Your independent guide to NYC public schools

Close to 200 parents and neighborhood residents heard Carrie Marlin, director of planning for the Education Department, present proposed zoning changes for popular Park Slope schools on Wednesday night at a meeting of the District 15 Community Education Council. Joyce Szuflita of nyc school help was at the meeting. Here's her rundown.

District 15 Community Education Council President Jim Devor said rezoning discussions began two years ago around the collaboration between District 13 and District 15 to build a new and larger building in the Gowanus neighborhood to house PS 133. PS 133 was re-located to a small Catholic school building, St. Thomas Aquinas, while construction is underway on the new building which will open in fall of 2013 and will serve students from both districts.

At the same time, two popular Park Slope schools, PS 107 and PS 321, were becoming overcrowded and conversation began about rezoning those schools.

Q: I am working on my college applications and I need two teacher recommendations. I don’t know what major I want to be, so how do I pick which subject teachers to ask? My best grades are in math, but I’m not really friendly with any of my math teachers. I really get along well with my junior year history teacher, but I only got an 88 in that class. What should I do?

A: The first thing you want to do is not wait too long to ask your teachers for letters! It is never a good idea to ask at the last minute. You must realize that your teachers are going to be very busy near application deadlines – most applications are due January 1, although early deadlines will come on Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. They may be able to write only a certain number, so ask soon.

Unless students are applying to engineering school, which require a letter from a math teacher, they can ask teachers from ANY academic subject. It is best to ask teachers from two different subjects, so the admissions readers will gain two different perspectives about you. And it’s best to ask teachers with whom you have a solid relationship. Therefore, it is preferable for you to have a letter from the history who likes you, than from a math teacher who barely knows you, even if you earned a 97 in that class.

Families with four and five-year-olds signing up now for testing for elementary school gifted and talented programs may already know there is going to be a new, harder test for applicants this year. But there are other significant changes as well which affect both new applicants and students already enrolled in G&T programs who may want to make a switch. We spoke to Robin Aronow of School Search NYC who follows the G&T and school admissions scene. Here are some changes she noticed.

• No guarantees: There is no guarantee of a placement even if you score at the 90th percentile or above. In the past, incoming kindergartners and 1st graders were assured of a spot in a district program providing they scored in the 90th percentile and the family listed all district options on their application. That is no longer the case. High scores will trump low ones and there is a possibility that not all students will get placed.
  
  
• Scoring: Unlike previous years, scores will be issued both in percentiles and in composite scores. There will be many composite scores within a percentile creating greater differentiation. Percentiles will determine eligibility, but composite scores will determine the placement priority. In the past, only percentile scores were considered for both eligibility and priority.
  
  
• Siblings: Sibling priority (meaning an older sibling is enrolled in a particular G&T program at the time the younger one starts) is now
  
  secondary to the score. In the past all eligible younger siblings got placed first; now only if composite scores are equal, do younger
  siblings get placed before other applicants.
  
  
• Sibling applications: Siblings applying at the same time are considered separately. In the past, if both siblings qualified, the
  higher scoring sibling brought in the lower scoring one. This new procedure applies for twins and other "multiples;"
  now they are considered independently based on each's composite score. If twins have the same score they will be placed together.
  
  
• Transfers: Students already enrolled in a G&T program may apply to transfer from one district G&T program to another, or from one citywide program to another through filing a Placement Exception Request or PER, at an enrollment office. In the past you could not transfer from one district or citywide program to another. Preference will be given to families with a "hardship," such things as a move to a different district, a sibling enrolled at another school, safety or medical issues. There's no guarantee that you'll get a transfer.
  
  
• Openings due to attrition: You can accept an offer at a G&T program and still be considered for a school you ranked higher if it becomes available due to attrition. Last year once you accepted a district program, the process was over for your child.
  
  
• Applying out of district: This year you can apply to programs outside your home district, but priority is given to in-district families. An
  exception is made for people who live in a district that does not offer a G&T program. (There are four of them this year.) In that situation, out-of-district applicants will be given priority in one or more of the programs in a neighboring district.

For more information, check out the handbook online and go to one of five information sessions, beginning Monday, Oct. 22, in Brooklyn. We'll post updates as we get them!

Top-scoring, low-income 6th graders may be eligible for the Education Department's DREAM - Specialized High School Institute (SHSI), a nearly two-year-long course which prepares middle school students to take the specialized high school exam in 8th grade. The application process begins this month.

Eligible students should hear now from their principals about whether they qualify for the course beginning in January 2013. To be considered for the SHSI, students must meet income guidelines based on free lunch status, have scored at a Level 3 or 4 on 5th grade state reading and math exams and have at least 90 percent attendance in the 5th grade. The 22-month-long course includes after-school and Saturday classes which begin in the second semester of 6th grade and last until the date of the test, in October of 8th grade. There are summer sessions as well.

The Education Department sent a list of qualified students to public schools enrolled in the Universal School Meals (pdf) last week.  Principals must distribute income verification forms to eligible students, along with a letter to parents introducing the program. Other public schools will get a list of eligible 6th-graders in November.

The program takes place in 18 districts around the city and is free. All participants get a metrocard for travel to classes, meals and course materials. In areas where there are more applicants than spaces available, a lottery will be held.

The specialized high school exam has come under increasing scrutiny this fall, after the NAACP filed a complaint last month with the federal government charging that the test effectively discriminated against black and Hispanic students who are under-represented at the schools. A Times editorial today pointed out that many middle schools fail to prepare students adequately for material covered on the exam and that students who gain admission to specialized schools come from families who provide them with prep courses and tutors. Last spring, the DOE said it newly expanded the DREAM program to help bridge that gap.

See the DOE's DREAM webpage for details. For questions, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

(updated with new information, Oct. 17)

There is still time to get your four-year-old into a free pre-kindergarten program. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn yesterday urged parents of children born in 2008 to sign up by Oct. 31 for open seats at public schools or at community organizations which offer half and full day pre-k.

The DOE estimates there are several thousand open seats. Half-day programs last 2.5 hours and full day, 6 hours. Some community centers offer even longer hours for a fee. A district by district listing of schools and CBOs that are likely to have vacancies is updated weekly, on the Education Department's website.

Call the school or CBO directly to find out about openings.

Wednesday, Oct. 10 Friday, Oct. 12 is the deadline for 8th and 9th graders to request a "ticket" to take the Specialized High School Admissions Test or audition for LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.  If you haven't done so yet, tell your guidance counselor that you want to take the exam for entrance to one of the eight exam high schools or to the ninth specialized high school, LaGuardia.

This weekend, Oct. 13-14, there will be a high school fair in every borough offering a chance to meet with students and staff from most high schools in each borough. The fairs run from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Bronx: Theodore Roosevelt High School

Brooklyn: Edward R. Murrow High School

Manhattan: Martin Luther King, Jr. High School

Queens: Francis Lewis High School

Staten Island: New Dorp High School

Before you go, check out our video, "Making the most of the high school fairs." And for more information, there are resources online from the information sessions at the September citywide fair.

(updated 10/11/2012 with new due date)

Dear Judy,

My daughter is currently attending a private elementary school in District 2 in Manhattan. We live in Brooklyn, but we want her to go to a public middle school in District 2. And we are also interested in gifted programs. How do I find out about the schools, and the gifted programs, and how do I apply to them?

Puzzled parent.

Dear Puzzled parent,

You have a three pronged problem: applying to middle school from a private school, applying to middle school from outside the district and applying to middle school gifted programs.

Q: I am trying to decide if I should apply to college Early Decision. I visited a few colleges over the summer, and saw three that I really like. I have a GPA of about 91, pretty decent SATs, and Regents scores in the 90s. My counselor says I have a good shot at several SUNY colleges, maybe even honor programs, and some other schools. My question is, will applying Early Decision to the private colleges give me a better chance of admission? A lot of my friends are saying that applying early shows interest, so you have a better shot at getting in.

A: Filing an Early Decision application is a huge commitment. You should do so ONLY if 1) you are absolutely, completely, 100% in love with a particular school, and 2) financial aid is not a priority.

Early Decision acceptances are binding, and under the terms of the decision you will not be allowed to wait and see if you are admitted elsewhere. Neither will you have the opportunity to weigh different financial aid offers. If you are accepted to a school under Early Decision, you are committed to enrolling there.

Some popular elementary schools have to turn students away who live nearby, but PS 9 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn has spots open this year for kids in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 4th grades, including those who don't live in the PS 9 zone. The seats are open because some kids who enrolled didn't show up in September.

For more information, you can check out the PS 9 website. If you're interested in a spot at PS 9, you can call the school
secretary Donna Coyle, 718-638-3260 x 1300, or parent coordinator Charmaine Derrell-Jacob at 718-638-3260 X 1121 If you'd rather to talk with a current PS 9 parent, you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Know any other good schools that still has space for kids from out of zone? Please let us know.

The Education Department has not yet released this year's list of overcrowded schools that are busing zoned students to other schools. If you know a school in that situation, please pass that on too.

The new 2012-2013 middle school directories are online just in time for the district fairs which begin this week for 5th graders and their families. District fairs run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. beginning on Wednesday. All schools are supposed to send representatives.

There will be copies of the guides at the fair, but it's a good idea to go through them before you arrive and make a list of the schools that your child is eligible for and any questions you may have. The fairs can be crowded and a little overwhelming, so arrive prepared. Our video on how to apply to a middle school is here.

The latest middle school Progress Reports are also available online now. These are report cards, complete with grades, that the Education Department gives to each school every year. They are supposed to give a sense of how the school is doing. They are useful to look at, but take the "grades" with a grain of salt. They are mostly based on how much progress kids have made on state exams. So for example, three popular, progressive Manhattan middle schools, Institute for Collaborative Education, School of the Future and IS 289, all received Cs this year, even though on average about 80% of their kids are reading and doing math at grade level. Meanwhile, the Middle School of Marketing and Legal Studies in East Flatbush, Brooklyn got an A, even though less than 40% of the students at the school are reading at grade level.