Your independent guide to NYC public schools

We are  making many improvements to the site, looking for ways to make the site more accessible to new visitors and also easier to use for our faithful members.

I took a good look at our comments system, for school profile pages and for The InsideSCOOP. We wanted to find a solution that would allow a new visitor to comment easily, without having to create an account. The site used to require a user to be logged in to comment on a school profile which was a deterrent for getting a one time visitor to send their input about their school.

Now I know it is different from both the school profile system, and the old Insidescoop comments system. It might seem confusing and I will do my best to ease the transition.

First, I recommend that if you would like to regularly comment (and we  hope you do), you can create a login profile at disqus.com. With the disqus.com login you can stay logged in, without needing to enter your email and username every time. This also allows you to see all your previous comments, and you can subscribe to threads you want to follow (such as your favorite schools, or favorite bloggers.)

Here's how to a Username: Disqus -> Link to Register -> Register (Images below.)
Creating a username is not required, but recommended if you comment often.

And here are a answers to users' questions about the new system: I have gotten about the comments system.

bkparent "I agree with TrudiRose. And, if there is a comment on the right it is impossible to tell what Inside Scoop story it relates to. You can't click on the comment and get to other related comments, or see the original posting. I am really disappointed and feel like a very useful source of information exchange has been lost." -
I took all of these suggestions and made some changes, I removed the link  to the username and  color coded the link to the comment  orange. * note if you click the title you will get a link the thread, if you click the time to the right. You will get a direct link to the comment this is useful making a reply

From Anon "And I hate having to enter my email every time I make a comment, and choose a user name - the old format allowed this info to autofill."
If you create a username  with disqus you won't need to keep typing your email address. You can also use your facebook.com, twitter.com  usernames to comment if you use your services

From Trudirose "Another thing I noticed: the comments are no longer numbered. Having the comments numbered made the discussion easier to follow, because commenters could say "No. 3, the answer to your question is..." or "No. 6, I disagree with your comment because..."
"I don't understand why InsideSchools changed to this new commenting format when the old one worked perfectly well?"

Trudirose, you are right.Replying to one another is one of the most important parts of community and discussions. The new  comment is  "threaded" , instead of using the number method.  You should use the reply button. This will put your comment directly below the comment you are going to reply too. This is very organized and helpful. In addition, you can be enable you can set up your account so that you are notified if someone replies to you.

I will be updating this post as needed with questions from the comments below. I am sure there are topics that I have missed!

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Insideschools.org Style Guide

Grades

• Use numerals unless begins a sentence: I am in the 8th grade; I am an 8th-grade student, I am an 8th-grader; Eighth grade is the best.

Ages

• The child is 17 years old, but she is a 17-year-old.

Addresses:

• Always use numerals, even for 1-10 (i.e. Second Ave. à 2nd Ave.)
• East/West --> E. / W.
• Street/Avenue --> St. / Ave.
• Room is spelled out if included in address (i.e. 123 W. 30th St., Room 100)
• Boroughs always spelled out.

When referring to a street name or east/west within the body of an article, do not abbreviate. When referring to a numbered street/avenue name within the body of an article, spell out the ordinal numbers 1-10. (i.e. The district is bounded by West Fourth Street.)

Time:

a.m. and p.m.

Key Words and Terms

• after-school program
• borough-wide
• busing
• Chancellor’s Regulation
• child care
• citywide AP style for all -wide suffixes: no hyphen
• curriculums, not curricula
• e-mail
• GED Though GED may sometimes stand for General Educational Development (as in “tests for general educational development”) or some variation on “graduate equivalency diploma,” the NY State Education Department uses the “general educational development” wording.
• general education students The term we use to describe students who are not in special education. Should not be hyphenated - this is an exception to our rule of hyphenating compound adjectives.
• gifted and talented program or G&T
• kindergarten, but kindergartners
• MetroCard
• nonprofit
• over-age
  
• pre-K
• Regents diploma
• SMART board, interactive white boards
• special education - an exception to the rule of hyphenating compound adjectives. If using special ed. or gen. ed. slang in blog posts, include periods to indicate abbreviations
• transfer school When used in the body of a review, define transfer school as a high school that serves students 16+ who have not accumulated enough credits
  
• waitlist, waitlisted
  
• website
• zoned school (not zone school)
• Words to avoid:
  • access (do not use as either a noun or as an adjective)
  • challenge (If a school is having a problem, simply state that.)
  • currently
  • impact (as a verb)
  • individual
  • issue (If a school is having problem, simply state that.)
  • partner (as a verb)
  • process
  • system
• Avoid jargon
  • catchment area --> neighborhood school or zoned school
  • model --> teachers do not model; they demonstrate or show
  • remediation --> extra help or tutoring
  • para- --> classroom aide or bus aide, etc., on first reference. If you must use the term, explain that it stands for para-professional.
  • professional development à teacher training on first reference. Later in the copy, you may use professional development because that it is the term used by teachers (i.e. “the contract calls for more teacher training, so-called professional development”).

  Laws, Rules, and Regulations

• When a law is referred to by name in the copy, provide a brief description. (i.e. “When students move, they may remain at the zoned school in their old neighborhood until they graduate, under a local school regulation, Chancellor’s Regulation A-180.”)

Ordinal Numbers

• Always write out the ordinal number except when referring to a grade (i.e. The fifth school to close this year, but the student is in the 5th grade.)

Phone Number:

• (212) 123-4567 ext. 123

Pronouns

• Avoid the use of he and she. Use the plural when possible (i.e. change, “the student is eligible for a bus pass he can use on school days” to “Students are eligible for bus passes they can use on school days”). If you must use he or she, be consistent throughout the text; alternate the gender used from one article to the next.

Percent: the word percent should always be written out - the symbol (%) shouldn't be used

Titles

• For books, use italics. (i.e. The students read The Chronicles of Narnia.)
• For a play, use quotations marks. (i.e. The students performed “The King and I.”)

For the title of a person, use upper case only when a title directly precedes a name. Lower case should be used when it is used as a stand-alone noun. (i.e. “Schools must be improved,” Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said yesterday. “Schools must be improved,” said the schools chancellor.)

Do you love Insideschools.org? Want to help make it better?

We are searching for parents, students, teachers or others who would like to explore and answer questions about the redesigned Insideschools.org.

Commitment is approximately one hour with some users in the office, but the majority testing from home. Contact Catherine Man if interested. Please let her know how much experience you've had with Insideschools.

One final note before I sign off: even though OSEPO pulled an all-nighter earlier this week trying to nail down the scope of the pre-K admissions problems, it is still planning to mail out long-delayed middle school placement letters right about now. Here's a space for parents of 5th graders to discuss the results of that process.

G&T folks, you'll get your placement thread next week. Good luck to all!

In a week filled with budget cut showdowns, botched pre-K admissions letters, and anticipation of middle school and G&T placement decisions, I'm pretty sure I'm just about the last thing on your minds. But that won't stop me from trying to insert myself there.

At the end of May last year, the Insideschools blog was still just an idea. A year later, its archive contains more than 525 posts(!) ranging from meeting coverage to analysis of articles and reports to help understanding the DOE's confusing policy changes. In my three years at Insideschools, I've enjoyed nothing more than writing this blog and interacting with the parents, teachers, policy wonks, and school officials who read it.

Today is my last day at Insideschools. After today, I'll be reading this blog, but I won't be contributing to it. I'm confident that I'm leaving the blog in more-than-capable hands — Helen Zelon, who has contributed coverage of the budget cuts already, will post regularly through the summer, and you'll soon see some other new names; let Insideschools know if you'd like to be one of them — but still, I will miss it.

When I see you around the city and the Internet, say hello. And until then, know that I am rooting for you all in this crazy, mixed-up school system.

Today's tragic crane collapse on the Upper East Side, the latest in a series of construction accidents in city that's experiencing a building boom, took place at the site of the new East Side Middle School, where developers tore down an old public school building to make way for a new condominium building that will also house a public school. The Times is reporting that the cab of a crane fell as many as 20 stories to the ground this morning, killing at least one person.

Groundbreaking for the new ESMS, a popular school currently located on York Avenue between 77th and 78th streets, happened last September. (View photos of the event.) The new, 34-story building, which will house an expanded ESMS as well as 118 condo units, was slated to be completed in 2011; it's not clear how this accident will affect the timeline but I think we can hope that construction there and elsewhere in the city should not happen until we can be guaranteed it's happening safely.

Earlier this week, Helen posted about "Chancellor Klein's no good, very bad morning." One commenter immediately noted the allusion to the classic children's book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," by Judith Viorst, saying that she reads the book to her own son Alexander when he's feeling grumpy. Recently, the Times' City Room blog ran a long post about the best kids' books that use New York City as a backdrop, such as "Eloise," "Harriet the Spy," and "The Cricket in Times Square." Readers weighed in with their own suggestions and sent me, at least, running to the library.

As we all work on our summer reading lists, help fellow Insideschools Blog readers out: What books do your kids most enjoy?

Some of the soon-to-be pre-K parents commenting on this blog are working through their anger and frustration about the admissions problems by generating possible solutions for them. If the DOE aims to make things right for the families it shortchanged — and I believe that is the DOE's intention — officials will likely need to think creatively. Perhaps they can use Bronx_Shrink's proposal for inspiration:

I think there may be one way in which a fraction of the wrongfully rejected parents can be appeased. The city offers child care vouchers to low income families. If they are unable to correct this and place kids properly, according to priority, perhaps some families can be offered vouchers to be used in private day cares. Before the tomatoes start flying, I know this will not be the answer for most parents as they carefully chose schools that match their educational values. However, it might be good compensation for some other families to get them through another year of childcare costs.

Do you have a better plan? Post yours. Pie-in-the-sky ideas are welcome, but practical solutions are even more welcome.

Earlier this week, Leonie Haimson commented on a post about the budget showdown that "no one believes that $200 million is going to be cut centrally." During this challenging week, I've really tried to give the DOE the benefit of the doubt, but all the evidence certainly does point that way. As Haimson noted over at the NYC Public School Parents blog, the budget the chancellor presented to the City Council on Tuesday reflected a $12 million central cut that will be achieved in large part by putting in place a hiring freeze at the DOE; it also reflected serious inconsistencies and underbudgeting that advocates have been noting since the budget was released several weeks ago.

After Council members and advocates demanded a closer accounting, the chancellor released a more detailed list of how he plans to free up the $200 million. Elizabeth Green at the Sun wrote yesterday that the list says the DOE plans to reduce the number of staff positions by 187 (which strikes me as unlikely to be achieved in one year through attrition), defer the introduction of a new social studies curriculum (testing related to a new science curriculum was also put off earlier this year), and stop paying for some of schools' computer repair costs. Nearly 15 percent of the central cuts could affect schools directly, Green reported. And now today, the Post notes that "nearly half" of the proposed central cuts were achieved by lowering cost estimates for various products and services — probably by finding someone who can do what's needed for even lower than the lowest bid, which can't be good for actually getting the job done well.

My head is spinning. The only way I can see sense being made of the whole situation is if the mayor frees up enough money to eliminate budget cuts for the DOE and its schools.

I just heard from Andy Jacob at the DOE, who said he had explained many details about the nature of the pre-K admissions problems to reporters at the Times and the Post but that those details hadn't made it into print. The Daily News had a hint of the details, but I didn't see that article earlier this morning -- there, Jacob described problems with sibling verification that may have led some parents not to have received acceptance letters when they should have.

What happened, Jacob told me, was that the DOE's computers compared data for the older sibling claimed on the application with the data parents entered on the application. If the address in the attendance system for the older child didn't match the address as it was entered from the application, the system treated the applicant as a non-sibling. But in some cases, Jacob said, the address-matching excluded children erroneously, sometimes because of a minor difference in the way the addresses were formulated (with a typo in the DOE's attendance system, for example) and sometimes because families have moved since entering the school system.

Currently, OSEPO staff are finishing up looking at every single one of the applications of families who indicated they had a sibling already enrolled, Jacob said. He told me he anticipates that the number of families affected will be a "small minority" of the 9,000 families who indicated that they had a sibling in their school of choice, though the number will be "more than 4 or 5." After the scope of the problem is clear, the DOE will decide how to handle the cases, he said, and families will be notified then if there was a mistake in the way their application was treated. "There are some cases where the problem was on our end. ... When we hear about problems, we solve them," he told me.

Jacob said there may also be families who believe they were erroneously denied a seat who actually completed the application incorrectly, perhaps by listing the school in which the sibling is already enrolled as something other than their first choice. (Sibling priority only works for your first-choice school.)

Jacob advised me that the very best thing parents who believe the address-matching issue may be the root of their rejection should hold tight while the DOE decides how to solve the problem. I know that will be hard to do, but I have faith that the DOE is committed to addressing the issues, even though it might not know yet exactly how to. If you just can't wait, Jacob said the best number to call at OSEPO is 212-374-4948. That's also the number you should call if you have other issues or if you still haven't received a letter -- though we have heard from one father who just received a letter this morning.

As always, we'll keep you posted as we learn more, and please let us know what's happening on your end.