On this page: School
choice | Exploring your options | What
to look for
It's not easy to find a good middle school in New York City.
In many neighborhoods, the zoned schools are dreary, or even dangerous.
Happily, there are more options for children than most parents realize,
and dozens of safe, academically challenging middle schools have opened
in recent years.
Start your search by calling the City of New York at 311 or the Office of Student Enrollment Planning and Operations at 212-374-2363 to find out if your child has a zoned school. If
that school is satisfactory, all you have to do is enroll your child.
Chances are, though, you'll need to look further. In large swaths
of Manhattan and Brooklyn students are not assigned to zoned middle
schools and must fill out applications listing their choices. In every
borough there are at least a few unzoned schools that accept children
without regard to their home address.
For most children, the search for a middle school begins in the fall
of their 5th-grade year because most middle schools start in 6th grade.
In Manhattan, most tours for prospective parents start in October
and finish by Thanksgiving. In Brooklyn and Queens, you may have a
little more leeway—but not much. Entrance exams for selective
schools are generally the first week of January.
Call each school directly to book a tour. In some instances it is
the school secretary that keeps a list of the tours. In other schools
it is the guidance department. Each school has a "parent coordinator"
charged with outreach to parents and the community. Often it is the
parent coordinator who will arrange a tour. Your child's elementary
school guidance counselor should also be able to help. (For more a
detailed description of the application process, see New
York City's Best Public Middle Schools by Clara Hemphill and the
Insideschools staff, from which this was adapted.)
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Look at our list of
types of schools and programs. Browse through our Find
a School section to get an idea of the schools you want to consider.
The schools we like the best are marked as "noteworthy."
You may be able to get help from the district family advocates in the 32 districts across the city.
Many districts publish middle school directories listing
schools, tour dates and admissions criteria. These handbooks are available
at the district and enrollment offices, at local middle school fairs, or from your
elementary school guidance counselor.
Districts control zoning and school choice
within their boundaries. Children who live outside the district are admitted only
if space permits. So you need to find out what district you live
in, and what your options are there. (See the map
or call the City of New York at 311.)
Some of the "gifted" middle school programs in Brooklyn's
District 21, such as Mark Twain or Bay Academy, have long accepted children
from across Brooklyn.
Call each school for details.
Go to middle school fairs and open houses. Ask
at your child’s elementary school, call your district office for information
or check your child’s bookbag for information about fairs and open houses
in your area.
Check whether your child is eligible to
apply. Some districts return out-of-district applications unread.
Such policies may vary from year to year. Contact the districts,
enrollment offices, or the schools directly to find out more.
Many gifted programs and selective middle schools will not accept
applications from children who do not meet cut-off scores on standardized
4th grade tests. Don’t rule out non-gifted programs. Some
of the nicest schools the city has to offer don’t require
tests.
Involve your child. Some open houses include
a tour of the school while it’s in session; others offer only slide
shows and information sessions. If there’s a tour, consider taking your
child out of school to accompany you. After all, the child will have to live
with the final decision.
Get application forms and deadlines for
each program that interests you. You can often find the forms
at open houses; bring a notebook or calendar to record deadlines.
Don’t panic if you have to miss some open houses; many districts
and schools will fax application forms.
Be kind to your school secretary and your
child’s fifth grade teacher. The teacher may have to
write recommendations; the secretary may have to provide your child’s
records and mail your application to out-of-district schools. (Some
programs ask you to mail copies of your child’s 4th grade
report card and standardized test scores; others accept these only
from schools). If the application must leave your hands, follow
up to make sure it’s mailed. If you can send it yourself,
splurge on FedEx or Priority Mail with delivery confirmation. A
tracking number buys peace of mind.
Brace for the tests. Some are held on school
days. You may find, happily, that your child prefers the tests to classroom
routine. Essay questions and auditions can be nerve-wracking, but some kids
view them as a chance to show off.
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Quality of teaching: Try to look
beyond the school’s physical plant to the quality of teaching. Look at
the kids’ faces. Are they interested and engaged? Bored? Staring off vacantly
into space? Are you interested in what the teacher is saying?
Classroom libraries: Do the kids’
books look interesting? Look for rich classroom libraries – novels and
biographies, science discovery books, colorful atlases and original source materials
such as diaries and historical documents. The more books the better –
in the classroom as well as in the school library. Schools that rely too heavily
on textbooks are dull.
Quality of students’ work:
Are the walls bare, or are there lots of bulletin boards with kids’ work?
Look for examples of children’s writing. Is the quality of work good?
Are the art projects imaginative?
School atmosphere: What’s
the noise level in the school? Chaos, of course, is bad news, but so is total
silence. That’s not a bad method of instruction for part of the day, but
you don’t want it all day every day. Kids should be talking to other kids
and to grown-ups. Even more important, grown-ups should be talking to one another.
In a good middle school, teachers meet regularly to discuss everything from
curriculum to individual students’ progress and problems.
Ask questions: The Q&A
period after the tour is a good time to get a feel for the philosophy
and atmosphere of a school. You’ll get a more revealing answer
if you ask open-ended questions such as “How do you handle discipline?”
rather than “Is your school safe?” Ask whether parents
may visit the school and classes during the year. A school that welcomes
parents is not afraid of what you might see on an impromptu visit.
(For more information, see New
York City’s Best Public Middle Schools
by Clara Hemphill, from which this section was adapted.)
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