However, 25 percent of you feel your school’s programs need improvement, and 23 percent don’t even have a school-based program. These figures are aligned with the results of Afterschool Alliance’s recent survey, America After 3pm, which found that one-quarter of American students are without much-needed after-school activities.

As we’re all now aware, Mayor Bloomberg will retain his mayoral seat for a third term. Following this week’s elections, we’d love to know how you feel about the future of the New York City educational system. Vote now!

At the Division of School Facilities’ Sustainability Committee meeting earlier this fall, Jamie Cloud, the inspiring founder of the Cloud Institute, talked about Jessie-Ruth Corkins, a girl in Vermont who saved her school $90,000 and changed the way the whole state of Vermont heats its school buildings — all before she graduated from high school. Jessie-Ruth was young, in 4th grade, when Vermont instituted its Sustainability Curriculum mandates, Jamie said, it was not that surprising that by the time she entered high school she had taken responsibility for the world she lived in and tried to make it a better place.

That’s what kids do, because they don’t know what’s supposed to be impossible. Some people ask how teachers can find time to teach sustainability concepts among all the other education mandates. “There’s never going to be more time in the day,” said Cloud. “But people have to ask, are we going to educate for sustainability, or for unsustainability?”

Pamela French, a New York parent and the founder of A Greener Apple video series, takes sustainability straight to the streets with the question: “How would you make New York a greener apple?” She asked this question of students, parents, and educators at the Green Schools Alliance’s Green Schools NYC Fair, held last spring at the Collegiate School. Enjoy her piece below and let us know how you would make New York a greener apple in the comments!

I entered the lunchroom hosting the District 4 fair with excitement, prepared with a mental list of “must visit” schools. As an admittedly-anxious mom and eyewitness to the things that can go wrong in middle schools, I have been researching schools on this site, and in the book NYC’s Best Public Middle Schools by Clara Hemphill and the Insideschools staff.

J had on his “I’m not talking to anyone” face and refused to ask questions at any of the tables. He asked again why he needed to be present. If it were up to him, he would rather spend the day at his beloved elementary school, Central Park East I. (more…)

The revised state law governing NYC schools renewed mayoral control of the city school system, but modified it in an effort to increase parent input. The law explicitly requires announcement of PEP meeting agendas at least 10 days in advance. In this case, the DOE provided the information more than a month in advance. However, it is not clear how public comments (which are not actually being made public) will make a difference in the proposals or the outcome of the PEP vote. (more…)

A:  I went to a very large high school myself, in Queens, many years ago.  There were about 1500 students in my graduating class.  Now I work at a private school, and yes, there is a vast difference in the amount of individual attention teachers and counselors are able to give to students.  But statistics confirm that students in each setting are successful in the college admissions process.

Going to a private school in itself does not guarantee acceptance to any college; nor does attending a large urban public school in itself, assure rejection.  Applicants are looked at in the context of their school environment, so your son will not be competing against his cousin.

I recently attended an admissions information session at an Ivy league university.  The admissions rep pointed out that if they accepted students who were all exactly the same in background and qualifications, the freshman class would be pretty boring.  To keep their school vigorous and stimulating, they admit students who come from a wide variety of schools, communities, and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who bring an array of interests and talents to campus.  To do this, they recruit widely at both public and private schools.  Colleges really do reach out, some more effectively than others. (more…)

Both Mayor Mike Bloomberg and his Democratic opponent Bill Thompson have been touting their education experience: Bloomberg running on his record of eight years as mayor controlling the schools; Thompson, on his years as head of the Board of Education.

We’re wondering what the parents of NYC public school students are thinking. Who are you going to vote for?

Polling places, most of which are located inside schools, are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you’re not sure of your assigned polling location, you can search here, call 1.866.VOTE.NYC, or e-mail your complete home address to vote@boe.nyc.ny.us with the borough in which you reside in the subject line.

If you want to attend a post-mortem on the day after election day, consider attending a panel discussion, “What’s Next for our Public Schools?” sponsored by a group called Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century and moderated by New York Times reporter Jennifer Medina. On the panel: Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents; Michael Mulgrew, president of the UFT; Eva Moskowitz, CEO of the Harlem Success Academy; and Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. For details, see our Insideschools calendar.

There are too many names on the sign-up list. The parents are anxious and antsy. It’s always too hot and crowded, and I immediately start feeling sorry for the teachers, besieged by questions.

With one child in middle school and another in high school, I am officially a veteran of New York City public school parent teacher conferences. I’ve developed a few survival strategies.

If possible, I take a personal or vacation day and attend the afternoon session in an effort to avoid ridiculous evening lines.Even so, I can’t beat the system.

(more…)

The New York Times echoed these sentiments, reporting that fewer than 50 percent of New York City parents have granted schools permission to vaccinate their kids. Vaccinations began this week at small elementary schools and will begin on Nov. 4 and 9 at larger schools. The city’s weekend clinics for middle and high school students will also open in early November.

The Times also weighed in on after-school programs in an editorial titled, “Home Alone.” Citing Afterschool Alliance’s recent study, America After 3PM, the editorial points out that after-school participation has increased markedly since 2004, but not fast enough to keep up with the growing number of “latch-key kids”– estimated at nearly one quarter of our nation’s students.

The study also found that more than 18 million parents would enroll their children in after-school programs if they were available.

In this week’s poll, we’d like to know if your child’s school offers an after-school program. Vote now!

How well does it serve your children? How could the program be improved? Let us know in the comments.

Department of Education regulation A-812 states that only approved foods can be sold in schools until 6 p.m., and no outside food can be sold during mealtimes. The regulation is so restrictive it is commonly referred to as a ban on bake sales. As Jennifer Medina said in a recent New York Times article, “There will be no cupcakes. No chocolate cake and no carrot cake. According to According to New York City’s latest regulations, not even zucchini bread makes the cut.” (more…)

This overturns the Health Department’s announcement yesterday that these clinics would welcome all New York City residents and not just students. Middle and high school students are entitled to vaccinations at designated sites–which are slated to open in early November. Other members of the public will be evaluated, but only those considered “at-risk” will receive treatment.

Health Department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti told the Daily News that the sites giving priority to students will redirect the public to other vaccination centers. She reiterated that the best place to receive a vaccination is from one’s primary-care doctor.

Is your elementary, middle, or high school child going to be vaccinated? Take our poll!