The first round of kindergarten applications for the 2010-2011 school year are due today, and already some schools have more applicants than seats available. However, new schools, and rezoning in some districts, may alleviate some of the overcrowding that caused 28 schools to turn 287 kindergarten students away last fall when classes were “capped.”

Parents had until 2 p.m. today to fill out applications. Final counts are not yet tallied, but at least two popular Upper East Side schools, PS 290 and PS 183, report far more applicants than slots available. By Thursday, PS 290 had 190 applications for 100 spots; PS 183 had 180 applicants for 125 spots.

Although most kindergarten classes are capped at 25 students, some accept a few more. Others, especially those with funds earmarked to lower class size, accept fewer. If there are more kindergarten applicants than slots available, a computerized lottery determines who is offered admittance. Schools will notify families of placements on March 22.

Many families hedge their bets by applying to private schools, gifted and talented programs, and unzoned schools, as well as their zoned schools. When some families eventually accept placement in other programs, their zoned slots are assigned to students on a wait list. Last year at this time, many Manhattan schools were flooded with applicants. In the end, only two had to “cap” their kindergarten classes, turning students away: PS 183 and PS 59. (more…)

Long-awaited “main round” high school acceptance letters to 8th graders MAY be delayed, according to a report in today’s Daily News.

The letters with high school matches, due to be delivered to students on March 24, are being held up by court order because of a lawsuit against the Department of Education by the NAACP and the teachers union. The lawsuit charges that the DOE acted illegally in moving to close 19 schools.

According to the Daily News, “Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Joan Lobis ruled Tuesday to temporarily ban the city from making the matches, since their process isn’t factoring in the closing schools and isn’t matching kids with them. ”

The court is encouraging both sides to work together to resolve the issue and the DOE is allowed to go ahead and prepare to send out letters — just not send them - yet.

For thousands of anxious 8th-graders and their parents, a longer wait to receive confirmation of where they will be attending school next year means more nail-biting.

Are you among the 86,000 or so families awaiting acceptance letters? How do you feel about the delay?

According to the Department of Education’s 2010-2011 school calendar,  students will attend only one day of classes during the first week of school. Talk about a false start!

Classes  will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 8 — two days after Labor Day — but students will have Thursday and Friday off for the Rosh Hashanah holiday! (Makes you  wonder how many families will skip the first week and send their children in the following Monday…)

Teachers and staff are due back on Tuesday, Sept. 7, assistant principals and supervisors on Aug. 30. The last day of the school year is Tuesday, June 28.

Check the calendar for other holidays and days off; the testing calendar hasn’t been posted yet.

This week’s snowstorm forced the postponement of open houses at specialized and new high schools. Because of the delays, the Department of Education is giving 8th graders and their families a few more days to make up their minds about whether to apply to new high schools, or, for those lucky enough to have a choice after the first round of high school acceptances, which school to accept!

The due date has been changed from Tuesday, Feb. 23 to Thursday, Feb. 25. From the comments on InsideSCOOP and our forum, some families are having a tough time making a decision. If you’ve got experience to share about the schools, please chime in.

And, see the Department of Education’s website for a rundown of all weather-related schedule changes, including the new open house dates for specialized high schools, and hearings about hotly-contested school utilization plans.

Meredith Kolodner of the Daily News has been following the story of Rosa Bracero, a newly homeless senior in high school, who was unable to take the state-mandated English Regents exam in January because her presence was required at a homeless intake center for a seven hour meeting. She took the exam at her high school the following day but the state education department refused to score the exam. The English Regents was the only missing piece for Rosa who hoped to graduate in January and attend the Lincoln Technical Institute during the second semester.

After an uproar by advocates for the homeless and others, the New York City Department of Homeless Services announced they had changed the policy. “The Department of Homeless Services is revamping our policy so that once a family presents at the intake center, a student may be excused from the shelter application process for important exams that do not offer make-up sessions, like Regents or some college preparatory exams, while their family continues to be processed. The incident of a student missing the Regents Exam was unfortunate and unusual, but these steps will ensure that no child faces a similar situation again.” (more…)

This weekend, the Department of Education is hosting a fair for new high schools at Emigrant Savings Bank, across the street from DOE headquarters at 51 Chambers Street. No word yet about how many new schools, which will accept 9th-graders next fall, will be present at the fair, set to take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Officials say a handbook listing the new schools will be posted online and will be available at the fair.

Although high school applications were submitted in early December, 8th graders can request a new school application from their guidance counselor if they wish to change their application to apply to a new school for Fall 2010.

The first round of high school admissions results comes out this week, two days before the weekend fair. On Feb. 4, 8th and 9th-graders who applied for one of the city’s nine specialized high schools will learn whether they have been admitted to a specialized school.

Middle and high school guidance counselors will be distributing the results on Thursday, although some schools will mail them in an effort to forestall the upset that frequently accompanies the distribution of the acceptances. Students who are accepted at a specialized school will also find out whether they were matched to another school on their list. If not they will have to wait until the main round results are distributed on March 23. The timeline for high school admissions is posted on the DOE’s website. (more…)

Is your child turning five this year? Today, Feb. 1 is the first day to submit a kindergarten application.

Families may apply to multiple schools by going directly to the school with proof of address and date of birth, and filling out an application.You don’t need to bring your child.  Kindergarten admissions is a school-based process so the application may vary by school, with some schools using a  kindergarten application template provided by the Department of Education. This round of applications will last until March 12.

According to New York State law, kindergarten is not mandatory (although it is strongly encouraged!) but every child who applies is guaranteed a place. Priority in admissions is given to students who are zoned for the school, and to unzoned students who have a sibling enrolled in the school. For a rundown of admissions’ priorities, see the Department of Education’s page on elementary school admissions. (more…)

After nine hours of parent, teacher, and politician testimony at a boisterous meeting at Brooklyn Tech last night, the Panel for Educational Policy rubber-stamped the decision to close 19 city schools.

Impassioned pleas to save neighborhood’s schools came from the far-reaches of all boroughs — Far Rockaway, Queens, the Northeast Bronx, Bed Stuy, Brooklyn and midtown Manhattan. Parents from PS 16 on Staten Island were there to protest the plan to split their school in half.

For the first time since Mayor Bloomberg took control of the city’s schools, parents — some 2000 strong — came together in a bid to keep their schools open. However, given that the PEP has previously approved all school closings, the schools’ fate appeared to be decided even before the meeting began.

The minimal checks and balances on mayoral control that were put into place by the state legislature last summer, were not enough to offset the mayor’s ironclad grip of the schools. Of the 13 members on the oversight board — the PEP — eight are appointed by the mayor and serve at his pleasure. (more…)

NY1 education reporter Lindsey Christ this  week is chronicling the sad story of Paul Robeson High School, one of 20 schools  slated for closure by the Department of Education. The reporter first visited Paul Robeson for Insideschools.org  last year. At that time she found that “high absenteeism, occasional violence, low graduation rates, and poor test scores” were plaguing the school, one of a dwindling number of  large comprehensive high schools left in Brooklyn.

In Tuesday’s report for NY1, Christ visited empty classrooms and talked to teachers about the attendance problem at Robeson — only 69% of students show up for school on a given day, sometimes as few as five are in a classroom.  In  Monday’s story,  students blamed themselves, as well as the school, for their lackluster performance.

The series about Robeson is a prelude to next week’s meeting of the  Panel for Educational Policy, where school closings will be voted on. Hearings continue this week, offering parents and community members the opportunity to speak out about the proposed changes.

Check out the coverage on NY1 for a look at what’s happening inside one large high school.  Meanwhile, the debate continues about how well small schools, which are increasingly replacing neighborhood high schools, serve the most troubled students, such as those skipping classes at Paul Robeson.

The  Department of Education’s proposed closing of some 20 schools—including several large high schools which will be phased out and replaced by small schools—prompted an outcry by students and staff  before the holiday break.

Teachers rallied to save some of the large high schools including Norman Thomas, but the decision of whether to approve the closings is in the hands of the Panel for Educational Policy which will meet and vote on Jan. 26 at Brooklyn Tech High School. To date the PEP has overwhelmingly supported the mayor’s and chancellor’s wishes about school changes.

A provocative piece about the pros and cons of small schools, which during Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure have increasingly replaced large high schools, was posted on NYCEducator last week. Among other issues, the poster questions the small school “themes,” their ability to offer elective courses and support services to students, and the lack of collaboration between as many as six schools sharing a building. (more…)

At a press conference yesterday outside the busy 72nd Street subway stop, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer called on the MTA to restore funding for student MetroCards.  As has been widely reported,  among  the  cutbacks to make up for a budget shortfall, the MTA is planning to cut funding for student MetroCards and require students to pay one-way fares next year, and full fare starting in 2011.

Stringer pointed out that the estimated cost of the Free-Fare Student Program is only about 2% of the total MTA budget and would affect some 400,000 students.  His office is circulating a petition to restore student MetroCards.

For a city where yellow bus service ends after 6th grade, and middle and high school students increasingly rely on subways and buses to get to school, officials say these  cuts will disproportionately affect the city’s low-income students and families.

The student MetroCard cuts come the same month that thousands of  students submitted applications to middle and high schools, in many cases in districts and boroughs far from their homes.

How will the cuts affect school choice and your family? Do you think the MTA is unfairly targeting New York City students or is this a necessary move?

Eighth-graders and their families are in the final frenzy of filling out high school applications before tomorrow’s Dec. 4 due date after a fall of attending fairs, visiting schools, taking exams, and auditioning.

The process is a daunting one, despite reforms in the system and efforts by the central enrollment office to get information out to parents. It’s especially confusing for families at risk, (as described in a June 2009 Schools Watch report), parents who don’t speak English, and those who don’t have time to research all the options. No wonder many are wondering, “is there a better way?” as our High School Hustle blogger Liz Willen asked in her recent post.

DOE officials agree that parents need all the help they can get. Yesterday they announced the launch of a “High School Admissions Ambassador” program, recruiting parents to teach parents about high school admissions. (more…)

Nearly half — 45% — of all New York City public high schools are “A” schools, according to their grades on progress reports released today by the Department of Education. An additional 30% of the more than 300 high schools graded received a “B.” The high school grades lag behind those of the elementary and middle schools released in September.

High elementary and middle school grades reflected, in large part, the improvement of students’ scores on state standardized exams; high school grades are based on the school’s graduation rates and Regents scores, which did not improve as much.

The high number of elementary and middle schools receiving top grades — 84% received A’s — led some to question the validity of the grading system, while state officials vowed to toughen up its procedures.

Today’s press release, reports that 87% of the schools that received an A last year earned an A again this year; 67% of the schools that earned D’s and F’s last year earned C’s this year. (more…)

As parents seeking enlightenment about the city’s public school gifted and talented offerings crowd into information sessions this week (tonight in Queens; tomorrow night in Manhattan), a new private school is recruiting students whose families are able to pay up to $28,000 for a G&T education.

The New York Times reports the opening this fall of the Speyer Legacy School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with 26 students in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade. According to the article, 76 children applied for the slots. This contrasts with the 14,822 youngsters who tested for the public programs last year. Of those, 1,345 scored at the 97th percentile or above, qualifying them for 325 seats in citywide programs.

Meanwhile Hunter College Elementary School, open only to Manhattan residents, had 1832 applicants for 50 kindergarten seats.

The assessment process is different for private and public programs, and experts continue to debate the value of testing children as young as 4 years old. However, the demand for such programs is clearly there….will the supply increase? According to the Department of Education, the opening of new citywide programs is still under consideration.

A new study, commissioned by the Center for Arts Education, finds that higher graduations rates go hand-in-hand with the number of performing arts and visual arts classes offered to high school students. As reported in yesterday’s Daily News,” students at high schools with graduation rates higher than 85% are much more likely to have taken at least three art classes than those at schools where less than half the students graduate.”

In August, we reported that the city’s public schools were not meeting state requirements, which mandate that a certain percentage of instructional hours be dedicated to the arts. Kira Streets, the CAE’s director of public engagement, says the study “is just one more piece that shows arts education is crucial to a successful K-12 education experience, and it’s not being delivered equitably.”

Interested in advocating for more arts programming in city schools? The CAE is looking to hire parent advocates to campaign for arts-education-friendly policies and to work to get schools in compliance with state regulations. The group would like to have two advocates for each borough; still missing are two representatives from Staten Island, and one each for the Bronx and Queens. Interested parents should contact Kira Streets or call (212) 971-3300, extension 324.

Yamilka, a 23-year-old Bronx native, was unable to read street signs well enough to get back home from an unfamiliar subway station. This despite being promoted from grade to grade in New York City public schools — and even graduating with a special education diploma, a diploma she regards as meaningless.

Hers is a shocking story, even for those of us who have been writingabout NYC public schools and students for years . Yamilka’s story is one of several cases documented by Beth Fertig, an education reporter for WNYC radio, in her new book “why cant u teach me 2 read?” which was featured in USA Today yesterday.

Fertig tells the stories of three young adults - all in their twenties - who cannot read. All three have learning disabilities and were clients of Advocates for Children of New York (the parent organization of Insideschools.org). After the public schools failed to teach them to read, Advocates fought successfully for them to have private tutoring to try to make up for the years of service they had never received. (more…)

On the front page of today’s New York Times comes the news that New York State’s 4th-graders did not fare as well on the federal math exams as they did the last time they were tested in 2007; 8th-graders scored only slightly higher than in the past.

We don’t yet know how New York City students scored on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, which is given to a sampling of students every two years, but critics are already comparing the rather dismal statewide results to the much-heralded NYC gains on 2009 state tests and renewing their charge that the state exams are simply too easy.

GothamSchools covers the story, and asks, “If the state tests are easier, how did they get that way?”

Meanwhile, Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the New York Board of Regents, reiterated her vow to raise standards on the state math exams.  Both the math and ELA exams will be given later than in previous years.  According to the State Education Department calendar, the ELA exams are scheduled for late April; math tests will be given in May.

Has math test prep begun at your school?

Today the  Daily News reports that more than 500 school aides will lose their jobs next week. While no school will lose aide positions if it budgeted to keep them, union rules mean that schools may lose individual aides who will be replaced by other aides with more seniority.

Principals and parents charge that not all school aides are equal when it comes to  carrying out specific tasks. The News quotes an unidentified Manhattan principal:  “If I hired someone because he’s really good at keeping order in the hallways, but I get sent someone who was hired because he’s good at clerical work, I’ve got a problem.”

And some of the replacement aides may come from the “excess pool,” which Department of Education officials said the city cannot afford to maintain “in the current economic climate.” Last month, we reported a similar situation when Chancellor Klein urged schools to hire from the pool of excessed teachers.

Is your school community being disrupted by a change in school aide staffing? Comment below to let us know!

In July we wrote about community efforts to open a selective high school on the Upper West Side to be named after the late educator and writer Frank McCourt. Yesterday, Chancellor Joel Klein gave an official nod to the new school, announcing its proposed opening with a freshman class in 2010 in the Brandeis High School building.

The Frank McCourt school would be a small selective school, joining three other schools that opened this fall in the building, as Brandeis itself is being closed. The three new schools are Global Learning Collaborative, the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, and Innovation Diploma Plus, a transfer school for older students; like most new small schools, and unlike the proposed Frank McCourt school, they do not admit students based on their academic record. (more…)

Our hearts go out to the families and students affected by the violence that took the life of a 13-year-old  freshman at the Humanities and  the Arts High School in Cambria Heights. According to The New York Times, young Kevin Miller was on his way to a McDonald’s restaurant after school on Friday when “shooting erupted during a fight between two students” from the nearby school. A 16-year-old has been arrested and charged with his murder.

Humanities and the Arts is one of four small schools in  a school building now known as Campus Magnet. It was founded after the large and troubled Andrew Jackson High School was closed in the mid-1990s due to a long history of poor performance and violence.  During the 2006-2007 school year, the entire campus was designated as an “impact” school, a city designation for a dangerous school that requires extra security guards; the building apparently came off the list a year later.

On Insideschools’ most recent visit to Humanities and the Arts last November, we found that student achievement was up and the building had benefited from a reorganization, which gave each school its own area for classrooms and separate times for lunch and gym. This tragedy, although it took place off school grounds,  is a sad setback for the challenged building.

This fall, kindergarten gifted andtalented programs opened in 27 of the city’s 32 districts. That’s in addition to five programs which are open to students citywide.

Students who score at the 97th percentile or above are eligible for citywide programs, but last year, because of the large number of students qualifying, only children scoring in the 99th percentile or above were admitted to NEST +M and the Anderson School. To gain admission to the new Brooklyn School of Inquiry, a score in the 98th percentile was needed. Only at TAG and the new STEM Academy at PS 85, in Queens, was a score at the 97th percentile sufficient.

The DOE said last year they planned to open additional citywide programs in the Bronx and Staten Island for the fall of 2010. No decision yet as to whether these programs will actually materialize for next fall. According to DOE spokesperson Andy Jacob they are still looking at that question. (more…)

For time immemorial, elementary school students have been pulled out of class for mandatory hearing tests — often administered by school aides in noisy hallways, or school closets. No more. The Department of Education announced this month that it has done away with hearing screening in elementary schools, following recommendations made by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, a group that advises the federal government on screening and preventive health services.

The reason for the reversal? Apparently there is no solid evidence that hearing screening at this age leads to better educational or social outcomes. In addition, many times the screenings showed a false positive - when actually the hearing loss was due to a temporary medical condition such as the build up of ear wax!

According to health officials, most severe hearing deficiencies are now detected in infancy, thanks to universal neonatal hearing screening.

While one screening in schools has been done away with, another has been added. Tuesday the Daily News reported that all students who attend publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs must undergo a mandatory screening for developmental delays. Last year some 56,000 kids attended public pre-K programs — this year there are even more enrolled, according to the DOE, although there is no final count as yet. (more…)

Two weeks into the school year, some students are spending more hours on school buses than they do in some classes. Lindsey Christ, former Insideschools staffer and now NY1 education reporter, reported Monday that a Queens kindergartner commutes for two hours on a bus to get to a school located just 10 minutes from his home.

The Daily News reported on students in the Bronx who have been denied busing because their school, the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation, moved from one district to another. A Department of Education official was quoted saying that buses do not cross district lines, except in cases of children who transfer schools under the No Child Left Behind law.

Special education students are  bused across district lines, if their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) specifies that they need a program that’s not offered in their district. And, it is the families of special needs students who most often have busing troubles, especially at the beginning of the school year.

Advocates for Children coordinated an effort to monitor special education placement at enrollment center across the city to identify and track common problems experienced by parents during the first two weeks of schools. Many parents told the monitors about transportation problems, including busing.

“A number of parents we spoke with expressed concerns about busing and transportation – some of them quite egregious,” said Maggie Moroff, special education policy coordinator at AFC. “We are working to assure those families have the information they need to advocate for themselves, and helping out wherever possible.” (more…)

Last spring we reported that the Department of Education issued a ban on hiring new teachers due to budget cuts. Instead, principals were urged to hire teachers from the pool of excessed teachers — those who lost their jobs due to schools closing, or staff cuts, but who continue to receive a full salary, even though they are not in the classroom.

A week into the new school year, Chancellor Klein reiterated his call for principals to hire excessed teachers. In his weekly letter to principals, Klein said there are 1,500 teachers in the excessed pool, 500 more than last year. “This is a fiscal liability in this budget climate, and we must reduce it,” he writes. He goes on to point out there are 1,100 teacher vacancies in the city’s schools.

Klein imposed a hiring deadline of Oct. 30 and insists that most vacancies be filled with “internal staff.” For those schools which are unable to fill the positions by that date, the DOE “may be be forced to take back the dollars budgeted for those positions to pay for the increase in teachers in the excess pool.” (more…)

The start of the school year can be a confusing time for all families,but especially for those who are new to the public school system or who have children with special needs. Enrollment centers opened today for all high school students new to New York City, as did special education enrollment centers for new elementary and middle school students who need a self-contained or collaborative team teaching class.

To help parents navigate the system, and to anticipate problems that might arise, the ARISE coalition,which advocates on behalf of special needs students, has put together a handout for those families. A list of common problems and questions are answered in a Q&A format. (more…)

Although the first day of school is just two weeks away, some students, especially those new to the city, still don’t know where they will be going to school on Sept. 9.

Beginning next Monday, Aug. 31, the Department of Education will open special enrollment centers for high school students who are new to New York City, new to public school, or who otherwise don’t have a high school placement. The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Monday to Friday from Aug. 31- Sept. 18 (closed on Labor Day). (more…)

A new study shows that increasing numbers of parents nationwide plan to volunteer at their children’s school this fall, citing the slow economy and budget cuts to schools as incentives. According to the study, by GreatSchools.net and the Harris Interactive research firm, nearly two-thirds of 1,086 parents polled feel it’s more important now than ever to volunteer at school.

The results show that 20% more parents plan to volunteer this year than did last year –  an anticipated jump from 23%  to 44%. The trend is “most pronounced” among African American parents; 60% said they planned to volunteer up from the 23% who volunteered last year. (more…)

A week after the State Senate re-newed the law granting Mayor Bloomberg control of the city’s public schools, the mayor announced today his appointees to the Panel for Educational Policy, the oversight board that replaced the old Board of Education. The PEP is made up of eight mayoral appointees and one appointee from each borough president’s office. The panel is charged with approving educational policies proposed by the chancellor and voting on the Department of Education budget (and some contracts); but it has had no real decision-making power.

Mayoral appointees serve at the pleasure of the mayor and there are no term limits. Four of the eight appointees are “repeats” - Philip Berry,  David Chang, Tino Hernandez, and Richard Menschel. Only two of the four new members are public school parents: Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Linda Lausell Bryant, executive director of Inwood House, a nonprofit that supports families and teen parents. (more…)

Charter schools seem unable to shake the perception that they don’t enroll as many students with special needs  - those who are disabled or who need help learning English, for example - as traditional schools.

Yesterday’s Boston Globe spotlights the expansion of charter schools in Massachusetts, but notes the discrepancy in enrollment of special needs students in charter schools as compared to other schools. It reports that  English language learners make up a fifth of the students in the Boston school system, yet they represent only 4% of the students in all but one  charter school. Special education students likewise are underrepresented in Boston charter schools as compared to their traditional counterparts. (more…)

In an announcement today at PS 171 in East Harlem, the mayor proposed ending “social promotion” for all students. His new promotion policy would require all students in grades 3-8 to score at least a “Level 2″ on state reading and math exams to move onto the next grade. (Exams are scored on a 1-4 scale where 4 is the highest.)

Five years ago, Mayor Bloomberg “rammed through” a controversial 3rd-grade promotion policy by summarily dismissing members of the Panel on Educational Policy (PEP) who opposed his plan. After the policy went into effect in 2004, it was later adopted for 5th, 7th, and 8th-graders, as well. Now, Bloomberg wants to extend the policy to include the 4th and 6th grades, so that it applies to all grades in which students take state-mandated standardized exams. (more…)

It’s official. The anticipated State Senate vote re-authorizing  mayoral control of the New York City schools took place this afternoon; senators voted 47-8  in favor of the legislation, according to  news sources. A few vocal opponents argued against its passage  up to the end, according to the Daily News . The News reported that Senator Shirley Hunter, a “an outspoken critic of mayoral control,” had harsh words for some of her fellow senators whom she said struck a deal with Mayor Bloomberg.

GothamSchools.org, which has been following the mayoral control muddle closely, has a good round-up of news coverage.  It also notes  that the Senate approved the four amendments to the State Assembly bill that will “create a parent training center, an arts council, yearly school safety meetings, and expanded oversight of principals by superintendents.” The amendments fall far short of the checks and balances on the mayor’s power that many parent advocates, including Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters,  have lobbied for.

Arts education has taken a backseat in New York City public schools for the past few years. With emphasis placed squarely on improving reading and math test scores, the arts are too often considered “extras.” According to the non-profit Center for Arts Education, the city’s public schools are not even meeting state requirements that mandate a certain percentage of instructional hours dedicated to the arts - as much as 20% of time in lower elementary grades and a paltry one semester for the entire four years of high school.

CAE has been lobbying for dedicated arts funding for the schools  and now it wants to enlist parent advocates. As part of a “Parent Fellows” program, 8-10 parent leaders citywide will be trained  in arts education advocacy tactics.  Tasks will include  visiting schools and reaching out to parents  to increase awareness of the benefits of arts education.  Parent Fellows will be paid a monthly stipend, as yet to be determined, and will be trained in leadership skills. (more…)

Thanks to our generous donors, we have raised $8,511 in our July individual fund-raising campaign. We appreciate all of your efforts to spread the word about Insideschools.org.

Insideschools.org depends on our readers’ support, not only with individual donations, but in other ways as well. Here’s how you can help:

• Volunteer at Insideschools. We have lots of opportunities for folks who have a few hours or more a week to spare. Contact us to find out more.
• Post a comment. Tell us - and others - what’s going on at your school. It just takes a moment.
• Know of an event of interest to public school parents? Post it on our calendar.
• Start a conversation - or join a conversation - on our forum.
• Share your contacts: Do you have contacts in philanthropy, business, or government that may be interested in Insideschools.org? Let us know.

A big thank you from all who have donated. We are still $1,500 shy of our $10,000 goal. Please support us if you can, and forward this to your friends who care about public education in New York City.

After a flood of parent complaints about the Department of Education’s crackdown on parent associations independently paying for teaching aides in crowded classrooms, the DOE is  reconsidering its decision and may allow the practice to go forward this year after all. The New York Times, Gothamschools, and the Daily News report that, yesterday, Chancellor Klein proposed an arrangement  in which the assistants would be called “substitute aides” and paid $12.30 per hour. He made his proposal at a meeting at Tweed with parents from a dozen Manhattan schools and City Councilmembers who put together the meeting.

The arrangement is subject to the approval of the District Council 37, the union representing non-instructional school staff. (more…)

Word comes from Joyce Szuflita of  NYCSchoolHelp that an interim acting principal was named at PS 20 in Fort Greene. The new principal, Lena Barbera, comes from a popular Boerum Hill school, PS 261, where she has been on staff since 1996, most recently as assistant principal. Check out the PS 261 website for more information about her. According to PS 20 PTA President Ayanna Blaize, Barbera has already reached out to both the PTA and staff .

PS 20 was in the news last  spring when it was slated to become one of three new citywide Gifted and Talented programs to open in September. The program was nixed after too few families applied. In May,  Principal Sean Keaton was arrested for allegedly assaulting a teacher.  (The New York Times Local Fort Greene/Clinton Hill blog covered the story extensively this spring but there’s been no word on the fate of the former principal. According to Blaize, school officials say they are “still investigating.”)

UPDATE (7/31): According to The New York Post, Sean Keaton, the former principal, “has been assigned to the district office pending the outcome of his criminal case.” The article quotes Keaton’s lawyer saying he expects his client will be cleared and return to the school “in good standing.”

In an editorial in today’s Daily News, Eva Moskowitz weighs in on the controversial  decision by the Department of Education to  clamp down on parent associations paying for non-union teaching aides in their children’s classrooms. Her take? Schools benefit from parent fund-raising that helps lower class size, especially in middle class schools which get less funding than those with a high percentage of low income students.  She posits, “The UFT doesn’t like it because these aspiring teachers aren’t union members.”

Commenters on Insideschools have been debating the merits of the practice, which according to the New York Times, only affects about 18 highly desirable city schools. Some argue that this is “another example of  Bloomberg steamrolling important parent input,”  that  will “drive more  middle class [families] out of the city. ” Others argue that, “It’s a public system and there should be a level playing field.” A few commenters suggest ways in which schools across the city can “pool fundraising.” Others note the role of the powerful teachers union, which filed a grievance last fall about the hiring practice. (more…)

Thanks to our generous contributors,we are more than two-thirds of the way to meeting our goal of $10,000 in private donations for the month of July. As of July 13, our donation total was $7,362. Please help us meet our target by donating now, if you can. (Thanks to those of you who have already donated!)

To learn more about our circumstances, take a look at today’s cover story in The West Side The Spirit, Insideschools.org On Its Way Out . We appreciate that they spread the word about our efforts to keep “the city’s premier public school website” alive.

Looking for a slot in a public pre-Kindergarten program for September? The second round of admissions will begin on Monday, July 13, according to the Department of Education. To be eligible, children must turn four years old by Dec. 31, 2009.

A directory of schools with open seats will be available online on Monday; paper copies will be ready on Friday, July 17 at enrollment offices, according to the DOE. Some programs with open seats  are full day; others are only half-day, offering  morning or afternoon sessions.

Applications can be submitted online or by mail; the deadline is July 31. Letters notifying  families of placement will be sent on Aug. 28 - rather late for those who are trying to figure where their four-year-olds will be attending school in the fall!

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.

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.

Space for pre-kindergarten classes shut out of PS 3 and PS 11 in Greenwich Village because of kindergarten over-crowding will be available next fall at 27 Barrow Street, the home of the Barrow Street Nursery School, according to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Department of Education officials who have been working this week to find a home for the displaced students.

Speaking to an auditorium packed with parents at the District 2 Community Education Council meeting last night, John White, of the Department of Education, said that the siting is a temporary solution “that will allow the [kindergarten] waitlist to completely disappear.” There are 79 kindergarteners now on the waitlist for the shared PS3/41 zone, he said, and moving the pre-K classes will allow one new class at PS 41 and two new classes at PS 3. White also anticipates that many of the 63 zoned students who qualified for gifted & talented programs would choose that option, freeing up more space in the crowded neighborhood schools.

Regarding a new site for a new PS 151, White indicated that the Our Lady of Good Counsel school would be the likely site; a formal announcement is expected on Monday.

White also said that new sites will be found for two middle schools now sharing elementary-school buildings, Greenwich Village Middle School and the Clinton School for Writers and Artists, for the 2010-2011 school year.

Parents fired questions at White and DOE enrollment chief Elizabeth Sciabarra about kindergarten waitlists and challenging DOE statistics. A CEC member asked parents: “Are you happy with what you are hearing tonight?” Parents, some carrying placards, responded with a resounding “NO!” (more…)