As the city's top public schools get overcrowded, parents are looking for under-the-radar options that can still offer a quality education.

Many families in Brownstone Brooklyn and other rapidly growing neighborhoods are taking a fresh look at schools that have long struggled with low test scores and few resources in the hopes of transforming them.

"If we're waiting for someone to create more good schools, that's not going to happen," said Stephen Leone, a parent at Cobble Hill's PS 29 who is leading a grassroots movement to improve the nearby School for International Studies.

"We have to do it."

Leone is working with families from PS. 29 and two other well-regarded elementary schools to send an influx of local sixth-graders to International Studies next fall in the hope of boosting the middle and high school's performance and fundraising.

As families across the city are rolling up their sleeves to help remake schools, in ways big and small, here are some tips for parents on how to do it from DNAinfo.com:

  1. Get organized.

  2. Figure out what your community needs and how to get it.

  3. Find a willing principal.

4. Get Involved: Join committees, advocate and fundraise for your school.

5. 5. As a last resort, start your own school.

Read the full article on DNAinfo.com; Five Ways You Can Help Create the School You Want for Your Child.