Your independent guide to NYC public schools

It’s the end of teacher appreciation week: the DOE's number two guy, Shael Suransky, taught a class, Chancellor Walcott has been visiting schools, Mayor Bloomberg and countless others shared some #thankateacher love on Twitter, and maybe a few students brought apples to their teachers. We wonder, how can we best show our teachers appreciation all year round?

There are several politically charged answers to the that question that have been highlighted in the news lately. But, what about better pay? It’s no secret that teachers aren’t in it for the money. Teaching can be a highly rewarding job but it is not a career path paved with financial gold. A public school teacher in New York City with a BA can expect to earn $45,530 his first year, according to the UFT’s salary schedule.

Still, that’s almost 10K more than the national average: $36,502, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s most recent survey of education from around the world. But the high cost of living in the Big Apple, eats up much, if not all, of the difference.

After three decades on the job NYC teachers with a Master's degree can make over $100,000. Of course if you luck out and get a job at TEP, The Equity Project Charter School, you'll make $125,000 your first year there. But that's the exception.

Average starting pay for teachers in Finland, Diane Ravitch’s favorite place to learn, is actually lower, $32,692 (of course, the Socialist country has much better government benefits, but that’s a blogpost for another day). Teachers in Japan make $27,995 starting out and $30,522 is first-year pay for teachers in Korea. In Poland, on the other hand, starting salary is $9,186 on average. Luxemborg is one of the best places to teach if you’re after some green, starting teachers there make $51,799. (All these numbers are from OECD.) 

With that perspective, maybe New York’s not so bad! Then again, teachers are some of the most valuable members of society, should we pay them more? What do you think is a fair starting salary? Take our poll!

Two dozen new charter schools will be opening next fall, adding to the 136 charters now operating in New York City. Applications for most schools are due by April 1, although several have later dates. Parents may apply online using a common application for some of them. Check the New York City Charter School Center website for details.

There's a mix of elementary, middle, high school and transfer schools, with the majority in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Admission is by lottery, giving priority to residents of the community school district where the school is located. A few have additional admission's priorities. Some locations have been hotly contested by community schools and not all new schools have an address yet, or even a confirmed district. Some, like the three new Success Academies and Icahn or Explore charters, are part of an existing network of schools; others are so-called "mom and pop" charters, without a big organization behind them.

Some Manhattan parents are scrambling to stop a plan to move 150 Harlem Success Academy 5th-graders into a building on the Upper West Side. Critics fear the plan could make the Success Academy students, most of whom live in Central and East Harlem, eligible to attend Upper West Side middle schools once they reach 6th grade. Others say the move may jeopardize federal magnet programs at two of the small elementary schools in the building.

E-mail alerts about the proposal went out Thursday to many parents of students in District 3, which spans Manhattan’s west side from 59th to 122nd streets.  The e-mails urged parents to attend a March 15 public hearing and speak out in opposition to the plan.

According to one e-mail, the Harlem Success Academy students are largely from Districts 4 and 5, but the plan would transfer them into District 3 during 5th grade. “Once they are housed in a D3 building, they become eligible for D3 middle schools,” read the e-mail. “Our strong D3 middle schools could become an appealing option for these out-of-district families at a time when we are already facing a serious middle school seat crunch.”

If you're an 8th grader who hasn't received an offer at any of your high school choices, take a deep breath. It will be a busy two weeks before the second round applications are due on March 15.

Try to visit schools that interest you and that still have seats. Many are offering open houses and auditions this week and next. Don't bother applying to schools if you clearly don't meet their admissions standards. But some of the selective or screened schools may have a little wiggle room in admissions in the second round. If you were rejected at a school and it DOESN'T appear on the list of schools that have openings, you are probably out of luck. But if it does appear on the list, you just may have a better chance the second time around--especially if you can show that your 8th grade report card is better than your 7th grade one.

To add to the confusion, some of the schools on the list told us they don't actually have space. Our advice: list them on your application anyway. (We'll let you know if we ever figure out what's really going on with the Department of Education computers that make these decisions.)

This week all 8th-graders in the city, and 9th-graders who want to change schools, will find out where they have been accepted to high school. The Education Department is sending results to schools today, Feb. 29.and schools will distribute letters to students by tomorrow, March 1.

In a change this year, all applicants will find out at the same time whether they have been accepted. In previous years, students who applied to one of the nine specialized high schools found out up to a month earlier than those who did not.

Those with more than one acceptance must decide by March 15 which offer to accept. Every year thousands of students are not accepted anywhere during the first round. Those students must apply again, choosing from a list of high schools that have available spaces or from one of a couple of dozen new schools which will open in September.

They will be introduced to the new schools at a  "Round 2" fair this weekend at the Martin Luther King, Jr. complex on the Upper West Side.  Any student applying for 9th grade may choose to apply to one of the new schools, even those who received a match in the first round.

Kindergarten applications are due March 2, and any child born in 2007 may enroll in public school kindergarten. That means that some kids will still be only four years old when school starts. That cut-off date differs from many private schools and some city charter schools which expect children to turn five by Sept. 1, before the school year begins. 

In the last two decades, the practice of "redshirting" has become more common. (Redshirting is a term borrowed from sports, where it means holding an athlete back a year to develop more skills). Parents may want to give their children, especially their boys, an extra year of informal education for a leg up when they finally do start kindergarten. Many private school children don't start kindergarten until age six but in public schools, 6-year-olds must go into 1st grade.

On the other hand, a child reading by the age of four may seem ready for the big league. Spots in full-day pre-K are rare, and most New York City parents can't afford the extra year or two of daycare. 

What do you think? Should the age at which New York City kids enter public kindergarten be changed to ensure that all children are five years old before starting school? Take our poll and let us know!

If you missed our forum on "How to apply to public elementary school," you can watch it below. (Please bear with us for the 30 second ad before the video starts).

If you'd like to see more events like this, please email our co-sponsor, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

If you prefer words to video, here's a summary of my talk from the event:

Starting kindergarten is an exciting time for you and your child. But it can be a scary time as well. We're here to try to help you relax. There are a lot of lovely kindergartens out there and we'll help you find one for your child. We'll tell you about different kinds of schools available to you. But first, let's look at a video that will give you an idea of what to look for in a school:

Now I'm going to tell you about the different kinds of schools.

You can apply to as many schools as you like, your zoned neighborhood school, or another neighborhood school that might have space, or a special program such as a dual language program or a charter school.

One thing I want to make clear: Your child is entitled to a seat in kindergarten the year he turns 5. You are not required to send him until he is 6, but he is entitled to a spot in kindergarten if you want it. If you wait too long—if you just show up in August—your neighborhood school may not have any room and your child will be sent to another school. But they have to find a place for your child someplace.

Neighborhood schools:

Most kids in the city go to their zoned neighborhood schools. The advantages: it's close to home. It can build a sense of community. Kids get tired travelling. If you are considering a good school close to home or a great school miles away, I'd choose the good school close to home. Tours are going on now. Not all schools offer them. If you can't go on a tour, go to a PTA meeting or talk to parents at drop off in the morning.

No school is perfect. Think about "What can you fix, and what's impossible to fix?" My kids' school only had phys ed once a week, but we signed them up for West Side Soccer League on the weekends. Other things are harder to fix: if the principal is really unfriendly to parents, for example.

Most neighborhood schools have room for all their zoned kids. There are pockets of overcrowding: PS 41, PS 234 in Manhattan, District 24 (Elmhurst, Maspeth) in Queens and possibly District 20 (Sunset Park and Bay Ridge).

It used to be that parents just registered their children at their neighborhood school, but now there is a 2-step process. You "apply" between now and March 2. Don't bring your child, just your documents. Then you hear where you child has been "accepted" and you "register" –bring your child—sometime after March 26.

Now is the time to consider other options as well.

Unzoned schools:

Some schools are open to children from across a whole district or even across the city. These schools don't require an exam. Some of these were set up as alternatives to traditional neighborhood schools. Some are progressive schools, where children learn by doing, with lots of blocks, no text books, and fun-to-read picture books. Your child may call teachers by first name. Here are some unzoned schools: Ella Baker, Central Park East and the Neighborhood School in Manhattan, Bronx New School, Brooklyn New School.

The deadline to apply to these schools is March 2.

Dual language programs:

Dual language immersion programs have classes in which half the students are native speakers of English, and half speak another language (Spanish, Chinese or French, for example). Classes are taught in each language on alternative days or weeks, and the children are expected to become fluent in both. These programs shouldn't be confused with bilingual or English as a Second Language classes, designed to teach English to non-English speakers. Some dual language programs are PS 75, PS 87, PS 20, and PS 84 in Manhattan and PS 84 in Brooklyn.

The deadline to apply to these schools is March 2.

Magnet programs:

Magnet programs are designed to foster racial integration. They receive federal or state funding for special programs (such as art, drama or law) to make the school attractive to children of different races who might not otherwise attend, and they admit children from outside their immediate neighborhood. PS 145 on the Upper West Side and PS 201 in Queens are two magnet schools.

The deadline to apply to these schools is April 20. Lainie Leber from will tell us more about magnet programs on the Upper West Side and Queens. 

Charter schools:

Charter schools are public schools, but they are not run by the Department of Education. Admission is by lottery. Each school has its own deadline, but all are by April 1.

They are mostly in low-income neighborhoods where parents were fed up with their other options. Now there are a few in middle class neighborhoods as well. Honestly, charter schools are a mixed bag. Some are great, some are a mess. It used to be they had to find their own space, now Mayor Bloomberg gives them space in ordinary public schools. There's a lot of resentment over shared space.

There are two kinds of charter schools, what we call "mom and pops," versus the networks. The "mom and pops" are individual schools, mostly organized by community groups. For example, the Hellenic Charter School in Park Slope teaches Greek. The networks are a group of charters all managed by the same organization and all with the same philosophy. For example, Harlem Success Academy has a number of schools in the Bronx and Manhattan and they are opening some in Brooklyn as well.

Charter schools can have very different approaches to education. Some are very traditional, like the Achievement First schools, with lots of rules, uniforms, teachers who are given very precise instruction about how and what to teach. Others are more progressive, like Renaissance Charter School in Queens or Community Roots in Brooklyn.

There are 30 new charter schools opening next fall, if they are approved and can find space.

Later, we'll be hearing from Sonya Hooks from the City's charter school office. 

Gifted programs:

The deadline for gifted programs for fall 2012 has already passed. I'm going to let Robin Aronow talk to you more about gifted programs. But let me give you my thoughts. In most cases, I don't think gifted programs are necessary for very young children. A lot of what you need to learn in elementary school is social rather than cognitive. What you want is a teacher who can challenge different abilities in one class: If you see one child is reading an easy book like "Frog and Toad", while another is reading a chapter book like "Charlotte's Web", that's a good sign. By middle school (or even the upper elementary grades), it is very hard to teach different levels in same class: gifted programs make sense here. Also, gifted programs make sense if your neighborhood school is really not very good.

Special education:

We are lucky to have Randi Levine from Advocates for Children here to answer your questions about special education. But let me give you some general outlines and tips. I advise everyone to look at special education services in a school, whether or not you think your child needs them. That's because it will give you a clue about how the school will treat your child if he ever hits a bump—if he has trouble learning to read, or if there's a family crisis and he needs counseling. You want a school that includes special needs children in the regular activities of the school, not one that segregates them in the basement.

About 17,000 kindergartners will be getting special education services this fall, everything from speech therapy, to counseling, to a placement in an extra-small class with a specially trained teacher. If your child is one of them, you are entitled to apply to schools just like anyone else, and you'll find out what school he is assigned to just like everyone else.

In the past, some schools offered particular services--like help for deaf kids-- and some did not, and if your child needed the services he had to go to another school. Now, the Department of Education wants to make sure that every school can serve every child. This is one of those ideas that is good in theory but is causing lots of problems in practice.

If your child needs a small class (self-contained) or a class with two teachers (CTT or ICT), you used to apply through a central office and now you are applying at your neighborhood school. Some of the schools are prepared for this, some aren't. Basically, you are expected to apply for school before you know what your child needs and before you know what the school offers.

The Department of Education is holding workshops at the end of the month. If your child has special needs, it's a good idea to go.

On February 9, the Panel for Education Policy will meet to vote on the future of the 25 schools up for phase-out and closure. Hearings are held at the schools; in some cases parents and students are protesting outside the schools prior to the meetings. Protests generally begin at 5 p.m.; hearings at 6 p.m.

As schools are phased out and closed, others open in their place. Details about some of the proposed new schools can be found on the DOE's website.

Several popular schools are planning to expand: PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights wants to add a middle school. Since there is no room in the elementary building, the proposed site is a nearby high school: Westinghouse. PS 249, an early childhood school in Flatbush which serves many youngsters from outside the zone, will become a K-5 school, only accepting zoned students. In Manhattan, the Special Music School, a citywide program for exceptionally talented musicians, wishes to expand to become a K-12 school. To do so, it would move into space vacated by Manhattan Theatre Lab, in the Martin Luther King, Jr. building. Below is a rundown on upcoming hearings.

Financial mismanagement and low performance have likely doomed a handful of charter schools. The city announced Monday it would move to close Peninsula Preparatory Academy in Far Rockaway, Queens and Williamsburg Charter High School in Brooklyn. Peninsula students would be assigned to local elementary schools. Williamsburg students could be left scrambling for placements for September. Williamsburg's charter network, Believe High Schools, has been under investigation by the state Attorney General's office. Now the state says it will try and revoke the charters for the two other schools in the Believe network.

I got a letter the other day from a parent whose daughter had missed more than 30 days of school. “Please excuse my child for these absences because of asthma, colds and the weather,” the note said.