Dear Judy - I have been reading about the [schools that are closing] and I am wondering: what happens to students at those schools? Are they allowed to transfer? Also, if they have not accumulated enough credits to graduate by the time the school is closed, what do they do?

—Worried about the kids

Dear Worried about the kids:

According to Liz Sciabarra, director of enrollment at the Department of Education, 9th- graders in phasing out schools will be offered the opportunity to apply for another school. Kids should speak to their guidance counselor about how to proceed. Another option: visit the local enrollment office.

Tenth graders will also be helped to transfer, if they wish, but by and large, the DOE expects students, especially in the upper grades in phase-out schools, to stay put and graduate. Be aware that many schools do not accept kids after 10th grade and sometimes the new placement will be no better than the current situation. It would be wise to contact the guidance counselor or the enrollment office 212-374-2363 as soon as you can to start the process. (more…)

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Eighth-graders (and some 9th-graders) across the city learned this week whether they were offered seats at the city’s specialized high schools, including the eight schools for which students take the Specialized High School Admissions Test, and LaGuardia High School which requires auditions and a review of a student’s academic record. Nearly 6000 8th-graders — 5,898 — received an offer. (No word yet on how many 9th-graders got offers.) Close to 2000 9th graders — 1,964 –took the exam and 174 received an offer.

Of 27,000 applicants citywide for the exam schools, 5,261 were offered seats. Last year 5,246 got offers. At LaGuardia 1,000 kids got one or more offers as applicants often do multiple auditions. Of those 1,000 students, 363 also got accepted by one of the exam schools. Thirty 9th-graders received 36 offers to programs in LaGuardia. Of those, two students who received an offer to LaGuardia also received an offer to a specialized testing school.

Students who made the cut also learned about their high school placements to non-specialized high schools. But, the vast majority of students who participated in the specialized high school process — nearly 21,000 — will have to wait for March 24th, when all applicants will receive their results.

Students with offers in hand have until Feb. 23 to decide which one to accept. Feb. 23 is also the deadline for students to submit a new application to apply to one of the 16 new high schools opening next fall. Families may learn about more about those at a fair this weekend.

Watch The InsideSCOOP for updates on the high school admissions process; we’ll add information as we get it. Let us know how things unfolded at your school. Share your information in comments below.

UPDATE: The lowest score for which an offer was made was 470 for the eighth grade and 480 for the ninth grade.

A host of parental postings on this blog in recent weeks have included the following concern: “My child has so much homework and gets so little sleep that I feel really sorry for him/her.”

Often, this has come from the parents of freshmen at schools like Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science and Stuyvesant, large, highly sought after and filled with high expectations and high achievers.

High expectations mean that students will be expected to keep up with what in some cases might feel like a daunting work load, while adjusting to huge schools filled with ambitious classmates and teachers who may not have time to get to know them. (more…)

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…)

A dozen New York City high schools were awarded gold medals by US News and World Report, in its annual ranking of the 100 best high schools in the nation. Schools are ranked according to the degree to which all students meet state standards, and that minority and economically disadvantaged students in the school performed better than statistically expected on state tests. Schools that met these benchmarks were ranked according to their performance on Advanced Placement or Baccalaureate tests, factoring in the achievements of poor and minority students.

The top 100 schools won gold medals, including 12 NYC high schools. Of those, six were highly selective specialized high schools. Of the 461 schools that were given silver medals, NYC high schools were awarded 20, and of the 1,189 bronze medalists, NYC schools received 42. One school won honorable mention.

Gold medalists, in alphabetical order, are Baccalaureate School for Global Studies, Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Tech, High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, High School for Law and Public Service, Newcomers High School, New Explorations for Science and Technology +Math, Queens High School for Science at York College, Staten Island Tech, Stuyvesant High School, and Townsend Harris.