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Ask Judy: Applying to middle school from a charter school |
Dear Judy,
Our son is in 5th grade at a charter school that’s not in the district where we live. What middle schools is he eligible for?
Charter school parent
Dear Charter school parent:
Given the proliferation of charter schools these days, your question is a timely one. We put it to the Department of Education. According to DOE spokesperson Andy Jacob, “students are eligible to apply in the district to which they are zoned and in the district in which their (public, including charter) elementary school is located. ”
However, Jacob cautioned,”not all districts have choice processes. Some have all or mostly zoned middle schools. If the charter is located in one of those districts, the student wouldn’t have any choices in that district, because there’s no choice process.”
All applicants should keep in mind there are other middle school options, even if you live in a district that has limited choice: Some schools are unzoned — open to kids all over the city, borough, or district — and some middle schools require school-based applications, separate from the district middle school application.
Although the middle school admissions timetable is standardized across the city, each district has its own ways, so it is very important to study the online middle school directories for specifics.
Most citywide schools run their own admissions processes and students need to apply to those schools separately. A few parents have written to ask about Mark Twain, a popular, selective school in Coney Island which accepts students based on their performance on “talent” entrance exams. Mark Twain takes applications from all over the city but, unlike other citywide schools, students who submit the “request for testing” form for the school “will see the Twain programs as choices on the application for their district,” according to Jacob. “They’ll rank Mark Twain along with their district choices and will receive an offer to one school – the highest-ranked one to which they receive an offer.” Jacob said the district schools will not see whether the student ranked Mark Twain as a choice.
Middle school applications are due on Dec. 15, but Oct. 28, is the deadline to submit a “request for testing” form for selective schools in Districts 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22 in Brooklyn, and Districts 24, and 30 in Queens.
I would take the time to tour as many schools as you can. The bottom line is to go after the schools that match your kid. Good luck !
Judy
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G&T students with a strong interest in the arts should check out Manhattan East School for Arts and Academics (MS 224), which accepts students from all over the City. A parent tour, day at school (for the student), and in-school test and interview on the student’s day at the school are required. ME has the City’s best middle school jazz band, and a top notch concert band, as well as a very strong studio arts program, excellent drama program, and also chorus and dance. Many of its graduates go on to LaGuardia, PPAS, Frank Sinatra, Beacon, ELRO, Townsend Harris, and also all of the specialized science high schools.
Comment by Queens Parent — November 3, 2009 @ 6:03 pm