even the most established for-profit news gathering organizations are struggling to stay afloat. And this is where we find ourselves today – seeking generous, civic-minded funders who would allow us to continue the work that New York City public school parents have come to rely on: 1.1 million readers visited our site in the past year alone. Barring an infusion of new funds, we will have to reduce our staffing significantly while we regroup and look to find a more sustainable model.If you are able to help out with a contribution, please visit our Donate Now page (and a sincere thanks to everyone who has already donated.) If you, or anyone you know, can help Insideschools in a “big way,” please contact us. Thanks for your support… we’ll keep you posted.

One of the three new citywide gifted and talented programs, slated to open this September at PS 20 in Brooklyn, has been canceled, according to Department of Education spokesperson Andy Jacob. PS 20’s former principal, Sean Keaton, was arrested in May for allegedly attacking a teacher. It’s not known whether or how Keaton’s actions, and their consequences in the wider community, affected the school’s prospects.

The net result is that the program will not open, and it will not be moved to a different school for September, although the DOE will “continue to look” for opportunities to open citywide G&T programs in the future, according to Jacob. Just not at PS 20.

Update: Yesterday, Andy Jacob of the DOE told us (and the New York Times’ “The Local” blog) that the PS 20 citywide program would not open due to lack of sufficient interest.  Our instinct, that Keaton’s arrest put the kibosh on the school, wasn’t far off the mark: As  was  noted on The Local, and as explained by Jacob  earlier today, Principal Keaton’s  difficulties were a factor in the decision to cancel the program.

Jacob said that the DOE heard from parents who had listed PS 20 on their applications, but changed their minds after the Keaton imbroglio. Parent uncertainty was “part of the reason” DOE elected not to open the program, Jacob  said. The  DOE might have been able to fill the classes (based on the applications they’d received, choosing PS 20), but “we were getting indications that many parents would not accept their assignments.” The anticipated pushback from parents, combined with uncertainty about the school’s leadership, influenced the  DOE’s decision to close the program before it opened.

Demand for the Brooklyn School of Inquiry, however, is so strong that the DOE has added a third kindergarten class.  Instead of opening with two kindergarten and two 1st-grade classes, the school will open in September with three kindergartens and one 1st grade.

In New York City where about half of the high school students don’t graduate in four years, transfer schools, which offer smaller class size, and programs tailored to individual students’ needs, are an increasingly important option for students who haven’t been successful at a traditional high school.

Since Fall 2005, the city’s Department of Education has opened 19 new transfer schools designed to help struggling students earn their high school diploma. While most transfer schools have long waitlists, new schools typically have empty seats waiting to be filled. Four new transfer schools will open in September bringing the total number in the city to 41. Programs fill up quickly, so now is the time to contact the schools and apply.

Here’s a rundown on the newest schools. East Brooklyn Community High School will open in a new building in Canarsie. It is targeting students who have been truant or who have dropped out of high school, and will provide intense counseling for students and their families. Innovation Diploma Plus, opening in the Brandeis High School building on the Upper West Side, will accept students ages 16-20. Emma Lazarus High School for English Language Learners is the first transfer school to exclusively serve students who are not proficient in English. The school will accept students with zero credits, and who have attended high school for one year. The High School for Excellence and Innovation is the first transfer school to open to 8th graders who are over-age for their grade and who have failed to graduate from middle school.

Unlike regular high schools which require students to apply through a central application process in the fall, transfer schools accept students on a rolling basis throughout the school year and students apply directly to the school. Transfer schools differ from regular schools, in that class sizes are usually very small, there are more social services to support students, students can enroll and graduate mid-year, and they can earn credits by taking non-traditional courses after school or on the weekend. For example, a student may take bowling on Saturday to earn gym credits. Some transfer schools accept only students who have accumulated a minimum number of credits and coursework, while others accept students with no credits.

A few transfer schools, such as The Urban Academy, James Baldwin School, and Humanities Preparatory help a range of students, including kids who didn’t fit the mold at their original high school and are looking for a different environment.

Other special programs assist students who are facing difficult life challenges. Young Adult Borough Centers (YABC) offer evening classes for students age 17.5 and older with at least 17 credits. There are also programs that provide daycare for teen parents, help court-involved youth, and programs for students with substance and drug abuse.

Every student in New York City has the right to attend school to obtain a high school diploma through the school year in which they turn 21. To find a transfer school in your area, use the advanced search in our Find a School section.

Dear Judy,

My child is eligible for the gifted and talented program in NYC, and I have a question regarding his future. If he does not perform well or meet the criteria for the program in several years, would he be forced to change schools, or would he receive extra support/tutoring, etc.?

~ Christina

Dear Christina,

These days, the watchword at the Department of Education is “data”. All schools keep track of their students’ academic achievement. This applies to kids in the gifted and talented programs, as well as the general classes. If your child is struggling, the teacher should let you know and discuss with you what kind of help the school can provide. It may be tutoring or, if appropriate, counseling. If the strategies don’t work, the school may suggest placing the child in a general education class in the same school, or, in extreme cases, if he is attending out of district, transferring him back to his zoned school. Chancellor’s Regulations A-101 and A-450 establish a chain of events, including parent conferences and extra help before a transfer is put on the table.

At the start of your child’s career in G&T, if the school has not already shared its policy with you, ask what their expectations are, what kind of help will be available to a student who falls behind, and how they will handle a child who seems to be mismatched with the program. You should also keep in touch with your son’s teachers so you can be aware of any difficulties right away.

Remember, in addition to personal observations and teacher conferences, you can keep abreast of your child’s progress by logging on to ARIS (Achievement Reporting and Innovation System ) from third grade on, to view state exam results. You can log on to Acuity for interim assessment results. The principal should provide you with an ID and instructions for using these databases, which have only recently become available to parents.

During the early grades, kindergarten through third grade, you will find that the best way to keep in touch is by participating in your son’s school, through the Parents Association or, if you have the time, by volunteering in his classroom.

Meanwhile, enjoy the summer while looking forward to the new term.

Judy

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

Q: Is the Advanced Regents Diploma necessary for getting into SUNY colleges?

While our daughter passed most of her Regents exams, she failed one of them, a math test; she can re-take it, but is nervous that she’ll fail it again. And without this exam, she won’t be able to obtain an Advanced Regents diploma. She is stressed out about taking a review course, but also stressed about not being able to get into a strong SUNY program.

A: Every year numerous students are admitted to SUNY schools without Regents diplomas or Advanced Regents diplomas. Remember that SUNY admits applicants from many other states, not just New York! So while having an Advanced Regents diploma would certainly be a plus for your daughter, not having one will not destroy her chances.

Exams administrated by boards or agencies from outside the student’s high school, like the Regents exams, AP tests, or SAT and ACT tests — can help support a student’s application. In the best cases, these external evaluations validate the internal evidence — school grades — of the student’s qualifications. But they are not always necessary. Many high schools do not offer AP exams, and many students do not receive Regents diplomas. Yet if their credentials are strong, they are successful in their college applications.

Another thing to remember is that many other factors will combine to determine your daughter’s college admission. Has she challenged herself in the courses she has taken? Are her grades in school strong? Has she contributed to the life of her school and/or community in a significant way? Does she have special talents in music, drama, athletics, art, dance, or creative writing? Has she demonstrated leadership? Will she have competitive SAT or ACT scores? If she is doing well and just that one Regents exam indicates a weak spot, she’ll still have a strong admissions profile.

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

NYC Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein: What Parents, Teachers, and Policy makers Need to Know is a compilation of essays about the recent years of mayoral control. Bloomberg-Klein educational policies are examined under a microscope by 17 well-known researchers and activists who have often criticized the mayor’s and chancellor’s initiatives. Commentators and researchers include: Diane Ravitch, well-known academic; Deborah Meier, pioneer progressive educator; Leonie Haimson, founder of Class Size Matters and publisher of this report; and Patrick Sullivan, former Manhattan member of the Panel for Educational Policy.Their essays challenge the results of testing and other data that the Department of Education cites as proof of its success; disputes the claims that DOE policies promote equity among various ethnic groups, English language learners, and children with special needs; calls into question the approach to curriculum and methodology as either too progressive or too prescriptive; and calls for greater parent, teacher, and community voice. Not surprisingly, all of the essays are critical, but not all of the writers share the same view. As the introduction proclaims, “These essays are our effort to ignite a genuine debate and dialogue about the future of the New York City public schools.” The debate about the best way to improve schools is likely to continue no matter who is in charge. These essays add facts, figures, and a range of opinions to inform that discussion.

Last week, both the Post and NY1 highlighted schools’ lack of compliance with regulations that limit the amount of junk food available in public schools: Two-thirds of the schools audited by State Comptroller Thomas diNapoli’s office sold sugary and salty, nutritionally vapid snacks, most often in high-school vending machines. While the ideal of the homemade lunch may seem the best solution, anyone who’s spent time watching a table full of 10-year-olds wheel and deal for extra bags of chips, candy, and cookies knows that what’s sent from home doesn’t always get consumed — at least, not by the intended diner.

But in a case that seems to personify a certain subtype of New York parent, one mother has launched a campaign against nutritionally poor foods wherever they surface in school, including class birthday parties, celebrations, and school stores. While it’s easy to poke fun of a parent that send kids to school with Tupperware containers to collect and bring home the offending foodstuffs, it’s also simple to feel compassion for the kids who have to tote the uneaten sweets home everyday as evidence.

Should one parent, or one family, shape a school’s food policy? The question gets complicated when you think about life-threatening food allergies, yet children who are allergic, vegetarian, or observe kosher or halal rules go to school with kids who eat school lunch and bring sugary cupcakes to bake sales and class parties. How much is the responsibility of the parent to educate their child about what their family sees as right and wrong foods to consume? And how vigilent should schools be in protecting all children from everything unhealthy?

Does your child’s school manage to funnel in plenty of junk food? Do you think it’s a problem? In a city that celebrates diversity and (theoretically, at least) idealizes tolerance, should we be focused on increasing differences around the lunch table? Our nation and our children are experiencing rising levels of diabetes, obesity and other health-care issues related to nutrition. What’s the balance between personal freedom — to eat, and even to overeat — and the greater good?

Students who are English Language Learners are not well-served in the city’s new, small high schools, according to a report released today by Advocates for Children and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. When Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002, 28.5 percent of students learning English graduated from high school in four years; now,  only 23.5 percent of English Language Learners graduate on time.

The report, called Empty Promises, takes a close look at two large Brooklyn high schools with established programs for English Language Learners. After the schools were characterized as failing by the Department of Education, they were dismantled and replaced by numerous small high schools sharing the old high-school campuses. Notably, the small schools were permitted by the DOE to exclude English Language Learners (and high-need special education students) until 2007.

Tomorrow, the Center for New York City Affairs releases Pass or Fail: What’s Next for New York City’s High Schools?, a comprehensive report on small-school reforms and school choice. The  morning event will feature Chancellor Klein and a panel of education thinkers, including NYU’s Pedro Noguera and the DOE’s Eric Nadelstern, moderated by the report’s senior editor (and Insideschools founding editor) Clara Hemphill. We’ll post a link to the report tomorrow.

(Editor’s Note: In the interest of disclosure, I’m among a team of reporters who also contributed to the project.)

In Albany, the State Assembly’s Education Committee has passed a revised version of mayoral control which may be voted on by the entire Assembly as early as tomorrow. Over at the Senate,  Hiram Montserrate, the indicted former City Council member who last week defected to the Albany Republicans, has returned to the Democratic fold, for a Senate-splitting 31-31 tie between the parties.

Meanwhile, the mayoral control endorsements continue, at the Times, the Post, and the Daily News. Even UFT president Randi Weingarten, one-time opponent of mayoral control, has come around to the Bloomberg-Klein point of view.

Locally, the city’s budget has won ‘handshake’ approval by the City Council — with no guarantee that schools’ funds will not be hit again. It’s thought that more than 2,000 school employees will find themselves out of work in 2009-2010 — cuts that reach beyond school offices into the classroom, affecting teachers and paraprofessionals.

Last week, we confirmed with Department of Education representatives that kindergarten and 1st grade gifted and talented placement letters would go out starting today.

Now, the DOE website says letters will go out starting June 19th, this Friday — which leaves exactly one week until the deadline for registration, June 26th. Reasons for the delay are, as yet, unclear. As always, we’ll post details when they’re known. But families waiting by the mailbox should bide their time for a few more days, as the June 15th deadline will not be met.

The Daily News editorial board wrote an editorial about Insideschools’ funding plight today:

 ”The single most valuable independent source of information on New York City public schools is about to go out of business forever. Are we nuts? With advocates raising a hue and cry over giving parents a greater voice in the schools, it is simply unbelievable that no one is rallying to save a Web site called Insideschools.org… Parents, teachers, advocates and officials should support the group in connecting with donors who’ll keep this service going as a trusted and independent help for the school community.” 

Are you able to help us out? Please visit our donation page. And if you, or anyone you know, is able to help Insideschools in a “big way,” please contact us. We hope to be able to keep helping parents navigate the school system by providing independent school news and reviews. Thank you for your support during this difficult time for Insideschools. 

Our most recent poll drew over 1,300 responses, along with a wealth of impassioned comments. Overall, the Mayor’s grade leaves a lot of room for improvement: More than half of respondents graded Mayor Bloomberg’s education policies as an F (28 percent) or a D (24 percent). Good thing he’s not looking for a ’social promotion’ in the next election.

This week, we want to know your thoughts on the nitty-gritty of the mayoral control bill. Even if the legislators in Albany are stalled in a contest of dueling egos, New York City parents can and should speak their minds.

Weigh in with your opinion, and in the meantime, read what some of our readers had to say about last week’s question: (more…)

The action in Albany continues as a national embarrassment (although some states have it worse). Apparently, hell hath no fury like a billionaire scorned.

Meanwhile, New York City’s Sheldon Silver steps out of the famous Albany backroom to offer a bill on mayoral control of the city’s schools, with the support of education committee chair Catherine Nolan of Queens.

Silver’s bill adds some oversights on school closures, contracts and budgeting, and aims to restore a measure of power to the flaccid Panel for Education Policy and the now-dormant district superintendants. School closures would entail 6-month prior notice, with a public hearing 45 days ahead of any planned closure, and provisions are in place to assure audits by both the Independent Budget Office and the Comptroller. The audits would encompass both financial matters and performance-assessment data, including test scores, graduation rates, and other measures that determine the success — and survival — of individual schools and principals.

Silver’s bill would also restore local superintendants to the city’s school districts — but the PEP would still serve at the Mayor’s pleasure, lacking the security of fixed terms. Approved by the Assembly, it moves next to the Senate for consideration.

And in the Senate? We can only hope they’re not still looking for the light switch and wrangling over the keys.

It’s mid-June, and the gifted and talented universe is buzzing: Not only are kindergarten and 1st grade placements anticipated early next week, the Department of Education is accepting applications for 4th and 5th grade seats in citywide and district G&T programs; the deadline for submission, by mail, is June 26th — the last day of school. Students may apply for 4th grade in schools that encompass kindergarten through grade 5; applications for 5th grade are only permitted at K-6 or K-8 schools.

Students with “baseline scores of level 4” on their standardized state exams are eligible for consideration, according to the DOE, which has set cut scores for current 3rd and 4th grade students for district programs: Third graders need scores of at least 720 and 703 on their ELA and Math exams, respectively, and 4th graders need scores of 716 and 702 or higher, in ELA and Math.  We’ve asked the DOE for similar cut scores for citywide schools; if they provide specifics, we’ll pass them along.

The application for families of students currently enrolled in the public schools is here; for families of kids in non-public schools, there’s a separate application, with a carefully-worded paragraph describing the kind of “objective data that demonstrates advanced performance” needed to support a child’s application. (Letters of recommendation, according to the DOE,  are not accepted.)

A cautionary note, well-heeded: Seats in upper-grade programs can be very few, and not every program will have open seats this September. Meeting eligibility criteria does not, in any way, guarantee admission to a G&T program.

Look here for details on school tours and open houses. (Another caveat: The tour list that’s linked to the application shows tours at the new citywide schools, which will begin in September only with kindergarten and first grade. Unless the DOE changes the tour page, parents of older students should disregard the listing for the new citywides, although the three established citywide schools — NEST + m, Anderson, and TAG, span all the grades, and could, in theory, have seats for older students.)

“I was looking for a challenging but not overly intense, neighborhood high school experience,” said an Upper West Side mom. “There just aren’t enough seats.”

This Thursday, June 11 from 6-7:30 p.m. the Department of Education is holding a public hearing in the building that now houses Brandeis High School, to gather feedback from the community on what kind of school they would like to see occupy the remaining 800 to 1,000 seats in the Brandeis High School building on West 84th Street.

Brandeis High School will be phased out starting in 2009; no new 9th graders will enroll, although current students will be permitted to attend until they graduate. In its place, three new schools will open in the building in September 2009: The Urban Assembly High School for Green Careers, the Innovation Diploma Plus school, a transfer school for kids 16 to 20 years old, and the Global Learning Collaborative. The three schools together still leave room for one more high school — thus, the Thursday meeting.

One idea to be presented by District 3 parents and others is the new Frank McCourt High School of Journalism, Writing and Literature, a new school of 800 to 1,000 students. Says their Facebook page writeup: “The Frank McCourt High School of Journalism, Writing & Literature is a new, college preparatory high school with a focus on creative and expository writing, journalism, digital communication, and literature. The school will also provide learning opportunities in Spanish (and eventually French) for students who are bilingual and/or biliterate.“

Planners say that the school will reflect the Upper West Side neighborhood: diverse in all ways and home to so many great writers and thinkers. The school’s rigorous, project-based curriculum will be strengthened through partnerships with neighborhood institutions, including Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Symphony Space, and Fordham University. Teachers drawn from New York’s literary, journalism, and digital media community will guide and inspire students to become great storytellers and literary critics.

“The school will open with a 9th grade of about 200 students and will add one additional grade per year for a target enrollment of 800 to 1,000 students. A full complement of math, science, and social studies curriculum, as well as extracurricular clubs and sports, will round out this exciting learning community. Admissions will be based both on grades and a portfolio application, with the goal of enrolling a spectrum of engaged students.”

Want to learn more? The hearing’s on Thursday, June 11, starting at 6pm, in the Brandeis building, 145 West 84^th Street, with details and more anticipated on Facebook.

The New York State legislature, never considered a paragon of governmental efficiency, has outdone itself this week with yesterday’s leadership “coup” by a Republican-led coalition. (It’s alarming to consider that the education of more than a million children is in the hands of politicians apparently more committed to theatrics than substance.) Speculation is rampant on what this particular flip means for mayoral control. If the legislature doesn’t act, mayoral control will ’sunset’ on June 30 and the schools could legally revert to the pre-control model, an outcome Bloomberg, Klein and all of Tweed deride as a return to “the bad old days.”

Meanwhile, the Times features a poll citing wide discontent with Mayor Bloomberg — while carefully acknowledging his strong position as a free-spending incumbent, now $20 million into his re-election campaign. While it’s best to be cautious about extrapolating widely from a poll of only 683 respondents, it’s worth noting that two-thirds of New Yorkers polled favor term limits — but that three-fourths don’t care much about whether Bloomberg spends up to $80 million on his third-term campaign. Asked whether the city was headed in the right direction or not, 51 percent said the city was “on the wrong track.” More than half of respondents were dissatisfied with the public schools, down from a Bloomberg-tenure high of 72 percent in a 2004 poll.

Readers continue to vote and comment on our own poll on the mayor’s performance as head of schools. We will wrap up the results on Friday, and post a new - but related - question.

The Department of Education announced today the soon-to-be-official appointment of Garth Harries as assistant superintendent of schools in New Haven, CT.

Harries had previously served as CEO of the Portfolio office at the DOE, where he supervised the wholesale closure of dozens of schools and the creation of hundreds of new schools in their wake. In February 2009, he was appointed to review special education services and programs, which was a controversial announcement because Harries did not have any experience with special education. His review is not yet complete, but he told advocates in an email this morning that he was committed to finishing the project before he begins his new job on July 6.

The special education team has lost most of its lead administrators in recent months: Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning Marcia Lyles is leaving the DOE for a Delaware district, and Linda Wernickoff, who has dedicated her career to the special education community, is retiring this year as well.

The exodus leaves only District 75 Superintendent Bonnie Brown to (potentially) spearhead special education reforms. The changes of leadership at this critical juncture make it all too easy to understand why the community of special education parents, educators, children and advocates believe their cause, and their children, take a remote second place at the DOE table.

As yet, the DOE has not announced who (if anyone) will replace Harries.

At the start of the harried public middle school search process in New York City, parents take tours and are forced to think a great deal about different academic approaches, settings and styles.  What kind of school best suits your child:  A traditional school with uniforms, a steady diet of homework and lots of exams? An arts-based curriculum that emphasizes creative projects? A collaborative learning approach with lots of group work?  A hybrid approach?  A secondary school, which continues through 12th grade?

There’s lots of variety in the largest school system in the U.S. and even more competition for programs with the best reputations. What I remember most about the middle school search had little to do with making the selection; it was more the anxiety about getting in along with a sense of outrage about how difficult the process was.

Through it all, I had a hard time envisioning the kind of student the 10-year-old accompanying me might become, or even where he would flourish most. It was even harder to imagine that the child I worried so much about putting on the subway alone would develop his own ideas about what kind of student he would – or would not — become.

My now eighth-grader – newly taller, and even more opinionated, than his mom — is getting ready to graduate from middle school. As I look back on some of his adventures and mishaps, I have no choice but to laugh at the many unexpected twists and turns in the transition from the child who held my hand to the teenager who asks that I walk on the other side of the street or at least a block behind.

Some of the transitions were delightful (new talents and friends, a particularly inspiring teacher). Others were merely appalling — the time he almost failed physical education for poor behavior, the unforgettable day where the highly amused school principal led me to his locker and said: “I thought you should see this,”  as a tangled rush of notebooks, sneakers, jackets, overdue library books and assorted gear (and smells) tumbling onto the floor. There was no lock, but a long missing academic planner was discovered – with not one word written inside it.

 So what kind of student is emerging? It’s a complicated answer, but the short answer is, we don’t really know yet.

Ultimately, we were lucky in our choice of middle schools; the staff for the most part knows that the children who enter may be on their way to becoming absurdly awkward, absent-minded Facebooking, text-messaging, self-conscious teenagers.    Hopefully, they will have developed a love of learning and some good study habits to become the students they – not necessarily their parents – want to be.

Given the increasing public conversation about the pros and cons of mayoral control – and the fact that the law is due to expire on June 30, unless Albany lawmakers approve a new (and improved?) version — we’d like to hear from you: How do you rate our mayor on education?

The schools grade our kids; the DOE grades the schools; it’s your turn, now, to turn the tables and grade the graders. How’s he doing? (a la Ed Koch.)

Our colleagues at GothamSchools have a nifty new feature built to assess the impact of the coming budget cuts:  If you know what’s on the chopping block at your child’s school, chime in and help paint an e-portrait of what 5 percent cuts look and feel like across the city.

Last year, the Department of Education’s new middle school choice and matching process left too many special needs children who were in CTT (collaborative team teaching) classes out in the cold, particularly in “choice” districts where there aren’t zoned schools and students take tests or complete auditions and interviews to secure middle-school seats.

This year, the DOE said that they would send special education students middle school notification at the same time as their general education peers. According to a note in the Principals’ Weekly email, however, the letters for special education students were delayed again. They should have been sent by the end of this week, according to the email.

Patricia Connelly, a member of both the Citywide Council on Special Education and the Parent Commission on School Governance and Mayoral Control, is asking parents of CTT kids in “choice” districts to contact her with concerns about their child’s placement. Information shared with her will be held “in the strictest confidence,” Connelly notes. She can be reached at patricia.connelly@gmail.com.

This is a picture of me, Brooks, and his kindergarten teacher. It was taken last August, when she came to my home to meet Brooks and get a sense of how she could help him overcome his challenges and ignite his love of learning. She sketched out a road map that day, one that would enable her to work alongside my son’s speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and counselors to make him into a student. Like all good leaders, she would have to build an environment where team members could easily communicate in order to make consistent and lasting contributions to my son’s school career.

She happens to be an extraordinary teacher, but that doesn’t make her stand out in the ASD (autism spectrum disorder) Nest program. Every teacher here is extraordinary. Because they are carefully hired. Because they are extensively trained. In autism. In the sensory issues of autism, so that they can design appropriate lesson plans to strengthen my son’s emerging handwriting skills. In the anxiety issues of autism, so that they can design appropriate interventions when he starts sobbing because he misspelled a word. In the social issues of autism, so that they can create opportunities for him to play with his peers and help him find joy within those interactions.

Unfortunately, the DOE recently announced a “hiring freeze” that limits principals to an internal pool of available teachers, none of whom apparently have the early childhood special education training and experience necessary to make them viable candidates for ASD Nest.

Already, the program had no new hires to send to their one-of-a-kind Hunter training program that began yesterday, and no one has an answer about the fate of the two new classes at my son’s school (PS 178), not to mention all the other ASD Nest schools throughout the City. Who will teach these new classes? (more…)

Only 1,190 PTA officials out of an estimated 4,500 potential voters cast ballots this spring in the election for the 34 Community Education Councils, according to the Department of Education press office. Despite an extensive publicity campaign through the DOE’s Powertotheparents.org organizers and website, 18 councils will require another round of elections to break a tie or add an uncontested candidate. The district and citywide councils are considered to be the parent voice under mayoral control.

Only a school’s three PTA officials can vote for CEC candidates. During the first round of elections, PTA officials each had two votes to cast; during the second round, they will each have one vote.

Six CECs will hold an election for a candidate who received no votes during the first round of elections. “They were on the original ballot, but they just didn’t receive any votes,” said Nicole Duiginan, a DOE spokesperson. “[The chancellor’s regulation] requires an affirmative vote take place.” CECs must have at least six members to hold an official meeting, and several districts operated without a quorum for much of this school year. In the recent election, District 8 in the Bronx and District 16 in Brooklyn only elected five members, so they will each hold a second “election” to obtain one more member, chosen from the candidates who received no votes during the first round.
Eight CECs will have true tiebreakers, where several candidates all received the same number of votes. (more…)

Dear Judy,

We just got the results of my daughter’s middle school choice process and ended up with a school we did not choose. Is there any way to appeal this placement? Could it be a mistake?

5th grade parent

Dear 5th grade parent:

You are not alone, we have heard from many parents with the same problem. Mistakes happen. We know a parent whose daughter was matched with a school she didn’t apply to out of her district, yet she was not “accepted” at any of the district schools she applied to. This was clearly an error. My advice? If you think this could be a mistake, check with your elementary school guidance counselor now; ask her to contact the school that “accepted” your daughter to see if her name is on their list. When in doubt, double check with the local enrollment office and finally, with the middle school enrollment office at Tweed, headed by Sandy Ferguson.

If it is not a mistake, but just bad luck, you have until June 10 to appeal the placement, according to Department of Education spokesperson Andy Jacob. This goes for schools in districts that have middle school choice. Ask your guidance counselor for an appeal form. She can review your daughter’s situation and help fill out the appeal application. You might have a guidance counselor who knows your child well enough to go to bat for her. She may know middle school guidance counselors; she may know which schools are still open to applicants. Jacob said that “Appeals are granted based on seat availability and the selection criteria of the schools listed on the application.” He cautioned that ” Submitting an appeal does not guarantee admittance to a specific school, or even that a new placement will be offered.” You’ll be notified about appeals decisions by the end of June, according to Jacob.

Also consider checking out the few new schools that are opening next fall – they may still have openings.

Be as patient as you can. Late in summer there will be special enrollment offices to deal with unsettled admissions problems, and often the schools do not have an accurate count of who is actually attending until September. If you have applied and been endorsed by the guidance counselor, you might get an open spot.

Meanwhile, another piece of advice: don’t deride the school to which your daughter has been assigned. Do look for bright spots and emphasize them. She might just end up there!

Judy

Correction: Previously we reported, as per Jimmy Bueschen of the Manhattan enrollment office, that children  could only appeal  to schools that they had already applied to. According to parents who have copies of the appeal form, and Andy Jacob of the DOE’s press office,  children can apply to any choice program or school to which they are eligible and whose admissions are handled by the Office of Student Enrollment. That includes schools to which a child may have previously applied and new middle schools opening in September. 

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

Forty years after David Rogers published the landmark study, 110 Livingston Street, considered a major catalyst for decentralizing the school system, he revisits this debate in his latest book, Mayoral Control of the New York City Schools. As the state legislature debates whether to continue the law which gave New York City’s mayor control of its public schools, Roger’s books provides a deep analysis of the pros and cons of mayoral control through a historical lens. Although part of a scholarly series, Rogers’ prose is generally accessible to ordinary folk.

Rogers’ book analyzes the steps the Department of Education took to arrive at its current administrative structure. Rogers concludes that without mayoral control important changes could not have been accomplished. These include a new citywide curriculum and methodology with emphasis on teacher training, standardized access to citywide programs, including admission to gifted and talented programs; bolstering school leadership, leading to principals’ autonomy in budget and other decisions made at the school level.

Rogers details how these and other changes were pursued through corporate management techniques, with an emphasis on data and top down managerial  decisions. He also points out that the alienation of teachers, principals, parents and other stakeholders engendered by the aggressive business model approach, may undermine long term sustainability of the mayor’s reforms. He suggests that mayoral control should be retained but its effectiveness depends on finding a way to “… establish a relationship of trust between city hall and the educators (teachers and principals) and between it and parent and community groups.”

Whether or not you agree with its conclusions, Mayoral Control of the New York City Schools is a valuable history of the Bloomberg-Klein era and an equally valuable basis for further discussion of the issues.

Q: Some of my friends want to visit college campuses over the summer. But what’s the point of visiting a school when it’s not in session?

A: While it would be ideal to visit a college on a weekday during the regular academic year, for practical purposes this is not always possible, particularly if the campus is some distance from your home. So summer is a fine alternative, and you can still gain valuable information from campus visits. In the last 20 years or so, college admission offices, as well, have realized that summer is the only time when some families can travel, and they are not only prepared for but welcome prospective students. If you go to the admissions page of any campus website, you will see tour times listed and either a phone number or online form to arrange your visit. Admission offices are open year-round (though rarely on weekends). This schedule allows you to meet staff members, regardless of the time of year you visit the school. Also, tour guides are usually enrolled students, so you can get their perspective about the school.

There are two major goals you can achieve with summer campus visits. First, if you stop at the admissions office and sign in there, the college will have a record of your visit. Later, if you decide to apply for admission, this will be evidence of your “demonstrated interest” in the school (this doesn’t guarantee acceptance, of course, but it can be a plus factor). Remember to obtain the business card of the admissions officer who speaks with you. If you have further questions you will have someone specific to contact. (more…)

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

That tough question is the title of a book by Beverly Daniel Tatum, a psychologist with a focus on racial identity development. It’s also a question that a lot of us wonder about, even if we don’t ask it out loud. I’ve attended four diverse public schools in New York City and in all of them, self-segregation was common. I saw this in the cafeteria, on the street corners, in classrooms, and, most importantly, in the formation of lasting friendships. This has always seemed to me like a weakness of our schools, or even a partial failure of the integration project started in the 1950’s.

Tatum sees it differently. From a psychological standpoint, Tatum believes, the “black cafeteria table” is important. She believes that by the time black children hit puberty, if not before, they began searching for what it means to be black, especially if they are in a racially mixed school or community. Settings like the black cafeteria table, according to Tatum, offer a support group for black children who may feel isolated among their white peers — a place to find a postive black community and identity. Additionally, Tatum believes that a “race-concious parent” raising their black child in a mixed setting should actively seek out a strong black community.

Tatum describes this “racial immersion” as one of several stages in a person’s development. At some point during the book, I started wondering if she was advocating for the self-segregated cafeteria. What about integration? What I came to understand was that Tatum sees integration as the final step, once a person has become comfortable with their racial identity. This last point troubled me. (more…)

A big budget hurdle for charter schools was just lowered.

“Despite a prohibition on using state funds to build charter schools, the city has quietly expanded available funding for charter school construction to as much as $3.8 billion,” writes the New York Post. The extra money is part of a provision in the capital construction plan.

To date, charter schools have not received public funds for facility expenses. Many charter schools in New York City have been able to survive because Mayor Bloomberg has allowed them to use Department of Education buildings rent-free. Charter school advocates have long lobbied for the ban on state funds to be lifted, since depending on who controls the school system next, charter schools could have to start paying steep city rent prices.

Families applying to middle school should have letters by now. Since the middle school admissions process varies widely by district, we are curious how smoothly it has gone across the city. A few of the preliminary reports we have heard have included bureaucratic mess-ups (inaccurate admissions letters, contradictory information from the Department of Education offices and individual schools, special education delays). While the DOE is no stranger to admissions-process-bungles, we are hoping these are isolated cases.

Have you gotten your letter yet?

Update: The math scores are out and both state and city education officials have been busy touting the “steady, measured gains” (as opposed to the “steady, moderate” gains on the ELA exam). Across the state, 86.4 percent of students in 3rd to 8th grade have scored proficient, versus 65 percent in 2006 and 80.7 percent last year. In the city, 81.8 percent of 3rd to 8th grade students scored proficient, versus 57 percent in 2006 and 74.3 percent last year. The city press release touts the fact that the achievement gaps - between the races, the city and the rest of the state, and elementary versus middle school students - have continued to close, albeit slowly. See the Times and Gotham Schools for more analysis and see the press release from City Hall for the mayor’s spin on the scores.

Morning post: The New York State Department of Education will release 2009 math scores for students in grades 3 through 8 at 10:30 am today.

On the standardized reading exam this year, “steady, moderate” statewide gains mirrored citywide trends; 2008 math scores in the city, which historically have posted at higher levels than language scores, showed 79.7 percent of 4th graders at or above state proficiency standards, along with 59.6 percent of 8th graders. (The ongoing mayoral control debate, here and in Albany, will undoubtedly include much discussion on whether the grade-school to middle-school gap and the historic achievement gap between the races have narrowed or not.)