In last week’s poll, we asked how the kindergarten admissions process was treating you. Only eight percent of parents are “all set,” while 54 percent share some level of concern. See our recent blog post on the admission process for more information. This week we’d like to know if you’ll be taking part in the school environment survey.

Have you gotten that electric green envelope? The fourth annual NYC School Survey is out, and it can also be filled in online (you’ll need the eight digit code that appears on the bottom right hand corner of your paper survey). This year, all teachers citywide, as well as 6th through 12th grade students at 364 schools, will fill out the survey online, skipping the paper version entirely. The deadline is April 23.

The parent survey responses, along with teacher and 6th-12th grade student surveys responses, count toward 15% of the schools’ grades on the Progress Reports (student performance counts for 25%, and student progress makes up 60% of the total score).

The Learning Environment Surveys are also promoted as a way to provide valuable information to administrators and School Leadership Teams, pointing up places where improvements may be needed in areas such as academic expectations, communication, engagement, safety, and respect.

Among the changes in this year’s survey, the Chancellor’s office informed principals, are an “increased focus on how well schools create opportunities for teacher collaboration, and how well schools prepare students for ‘postsecondary success’.”

There’s also a new advertising campaign — complete with bus shelter posters and Internet ads and radio spots — encouraging participation.

In past years, the survey process and the Progress Reports have aroused some skepticism, and the increased pace in school closings has tensions running high in many buildings. How do you feel about the survey? Will you participate? Has your school encouraged you to fill it out, and if so, have you felt pressured to rate your school favorably? Please take our poll at left, and share your comments below.

The process of applying to kindergarten has changed over the years.  For some, it’s simple: go to your zoned school, bring the paperwork proving your child’s age and place of residence, fill out some forms, and you’re basically done. You’ll be able to register without a problem in April.

For others, the process is fraught with worry.Parents who are applying to additional programs — charter schools, G&T programs, private or parochial schools — may register at their child’s zoned school with trepidation, hoping for a better option.

Some zoned schools are so popular that they may not have enough seats for all zoned kindergartners.

For those who have children who will turn five in 2010, how are you feeling about the kindergarten process thus far? For those whose children are now in kindergarten, how did it work out for you?

Please take our poll at the left and share your comments below.

Last week, as we marked the 100th day of the school year, we asked for a “gut check” on how your school is doing. More than half of you — 57 percent were feeling pretty good, and either had no complaints or were mostly pleased. Nineteen percent were disappointed, and 22 percent said you were angry, and that your school needed major changes.

In the comments, some praised their schools, while others had complaints. Our school reviews capture the environment inside New York City schools, and your comments help us paint these pictures. It’s so helpful when you share comments — both positive and negative — about your schools.

Have you posted a comment on your school’s profile page yet? Let us know what’s good or bad by posting one now!

Mandy Hass is a parent at Lower Lab, as well as the director of marketing and business development for Insideschools.org.

Last week’s Village Voice cover story, Inside a Divided Upper East Side Public School: Whites in the front door, blacks in the back door, has succeeded in bringing two co-located Upper East Side schools closer together: virtually everyone in the building feels he got much of the story wrong.

Author Steven Thrasher focuses on two schools — Lower Lab, a “gifted and talented” elementary school open to top-scoring kids throughout District 2, and PS 198, a zoned neighborhood school — which have shared a building for 22 years.

When Lower Lab was founded, in 1987, PS 198 had underutilized space. At that time, few schools in New York City shared buildings. Today, according Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld at the Department of Education’s press office, there are roughly 740 co-located schools, and next year, that number is likely to rise to about 750. That’s about half of the schools in the nation’s largest school system. The reasons for colocation have to do with real estate realities and the trend in education reform to break large schools down into smaller communities, as well as New York’s decision to allow charter schools to have space in traditional public school buildings. (more…)

The NY Post reports that 3,000 parents attended the third annual Harlem Education Fair, held Feb. 28 at the 369th Harlem Armory on 143rd Street. That’s far short of the 10,000 parents event organizers  predicted would turn out to  learn about dozens of  charter, parochial, private, and public schools in the area, or last year’s throng, estimated at 5,000.

The snow may have deterred some, but the parents who slogged through the slush, often with children in tow, were determined to explore all their school options. Many questioned the assertion by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Archdiocese Schools Superintendent Tim McNiff, proclaiming  Harlem the “Parent Choice Capital of America.”

Parents we spoke with understood that the chances of actually getting your child into the school of your choice — particularly some of the more popular charter schools, which assign seats by lottery — are discouragingly slim.  One parent, who said her child is not being challenged at her neighborhood public school, PS 160, planned to apply to every charter school in order “to get my child the education she needs at the price I can afford.”

PS 241, an unzoned school that was one of a handful of public schools participating, got a lot of attention from a handwritten sign on its table saying “ALL are Welcome - NO LOTTERIES!”  A teacher at the school, which shares its building with two charter schools and earned an “A” on its school report card last year after nearly being closed, pointed proudly at colorful new promotional postcards.

The fair was  sponsored by the Success Charter Network, which operates a string of charter schools in Harlem and East Harlem and whose CEO is Eva Moskowitz, former chairperson of the City Council’s education committee. The fair took place  in the midst of the kindergarten registration season — public school kindergarten applications are due by March 12.  Most charter school applications are due by April 1.

We’d like to hear from parents who were at the fair and from those who live in the community. Is Harlem the “parent choice capital of America?”

Monday marked the 100th day of the school year. So in this week’s poll, we ask: how’s it going?

Some classrooms celebrate this milestone with special activities. This year, the 100th day fell on the first school day after winter break. Needless to say, many students were not in the mood to celebrate.

If you’re a parent, student, or educator, what’s your gut feeling about how your school is performing? Please take our poll at left, and share your thoughts below.

And if there have been significant changes at your school during the last 100 days — good or bad — please share the updates on your school’s profile page here at Insideschools.org..

In our last poll, we asked how you feel about your school’s lunches. Fifty-eight percent of you said your school does NOT serve healthy lunches. Twenty-three percent said the food is healthy. Seventeen percent of you pack your own lunches, and said you’re not sure.

In the comments, more than a few students and parents characterized their cafeteria food as “disgusting,” “nasty,” or “gross” — regardless of its purported nutritional value. “My school serves partially healthy lunch, but the food is disgusting,” wrote a student. “Frozen foods are often given, and taste horrible. Watery, tasteless veggies, tacos, dry chicken nuggets, it’s really bad..”

But a parent at PS 84 tells us that due to a partnership with Wellness in the Schools and the efforts of the school’s wellness committee, their kids have a hot vegetarian entree option and salad bar every day — though the the high fructose corn syrup in the chocolate milk remains a subject of debate.

If you could change the menu at your school’s cafeteria, what would you serve?

The Daily News recently surveyed school lunchrooms to see if the “health-crazed Bloomberg administration,” which “often touts how it has overhauled school lunches and slashed calories,” has succeeded in making standard cafeteria fare healthier. According to some nutritionists, some of the “healthy” offerings may not cut the mustard.

The News reports that a simple toasted cheese sandwich on oat bread — frozen and then heated in its plastic wrapper — contained more than 30 ingredients, including high-fructose corn syrup, which the administration had vowed to cut out. “It just looks so greasy, you can tell it’s unhealthy,” observed a student at Clara Barton High School.

In our new poll, we ask: what’s for lunch at your school, and how do you feel about it? Is it junk food or is it getting better? And whether kids get school lunch or packed lunch, what do they actually eat?

Take our poll and share you thoughts below.

In our last poll, we asked how you felt about the closing of 19 city schools. It turns out that a strong majority — 61% — feel that schools should be fixed rather than shut. Another 11% felt that some deserve to be closed, but others do not. Just 16% said all 19  schools are bad and should be shut down.

Our poll results  stand in contrast to assertions by education officials and others that those who oppose the closings are just a noisy minority. An editorial in the Daily News said most of the closing opponents who attended the hearings of the Panel for Educational Policy were bused in by the teacher’s union.  It suggested that the “best measure of what mothers and fathers feel about particular schools is how many of them hope to enroll their children,” concluding that because relatively few parents ranked the schools now slated for closure as their first choice on high school applications, they “have no such backing because parents want far better.”

All parents want better schools.  In fact, many people visit Insideschools.org because they are actively seeking out good schools. And,  a clear majority of those who voted say troubled schools should be fixed not shut. What does that tell you?  Please share your thoughts below.

“Closing a school is worse than a root canal,” Chancellor Klein recently told the New Yorker. “You’re disrupting people’s lives.” Nevertheless, the Panel for Educational Policy voted Tuesday to close 19 ” failing” schools. This, despite major outcry from parents, students, and teachers.

Advocates for Children — the parent of Insideschools.org — issued a statement prior to the vote warning that many of the closing schools served large numbers of high-needs students, and that while closing failing schools is sometimes necessary, the city ought to consider the effect these closures will have on our most at-risk youth.

What do you think about this latest round of school closings?  Please take our poll at left and share your comments below.

In our most recent poll, we asked how you felt about your school security officers. “Great!” said 35% of respondents.  But 63% had concerns, and of those, 18% felt police officers don’t belong inside our schools.

If you or your child have experienced problems with school safety officers, and would like to communicate with a member of the NYCLU, ACLU, and Dorsey Whitney legal team about the recently filed class-action lawsuit — which alleges that NYPD personnel assigned to New York City’s public schools have repeatedly violated students’ civil rights through wrongful arrests and the excessive use of force — or share a story about policing in our schools, please click here. You can also contact the NYCLU’s Johanna Miller at jmiller@nyclu.org.

Please continue to share your comments below.

Five students and their parents sued the city this week, claiming that kids have been wrongly handcuffed, assaulted, and arrested by school safety officers employed by the New York City Police Department.

In addition to damages, the class action lawsuit asks the court to order that schools, rather than safety officers, deal with disciplinary issues, and calls for the city to set up a complaint process and impose new disciplinary measures for officers found guilty of misconduct.

Have you experienced incidents where you felt school safety agents acted inappropriately? Or do the officers at your school behave professionally, keeping kids safe? What kinds of disciplinary issues are cropping up in your school, and how are they handled? Are kids cuffed, “perp-walked,” and packed off to the precinct, or are they simply sent to the principal’s office?

Kids, parents, teachers, and administrators: how do you feel about your school’s safety officers? Take our poll at left and share your experiences below.

(If you would like to communicate with a member of the NYCLU, ACLU and Dorsey Whitney legal team about this lawsuit, or share a story about policing in New York City public schools, please click here. You can also contact the NYCLU’s Johanna Miller at jmiller@nyclu.org)

In our most recent poll, we asked if your school is doing something to help Haiti. Nearly 60% of you said “yes,” and 22% said “I don’t know but I think it’s a great idea.” Just 12% said “no” and a mere 5% said, “I don’t know but I think our school should stay focused on educating our kids.”

Collection jugs and posters are popping up at schools throughout the five boroughs, and some schools have taken advantage of Chancellor Klein’s temporary lifting of the bake sale ban to raise funds for relief efforts. The guidelines issued also encourage schools to send collected donations to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which it said would distribute them to “reputable relief organizations, including the Red Cross.”

How is your school addressing the situation, either through fundraising or learning opportunities?

Many estimates indicate that there are more Haitians living in New York City than in earthquake-torn Port au Prince. Most live in Brooklyn and Queens where some schools offer programs for students who speak Haitian Creole. In schools, such as PS 269, there is a large population of students of Haitian descent who are eager to find ways to support Haiti in this disaster.

The New York Times has assembled lesson plans for educators, and five ways to teach about Haiti right now. These resources may also be helpful to parents. The Red Cross estimates that perhaps 50,000 people have already lost their lives, including thousands of children. As more details emerge, our kids will need help, both at school and at home, with handling this grim news.

In this week’s poll, we ask if your school is helping in the relief effort for Haiti. Please share ideas below.

Although a majority of our poll participants said “no” to holiday homework, the results of our follow-up poll indicate that most teachers assigned work over the break.

Forty-one percent of you said, “yes, and quite a lot,” while 38 percent reported, “yes, but not too much.” Just 17 percent of kids received no homework at all, and a mere two percent received homework that was optional.

Homework continues to be a hot topic and we’re wondering what you think about the quality of your child’s homework in general. Does it inspire your child to learn? Is it simply busy work? Post a comment to let us know!

After a majority of parents and students said “no” to holiday homework, we’d like to know whether your child was actually assigned homework.  And, if  homework was assigned, did it get done?

Take our follow-up poll in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and share your comments below.  We welcome comments from students, but please observe our posted policy (you know, be nice, no cursing, no calling your teacher names… or claiming the dog ate your homework).

Our most recent poll — asking whether or not teachers should assign homework over the holiday break — certainly struck a nerve with parents and kids alike!

Of the more than almost 1,900 Insideschools.org visitors who voted, more than half said, “no, kids deserve a break!” About a quarter said “yes, but not too much,” and 15% said, “yes, kids should have homework to keep up the momentum. Just five percent said, “Yes, but only if it’s optional.”

New Yorkers have a new Commissioner of Education, David Steiner, who now holds broad powers over our kids. The Alliance for Quality Education has posted a video featuring education activists, parents, grandparents, and students expressing their hopes for what the new boss will do for our kids in the new year.

We all want more oversight, accountability, and resources devoted to our kids. Seasoned education advocates, including Geri Palast from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, state the political case well. But we’d like to hear more from kids, parents, and grandparents, and anyone concerned about our kids who are in the system right now.

What advice do you have for Commissioner Steiner? If you were the boss of New York’s schools in the midst of a recession, what would you do?

Insideschools.org is here to amplify your voice, so post a comment, make a video, this is your chance to speak up and be heard.

And if you can, please donate now so we can continue to bring you the inside scoop on what’s going on inside our schools. Your donation is fully tax-deductible.

Winter Recess begins December 24th. Some students will head home with a bookbag full of holiday homework, while others will have a lighter load.

In this week’s poll, we’d like to know how you feel about teachers assigning homework over the holiday break. Is it important to keep the momentum of the learning process moving during that downtime?  Or, do kids deserve a break?

Vote now to let us know how you feel about holiday homework.  Kids are welcome to vote too!

You’ll find this week’s poll near the upper left hand side of this page, and you can share your comments here.

In our November poll, we asked how you felt about your parent/teacher conferences. Of the nearly  550 responses, 41% said, “Great! I really had the sense that the teacher ‘gets’ my child.” That’s encouraging! Twenty-one percent said it was “Just OK.”

Fourteen percent said it was “Awful,”  and 12% were “Frustrated” because it was short and uninformative. Nine percent did not attend.

Middle and high school parents seemed the most disgruntled, perhaps because their time with the teacher typically lasts only three minutes and waits can be long. One parent was so discouraged that she said she may skip it next time.

Post a comment to let us know how your parent-teacher conference went!

We’ve recently submitted an application to the Knight News Challenge, which funds projects that:

1. Use digital open-source media
2. To distribute news and information
3. In a local community

With help from the Knight News Challenge, we can make Insideschools.org sustainable here in New York and replicable to other cities across the country. With help from you, we can make our entry better and increase our chances of winning! You can read our entry here, and register to rate our project and leave comments and suggestions.

While you’re there, you might also want to check out another idea we like called Showbus, which will allow parents to track exactly where their child’s school bus is along its route.

Let us know what you think!

Guest blogger Mandy Hass is the parent of a Manhattan 4th-grader and the director of business development and marketing for Advocates for Children, the parent organization of  Insideschools.org.

Charter school supporters are crowing over a new apples-to-apples study — conducted right here in the Big Apple — showing that charter students outperformed their peers whose parents tried but failed to get their kids into charter schools.

Charter cheerleaders are chastising skeptics who’ve dismissed any data showing that charter students do better on standardized tests on the assumption that charters cream the kids most likely to succeed (because their parents or guardians cared enough to apply). (more…)