Back-to-school means back to blogging for our regular contributors. As students settle into classroom routines, we want to re-introduce you to the writers who bring their voices to the InsideSCOOP.

• Claiborne Williams Milde, a parent of two, came on board this summer as she prepared her five-year-old daughter “Night Owl” to step up to kindergarten at Brooklyn’s PS 29. We look forward to hearing more about Night Owl and her preschool sister in Claiborne’s “Kindergarten Corner.”

• We got to know Donya Rhett, our “Bronx Mom,” through her frequent comments on our blog posts. Donya  is a mother of two and will give us a peek inside schools from her unique perspective as a clinical psychologist at a school-based health center in Harlem.

• Jennifer Freeman began blogging in 2007 as our “Money Mom” to let readers know about fundraising opportunities for schools. Last year, she kept us in the loop as a member of the District 3 Community Education Council, and now she’ll be keeping us “Clean and Green” as a member of a District 3 Green Schools Committee.

• Liz Willen, the assistant director of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at Columbia University, gave us a parent’s perspective of the daunting high school admissions process last year. With her older son now settled at LaGuardia High School and her younger son in his second year of middle school, Liz will continue to cover the trials and tribulations of parenting a ‘tween and a teen in her columns Middle School Muddle and High School Hustle.

• Our web developer Marni Goltsman begins her second year as a public school parent and Insideschools columnist. We eagerly await her insights as her son transitions from a small, self-contained classroom into a larger, integrated kindergarten class in PS 178’s ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Nest program.

• Toni Bruno, a member of the NYC Student Union, is back for her senior year at LaGuardia High School. We’re glad to have her  “Student Voice” again this year.

Staffers (Cristin, Dan, and Pamela) will continue to anchor our regular news coverage on the city’s public schools, and please keep your questions coming to our experts Judy (”Ask Judy”) and Jane (”Ask the College Counselor”).

Looking at the results of last week’s poll, we realize that we truly underestimated how much parents spend on school supplies! Seventy percent of 561 voters said they spend over $50 at the start of the year.

Thanks for voting and for sharing your money-saving tips! One parent said that she was surprised when she first encountered a supply list in kindergarten, but now that her child’s in middle school, “it just seems like business as usual.” A few of you said that that you don’t get supply lists from teachers in a timely fashion, which makes it difficult to buy them before the stores run out.

Monday marks the second full week of school. We’d like to know if you are attending the first Parents Association (or Parent-Teacher Association) meeting of the year. Vote now, and comment below to let us know why or why not!

Voters were divided in our last poll about testing preschoolers for admissions to gifted and talented programs. One thing appeared to be clear, though: you’re not happy with the status quo–only 2% of responses supported leaving the system as it is! We appreciate your feedback:

“Fed Up Mom” thinks G&T programs are a waste of money. According to her, G&T classes have substantially fewer students at her school. “My child would have benefited from a smaller class but couldn’t have it because they wasted a teacher on the G&T kids,” she said.

Parent Alexandria Gecin agrees that all students need smaller classes and quality education — not just those who do well on a test. She added, ” G & T doesn’t test for high artistic ablility, musical ability, high maturity, great spatial skills or anything other than an ability to pass what is essentially a little kid’s IQ test.”

One mom, however, shared that G&T classes were her son’s ticket out of a bad local school. Many more of you shared your thoughts on our initial post about testing 4-year-olds. Thanks for joining the conversation!

Now as we head into the second week of classes, we’re wondering how much of a dent new school supplies made in your family budget. The Daily News reported Wednesday that some parents are struggling to pay for back-to-school items in these tough economic times. How did your family fare? Vote now, and add your comments below!

While GothamSchools joined Chancellor Klein on his annual five-borough, back-to-school tour, The New York Times’ City Room blog followed a few students as they embark on a new school year. We were particularly intrigued by the scene at PS 19 in Corona, Queens, where the Times said “confusion reigned.”

Though the K-5 school enrolls nearly  2,000 students and some classes are housed in trailers, the line of families hoping to enroll their children “extended down the better part of the block.” According to the post, the school is one of 27 that still had a kindergarten wait list in July.

What was the scene like at your  school this morning? Does your school still have students waiting to enroll? Let us know below.

Today Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez challenged Mayor Bloomberg’s proclamation that the city will open 23 new school buildings, creating 13,000 new seats for students.

Gonzalez says that some of the buildings touted as “newly-constructed” were, in fact, only renovated. More shocking still is that three of the “new” facilities are actually just rentals — two of which have staggering price tags attached. Over the next 20 years, a lease on the Bronx building set to house  Jonas Bronck Academy will set the city back $40 million — on top of the $11.5 million already spent on renovations. For the new Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women, the city will shell out $191 million for space in a Financial District office building.

The DOE says their designation of “new construction” can be applied to any school that’s creating new seats, but Gonzalez doesn’t believe the total of new seats created is accurate, either. He points to the case of two Bronx high schools, which are moving from temporary trailers into a renovated building, meaning “no actual new seats will result,” as the trailers are being taken down. (more…)

Before the city released the 2008-2009 school progress reports Wednesday, the New York Post braced us for shockingly high results. But after the release, the Post had to update its statistics — quite a bit. A whopping 97% of the city’s elementary and middle schools received As and Bs, even higher than the 85% first reported. Just 27 schools citywide received Cs, Ds, or Fs.

Chancellor Klein wants to clarify what the good grades mean, according to The New York Times. To be sure, he says, they do not indicate that schools are stellar. Rather, the grades indicate that schools met their “progress target.” And the grading system mainly defines progress by how much student test scores improve from one year to the next.

But with state tests’ soaring scores already under fire, should we put any stock in a grading system guided by those scores? We’re not the first to ask that question. (more…)

The New York Post reports astonishing news today: more than 85% of elementary and middle schools earned an A or B on 2009  school “progress reports,” which are expected to be released today. Even more surprising is that only two schools received Fs.

Those stats have improved enormously in just two years, according to the Post. In 2007, only 61% of schools earned top marks and 35 schools received Fs. Many of the failing schools have since been closed or have new principals. (Learn more about the fate of failing schools in today’s Daily News.) (more…)

In today’s Daily News, new State Commissioner of Education, David Steiner, says our schools just need some common sense. He thinks our system is fraught with poor practices that defy logic - ranging from placing novice teachers in the most challenging classrooms to failing to reward the most accomplished teachers.

Steiner says we need a carefully mapped-out curriculum (with input from parents!) to ensure that students move successfully from our schools into college and the workplace. He thinks teachers should be better prepared before they fly solo, and that we need improved supports for those already in the classroom. For Steiner, school administrators and school districts should provide the feedback and training tailored to teachers’ needs.

And as for our state tests, which have attracted continued criticism, Steiner says that that logic dictates that we need to be sure they assess important knowledge and skills - fairly, accurately, and reliably. Steiner knows it’s going to be an uphill battle to make changes, “but doing so is good, common sense: our children’s future depends on it.”

What do you think Steiner’s top priority should be? Teacher quality? Better curriculum? Improved exams? Let us know below!

Most respondents to last week’s poll said that ARIS is a helpful tool, and only a few felt that it’s a waste of the city’s money. Unfortunately, a large chunk of voters didn’t even know what ARIS is. Thanks for your thoughtful comments!

On Wednesday, we highlighted criticism of the Department of Education’s gifted and talented admissions process. The authors of “Nurture Shock,” a new book that examines child rearing practices, argue that the city’s system of awarding G&T seats “flouts science.” Even though research shows that young children’s test results are not indicative of future academic success, the city administers tests to preschoolers to determine G&T program eligibility for kindergarten (when the highest percentage of G&T are open).

We’ve received a ton of reader feedback about the G&T process — on test prep, test results, placement, and more. With “Nurture Shock” expected to hit bookstores in September, we’d like to know if you think the system should be changed. Vote now and please add your thoughts below!

GothamSchools led us to a post on The New York Times Bits Blog about a partnership between two innovative websites that allows you to turn unused gift cards into donations for schools.

According to Plastic Jungle, which buys, sells and trades gift cards, the average American household has around $400 worth in unused cards. Plastic Jungle’s users typically exchange cards for crash or a credit at Amazon.com, but now they have another option: allied with DonorsChoose.org, the site allows users to donate the face value of a gift card to schools in need.

Back in 2007, our blogger Jennifer Freeman introduced us to DonorsChoose, which offers public school teachers the opportunity to post their needs for classroom projects in the hopes of receiving funding. You can browse the project requests and donate to the cause of your choice — and thanks to Plastic Jungle, not just with your credit card, but with your unused gift cards, too!

New York City schools are featured in one chapter of best-selling author Po Bronson’s latest book “Nurture Shock,” says The New York Times. What landed our schools in the limelight?  Bronson and co-author Ashley Merriman say the city has gotten testing for gifted programs all wrong, awarding a very high a percentage of seats to very young students — with little retesting as kids get older.

As many of our readers know all too well, here in the city, kindergarten admission to gifted and talented programs is based on the results of tests taken by preschoolers. For the high-scorers who make the cut, a kindergarten seat guarantees a gifted education through the 5th grade. And for the luckiest students, like those at the Anderson School, a seat earned by a preschooler guarantees a gifted education through middle school.

In a chapter titled “The Search for Intelligent Life in Kindergarten,” Bronson and Merriman present research that suggests tests taken before kindergarten are not a good indicator of future academic success. They add that many test creators endorse retesting children at an older age to ensure fairness in gifted and talented tracking. So while a standardized admissions process with uniform cut-off scores makes acceptance to the programs more equitable, it needs improvement. (more…)

In July, we reported that, following a flood of parent complaints, the Department of Education would re-consider its ban on  parent-funded assistants in schools. According to The New York Times, the DOE has reached an agreement with the teachers’ union to allow the school aides to stay — at least for this upcoming year.

Principals will be permitted to hire aides with money raised by parents’ groups as long as those aides are included in the official school budget, which makes them eligible for union protection. The DOE and union officials hope to come to a long-term solution before the current agreement expires at the end of the school year.

A study released yesterday by NYU’s Institute for Education and Social Policy takes a look at graduates of the city’s controversial Leadership Academy, which offers educators an alternative route to becoming school principals.

According to the study, graduates of the Leadership Academy’s 14-month Aspiring Principals Program (APP) tend to be younger educators with fewer years of teaching experience than other new principals who were traditionally trained. In keeping with the program’s mission to place its graduates in the hardest-to-staff schools, they are also  more likely to serve at troubled schools with a history of poor student achievement. Nonetheless, the study says, program veterans showed gains comparable to those of their traditional peers, and on elementary and middle school ELA exams, their increases outpaced those of other new principals. (more…)

Last week, we asked whether you are monitoring the number of hours your kids spend in front of the screen — especially as this intense heat and humidity could be keeping them indoors. Nearly half of you said you limit the number of hours of computer and TV use per day or week. About a quarter of you leave it up to your kids, and 17% of you said you don’t really have much control, but wish you did. Thanks for voting!

On Thursday, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum released a report that found a majority of public school principals surveyed by her office support the $81 million Achievement Reporting and Innovation System (ARIS), a computer system designed to boost achievement and accountability in classrooms. (more…)

The New York Times reports today that charter school construction is providing a growing niche for the building and design industries in the New York City area. The article highlights a 54,000-square-foot project for the Mott Haven Academy Charter School in the South Bronx, which will house both classroom space and a community social services center.

Mott Haven reserves two-thirds of its seats for students in foster and preventive care. According to New York Foundling, the non-profit organization that runs the school, the integration of social services in the building “will address the different life circumstances that negatively impact the academic performance of children ‘in the system.’” Foundling raised $17 million from private donors to finance the new building. (more…)

After the city council passed a resolution in favor of adding two Muslim holidays to the public school holiday calendar, we polled our readers to see if you supported the council’s vote. Although Mayor Bloomberg does not think schools should close for additional days, 60% of our nearly 600 poll respondents said they would like to see Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha on the calendar.

If you would like to demonstrate your support for adding the holidays to the school calendar, you can join the New York Civic Participation Project’s letter-writing campaign to the mayor, who has the final say. You can sign the coalition’s letter and send it directly to City Hall (The Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Office of the Mayor, City Hall, New York, NY 10007), or you can contact Sussie Lozada to arrange for NYCPP to pick up the letter and pay the postage. If you mail the letter on your own,  make sure to email Lozada, so she can accurately track the number of letters sent.

The NYCPP’s Coalition for Muslim School Holidays represents more than 40 religious, labor, community, and advocacy organizations. According to the coalition, there are over 800,000 Muslim New Yorkers who represent 12% of the student population in public schools.

Last week, we asked what you thought about programs that give students cash for good grades and test scores. Nearly  60% of you are opposed to the idea.

Some of you, however, did think pay-for-performance initiatives had merit. Ben said that he was open to programs that produce positive results. Michael suggested that students who need to work to help support their families be paid in advance, so that they  have more time to apply themselves academically.

Now that we’re in mid-August, we want to know to if you’ve been keeping tabs on how much your kids watch TV and surf the web. Vote now, and let us know more about your ‘house rules’!

Though the city released the results of the ELA and math state exams this spring, the debate over the value of these standardized tests reignited this month. The latest argument on the table? The Daily News reported yesterday that, even with Bloomberg ‘raising the bar’ with his proposed promotion policy, 6th-graders can score high enough on the state English test to move onto the next grade simply by guessing.

In fact, says the News, the number of 6th-graders who scored at the bottom, Level 1 dropped from 10% in 2006, when twice as many points were required to pass, to 0.2% this year. And, according to the News, it’s not just lower standards on the reading test; a June article reported that Jennifer Jennings, a sociology doctoral student at Columbia University, found the state math exams are easier, too. (more…)

GothamSchools broke the news yesterday that the family of the late Mitchell Weiner, a Queens assistant principal who was the first city resident to die of  swine flu, intends to file a multi-million dollar suit against the city for wrongful death and negligence. Today The New York Times provides more detail: Weiner’s widow, Bonnie, and their three sons served a “notice of claim” (a precursor to the lawsuit) to the city on Aug. 5 charging that the city did not provide a safe working environment for Weiner and other school employees.

While her husband lay in critical condition in early May, Weiner’s widow Bonnie said she was outraged that city officials failed to act sooner to close IS 238, where both she and her husband worked. According to the Daily News, the school remained open for days after tests confirmed the virus in a number of students. (more…)

Last week, we asked you if you thought schools should assign a reading list for students during their summer vacation. While some of you felt students should have a break in the summer, most of you felt summer reading is important, whether or not the books are on a required list.  Thanks for your insightful comments!

On Wednesday, Insideschools covered the awards reception for the REACH program, which gives money to students who pass AP exams. REACH is not one-of-a-kind; in June 2007, we blogged about Opportunity NYC, another program that offers students monetary incentives for good grades. A few months later, our former student blogger, Seth, let us know how the NYC Student Union reacted to the program. Now we’d like to know what you think! Do you support paying students for performance?  Vote now and let us know why (or why not) below!

At a midtown Chase Bank this morning, star-shaped mylar balloons heralded successful high school students who earned hundreds of dollars for top marks on their May AP exams. The students are participants in the two-year-old Rewarding Achievement, or REACH, program, a New York City pay-for-performance initiative that gives financial awards to students who pass AP exams.

The program operates at 31 high schools that serve low-income, minority communities. At these schools, participating students not only have financial incentives for taking AP courses. REACH also provides students with free study guides and Saturday test prep to support them throughout the academic year.

This “experiment in incentives and additional support,” as REACH’s Executive Director Edward Rodriguez described it, seems to be paying off. At the awards reception this morning, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced an increase in the overall number of students taking AP courses at REACH program sites, and a 21% increase in students passing AP exams. In particular, he highlighted a 35% gain among black and Latino students. (more…)

Summer break is hardly a vacation for more than 90 schools across the city that will be moving into new locations for the new school year. For some, moving means a home in a brand-new building, while for others, it is a less-than-welcome change. Many of the moves involve charter schools which some public schools have resisted housing in their buildings.

On Monday, The New York Post highlighted parents’ and students’ upset over the Coalition School for Social Change’s move from the West 50s to East Harlem, an area they say is known for gangs and violence. Families of the Bronx Early College Academy are not happy about the school’s move to the South Bronx. The move from Riverdale to a troubled middle school campus takes the school farther away from Lehman College, where students in the upper grades will eventually take classes. (more…)

In our last poll, we asked you to tell us what you think about your school’s physical education program. Almost a third of respondents told us it was great, but nearly 50 percent think there’s room for improvement. In her introductory post, our new blogger Bronx Mom said that the lack of satisfactory physical education facilities was one factor that lead her to look outside of her district for schools. Thanks for your comments on her post and on our poll!

One parent told us: “Physical education is given in the cafeteria. Kids only get it once a week and all the supplies including balls are paid for by the PTA, because there isn’t enough money in the budget to cover that stuff. Upper grades have recess in the street because the yards are too small to accommodate everyone.” (more…)

The Board of Regents elected Dr. David Steiner as New York state education commissioner and president of the University of the State of New York. According to the state education department’s press release, Steiner, current dean of the Hunter College School of Education, is “best known for his leadership of the national effort to transform teacher preparation and improve teacher quality.” The New York Post reported this morning that Steiner supports merit pay and higher wages for teachers.

The previous state education commissioner, Richard Mills, announced in November that he was retiring after 14 years on the job. His tenure was marked by an increased emphasis on standardized test scores and tougher high school graduation requirements.

Yesterday, Chancellor Klein visited the School of One, a two-month summer school program at Chinatown’s MS 131. Unlike typical summer school programs which target low-achieving kids who need to catch up, 80 middle school math students volunteered to spend their summer vacation in MS 131’s school library. They  are piloting the use of a technology-based classroom that offers them individualized instruction, complete with their own laptop and daily “playlist.”

According to Gothamschools, which has a good rundown of the program,  a student’s playlist, or schedule, might direct him to start the day by meeting with a tutor, then to complete a set of online assignments, and then to work on a project with classmates. The New York Times reports that, for some, online tasks may take the form video games in which math problems are obstacles: “[Students’] screens looked no different than typical arcade screens — except when their equations popped up.” (more…)

In the news this past week come reports that some low-performing students, as well as students with special needs, are being pushed out of charter schools and enrolling in their neighborhood zoned schools, echoing what we reported in May (See: “Most vulnerable students shut out of charter schools).
In her opinion piece, Insideschools founder Clara Hemphill questions whether charter schools help or hurt neighborhood public schools. She highlights two low-income schools in the Bronx that, although located just one block away from each other, serve very different student populations.

According to Hemphill, the majority of students who go to the Carl C. Icahn Charter School are African-American and speak English at home, while the majority of students at PS 42 are Latino and only speak Spanish. PS 42 has many students who receive special education services, and teachers there say some are students “who can’t meet the academic or behavioral requirements of the charter school are encouraged to leave and wind up at PS 42.” (more…)

In April, our blogger Jennifer Freeman wrote about the potential for parent-funded teachers’ aides to be pushed out of our city’s overcrowded classrooms. That looming threat has now become a reality, The New York Times reported yesterday.

Parent associations at top schools have a long tradition of raising thousands of dollars to independently hire assistants to help teachers in the classroom, run enrichment programs, or manage students in the cafeteria and at recess. Sparked by a complaint from the teachers union, however, the Bloomberg administration has told principals to put an end to the practice. Any aides hired for the coming school year must be employees of the Department of Education whose salaries are included in the school’s official budget. (more…)

The Daily News reported yesterday that five of the city’s schools that posted the lowest scores on state math exams this year had been  opened to replace  failing schools  closed by the Department of Education for poor performance. Additionally, the News reported, some of the schools slated for closure this year actually made test score improvements that were twice that of the citywide average . Other schools targeted for closure posted scores close to the citywide average when their student demographics (such as the special education population or number of English Language Learners) are taken into account.

The policy of closing schools is one of the most controversial initiatives launched since the state gave Mayor Bloomberg control of the city’s school system. What is your experiences with “replacement” schools in your neighborhood?  Do you support or oppose the policy?

In our last poll, we asked you to grade your child’s experience in school this year, and though not everyone was satisfied, 65 percent of the nearly 600 respondents rated their child’s year as either good or excellent. Thanks for your comments!

This week we’d like you to vote on whether two new holidays should be added to the official school calendar. The New York Times reported that the City Council passed a resolution to add Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha, two of the most important Muslim holy days, to the holiday calendar. Mayor Bloomberg, who has the final say, opposes the Council’s vote. We’d like to know what you think. Should schools close for two additional days in observance of these holidays?

Yesterday in Harlem, parents, students, and staff of PS 123 protested the move of Harlem Success Academy II into their school building. They contend that  the charter school will prevent their traditional neighborhood school from expanding in the future. (See NY1 footage of the rally here.)

According to Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez, tension erupted when moving men from Harlem Success arrived unannounced at PS 123 last week. They removed locks from classroom doors and began to empty the rooms of their furniture, books, and supplies. Although they were not expected by the leadership at PS 123, the men said they had orders to refurbish all the school’s third-floor rooms. (more…)

Families of soon-to-be kindergartners or 1st-graders who are new to the city may request an application to test for gifted and talented programs. Applications are due July 16. Contact your local placement office for an application.

The Department of Education will not guarantee placement — even for students who qualify — because spaces are limited. All parents whose children are tested will be notified by August 31.

Note:  You must have proof that you did not move to the city before February 15 and proof of current NYC residence.

Parents of  2nd and 3rd-graders waiting to find out their gifted and talented program placement should be on the lookout! A Department of Education official confirmed that the letters were sent out last Thursday - a day earlier than expected!

Remember: you must accept your placement offer by Friday, July 17.  Let us know  if you’ve gotten news!

Today the The New York Post reports that state Democrats in Albany are ready to pass legislation extending mayoral control of New York City public schools, but  The New York Times reports that the bill passed by the Assembly will not sail through the Senate.

Meanwhile, here in Manhattan, parents who would like to protest mayoral control will converge on Tweed Courthouse at 5 p.m. today. The New York Coalition for Neighborhood School Control and the Parent Commission  on School Governance are co-sponsoring the rally.

The Department of  Education announced the launch of the Big Apple Games, a free summer recreational program that runs through August 16.  There is no registration deadline for the six-week program, which offers children between the ages of eight and 19 a chance to participate in a range of sports activities and arts and crafts.

A list of program sites is available on the Public School Athletic League website, or families can call 311 for more information.

As the end of the school year marked the exit of several top special education officials at the DOE, we wondered when departing Garth Harries, senior coordinator for special education, would issue his recommendations to improve special education services.

Today, Harries met with the Arise Coalition at Advocates for Children’s Midtown offices to share his final report just a few hours before Chancellor Klein announced a  new special education head at Tweed.

“There are recommendations in the document we have not seen in prior reports, and, if implemented well, could make a big difference for kids with disabilities,” said Kim Sweet, AFC’s executive director. In particular, she noted that recommendations called for aligning special education processes, such as admission and school placement, to coincide with general education deadlines. (more…)

GothamSchools blogged live from the Board of Education’s speedy meeting today at Tweed, reporting on the flurry of votes made before the meeting came to a close.

In less than ten minutes, the BOE voted to keep Chancellor Klein in command, elected Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott as president, and called on state senators in Albany to pass the Assembly’s mayoral control bill. Lastly, the board motioned to adjourn until September 10, the day after schools open this fall. (For in-depth coverage of the meeting and its aftermath, see Gotham’s re-cap.) (more…)

Midnight marked the end of mayoral control of schools, and for the first time since 2002, the Board of Education is back in business, meeting today at noon for the first time in seven years.

The newly reconstituted seven-member board will be made up of five members , one appointed by each borough president, and two members appointed by Mayor Bloomberg. Yesterday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., formally announced the appointment of Dr. Dolores Fernandez as the Bronx representative. According to The New York Times, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will appoint  his chief of staff, Carlo Scissura, to the board while Manhattan’s  Scott Stringer will appoint his legal counsel (and former Advocates for Children staff lawyer), Jimmy Yan, on an interim basis. There is no word yet on the appointees from Queens, Staten Island, or the mayor.

Check out GothamSchools’ step-by-step  guide to the post-mayoral control school system for more information about what’s next for the city’s schools.

UPDATE (11:07 a.m.): We have just learned the rest of the appointees to the BOE: for Queens, Deputy Mayor of Education and Community Development Dennis Walcott; for Staten Island, Deputy Borough President Edward Burke; and for Mayor Bloomberg, First Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris and Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler.

Only 100 parents attended the District 3 kindergarten lottery last week after the Department of Education announced that many popular schools did not have available seats.

“Parents were disappointed that they didn’t have a full range of options as they have had in the past four years since the lottery has been in operation,” said Robin Aronow, founder of School Search NYC, who attended the lottery.

The announcement, made on the Friday before the April 21 lottery, dealt a blow to the roughly 760 hopeful families seeking an alternative to their neighborhood school. A few of the most desirable schools, such as PS 87 and PS 166, had no seats available. And of the 251 openings, parents were informed that several schools, such as PS 9, would only be able to accept students with older siblings enrolled at the school. (more…)

At a jam-packed and raucous meeting on Monday night, the Community Education Council of District 28 in central Queens passed a unanimous resolution recommending the immediate removal of Dr. John Murphy as principal of MS 8 in South Jamaica. The resolution came at the end of the monthly meeting, attended by upwards of 150 parents, teachers, and community members. They crowded into the makeshift basement auditorium of PS 182, which quickly became a standing-room-only venue. The CEC voted on the resolution minutes after Rev. Charles Norris read a litany of complaints against Murphy, ending each with a rousing declaration of  “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Although a recent incident thrust MS 8 into the media spotlight, the press (WCBS, Daily News, Queens Chronicle, and the New York Teacher) reports that there is a long history of abuse by Murphy at MS 8, as well as at other schools. CEC member Emily Ades spoke from the stage, saying she issued her own report in November 2008 after performing a walk-through of the middle school, which she likened to a detention center.

Ades, a former elementary school teacher in the district, said she received no response from the Department of Education about her report, which detailed a school where “there was no School Leadership Team, the principal made all decisions, there were numerous safety issues, and the children were on lockdown,” she said.

Martine Guerrier, Chief Family Engagement Officer from the DOE Office for Family Engagement and Advocacy (OFEA), came late to the meeting after notifying the CEC that she would not be attending, and sending two representatives in her stead. Her arrival was unexpected and was not met with a warm reception.

Both parents and CEC members said they had reached out to her office to no avail. Kenneth Williams, one of the CEC vice presidents, spoke of his dissatisfaction with OFEA after he sought their support following negative experiences with the principal of PS 30. “[The community has] been left out in the cold for two years. Not just MS 8. Not just PS 30. It’s the whole district,” he said.

Guerrier said, “A number of issues were raised to me today that have not been brought to me before.”

In a telephone conversation with Insideschools.org, Department of Education spokesperson Ann Forte said that there is an “ongoing investigation” of the principal.  “We don’t believe that his removal is warranted,” she said, noting that he “sent a letter home to parents a week ago trying to reach out and push to try to communicate better.” She said concerned parents should reach out to District 28 Superintendent Jeanette Reed. The superintendent’s office is ultimately responsible for the hiring of principals and for their dismissal.

Meanwhile, protestors gather each morning before MS 8 begins its school day. They hold signs and photos of Murphy and often cheer “get rid of the rat.” A rally will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Jamaica branch of the NAACP.

Still looking for an elementary or middle school for your child? You might want to consider one of the new schools opening in September. In addition to the new high schools and charter schools opening this fall, 26 schools with elementary and middle school grades will also open their doors. Many of these schools will replace schools that the Department of Education has slated to close over the next few years, but others will open to alleviate overcrowding and offer families more school choice.

Bronx

A flood of new schools will open to take the place of schools that are in the process of phasing out. In District 8, the Mott Hall Community School and the Soundview Academy will join several middle schools that have replaced IS 192 and IS 174, which will close in June.

In District 9, the Family School and the Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders will take over the PS 90 school zone. Families within the zone will also have the option of enrolling their child in the Grant Avenue Elementary School. Grant Avenue and the Science and Technology Academy, a new middle school, will both open at IS 166, which is slated to close by 2011.

In District 12, the Urban Scholars Community School will replace CS 198, while in Districts 10, IS 399 will be replaced by two new middle schools: the Creston Academy and the East Fordham Academy for the Arts. District 11 will welcome three schools to offer students alternatives to their zoned middle school: Baychester Academy, Pelham Academy, and CASA Middle School, an extension of the established CASA elementary school.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn will open a mix of ‘replacement’ schools and brand-new schools, including one of the new citywide gifted and talented schools. Three of Brooklyn’s new schools will open in newly-constructed buildings: the Brooklyn School of Inquiry and the Academy of Talented Scholars will share one building, while the Science and Medicine Middle School will share its building with a new transfer school. In District 15, the Red Hook Neighborhood School will replace the early grades of PS 27, a K-12 school that is phasing out, and in District 19, East New York Elementary and East New York Middle School will replace PS 72.

Manhattan

Downtown Manhattan parents in District 2 will gain two new highly-anticipated elementary schools, the Battery Park City School and the Spruce Street School, as well as Quest to Learn, an innovative, technology-based 6-12 school. Uptown parents will gain three new middle schools: West Prep Academy in District 3, Global Technology Prep in District 4, and New Tech in District 5.

Queens

The new schools will be concentrated on the Rockaway Peninsula. The Waterside Children’s Studio School, an arts-based elementary school, and the Waterside School for Leadership, a middle school, will replace PS 225, which will begin to phase out in June. Village Academy will open at MS 53 to give students a second zoned option.

Staten Island

Staten Island will get its first K-8 school when The Staten Island School for Civic Leadership opens in the Graniteville neighborhood.

We’ll keep posting information about the new schools as we learn it. Stay tuned to the InsideScoop.