Your independent guide to NYC public schools

Hi,
Due to unfortunate circumstances our family is moving back to the Manhattan. I love the City but after living in New Jerse for just two years, , my 12 year old boy will now have to change schools AGAIN!

I would like to get my son into a school that is both middle and high school, so that we will not have to send him to a new school in 8th grade, then another new school for 9th - 12th grade.

We were hoping to move into the chelsea area and I was considering either the Museum School or another midddle/high school.

I guess I would like to know what would be the process to get him registered in one of these schools. We left the city at the end of fifth grade and he will be going into eighth grade this coming September.

Any Advice?

Thank you for your time,

Starrs19

I am moving my daughter from Virginia to NYC, and she will be starting 11th grade. This has limited my high school choice because so many high schools have programs that start in 9th or 10th grades. I have been told there is nothing I can do until the August 28th high school admissions date, so I don't even know what high schools have spots for 11th graders.

Can anyone suggest anything that can narrow this process down before that date.......or suggest a good psychiatrist

To Starrs19: It is stressful moving -- especially when your child is is almost ready to graduate from a level. 8th grade is important, because, he has to apply to high school from that grade. Even if there are middle through high school grades, he may have to re-apply. Check with the tow schools I listed below. Unfortunately, your choice, Museum School does not have middle grades any longer. They have been phased out. Instead, I suggest you try

413 School of the Future
127 East 22 Street NEW YORK, NY 10010
Phone: (212) 475-8086 | Fax: (212) 475-9273 Principal: C. DeLaura/Y. Chu
Parent Coordinator: Jim Chin (347) 563-5190 | Website

Another possibilty (remote) is NESt+M 539 New Explorations Into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+M)
111 Columbia Street NEW YORK, NY 10002
Phone: (212) 677-5190 | Fax: (212) 260-8124 Principal: Celenia Chevere
Parent Coordinator: Marcy Rios (347) 563-5305 | Website

Its somewhat late in the process to choose a middle school, so there are not many guarantees as to your choice, but you should definitely check with the District 2/Region 9 office to request a school or schools and to find out what options you have.

To Cassandrem:

Use our website to pick out schools that sound right for your child and be sure to take into consideration the geographic location so there will be reasonable travel time. Then when registration comes around, you will be prepared to request a school. Even if you call the principal of the school over the summer, it is the Region or the high school placement office that makes the final decision. Be ready with several choices. Hang in there!

Dears Starrs19:
Inside of trying for one of the 6-12 or 7-12 schools, which tend to have very limited openings for middle school seats this late in the season, I would recommend that you just concentrate on getting him into a good middle school -- there are more choices in this category. You could try Wagner, which is a large traditional middle school with a good reputation and classes in almost everything. Because it is large, there are frequently seats that open up over the summer and early September, as the school discovers that students have moved away. Some of these are available for students outside of the zoned for area. I would point out that one of the advantages of going to a large middle school is that a student will have "buddies" no matter what high school they get into. This makes switching to high school much less difficult.
Also, unlike the suburbs, the better NYC middle schools have kids from many different neighborhoods or even boroughs. It has been my experience that for older students, this tends to make it easier to make friends. Wagner has students attending from Queens, so I would expect that Chelsea would not be much of a stretch. Good luck.