We love this video by Mark Rober that turns the scary topic of germs into a fun experiment for kids. It will show your kids how quickly glow-in-the-dark “germs” can spread around a classroom—from hands to desks and phones and faces—and teach them why it’s so important to wash their hands for a...
Everywhere you look right now, you see stories of parents trying to figure out how to manage their child’s online learning. I’m one of those parents, too, and can share a glimpse into the reality in our home. My 10-year-old has been getting messages from teachers who are trying to learn how to...
The wait is over for 78,463 8th-graders. High school placements were sent out this week. Students will be able to see them immediately via their MySchools account. Students will also receive their letters in the mail. The percent of students receiving their first choice increased slightly this...
We’re all feeling in a state of flux as schools are closed and the New York City Department of Education (DOE) takes on the herculean task of providing online instruction to roughly one million students. To help you manage all the information and adjust to new routines, we’re keeping track of...
One of the first things we look for when we visit classrooms around the city is the daily schedule. It’s often posted on the wall near the door. In an elementary school classroom, it outlines how much time is given to math, reading, science, play and other subjects. In a middle or high school...
Allow me to take off the InsideSchools editorial hat for a second. I’m just Tom, the father of a 10-year-old who is just as overwhelmed by all the resources and links and free tools as many other parents. Not to mention my son’s frustration with the whole darn situation. Now, carefully putting...
Even amidst COVID-19, today is still St. Patrick’s Day. I taught English for six years. And it didn’t matter what I had originally planned, every year that March 17th fell on a weekday I suspended traditional instruction. On what grounds, you ask? My family is Irish. Like, Irish Irish. All my...
With schools closed until at least April 20, you are surely wondering how your students or children will possibly stay engaged and keep learning for weeks, if not months at home. Anyone who’s had to join video meetings for work knows the pitfalls of such technology...now imagine a Zoom meeting...
As anxious 8th-graders wait to find out where they’ll be going to high school next year, City Limits reports on the reality that many of them will face in September—long commutes. When I advise parents and students on the high school admissions process, I always encourage them to “block out the...
For 18 years, InsideSchools has provided an invaluable public service: free independent reviews of the city’s schools, resources for families navigating the school system, and a trustworthy perspective on the city education scene. As a project of the Center for New York City Affairs, the work of...
The pre-K landscape in NYC is constantly shifting: since last year’s application season, more than 166 programs have closed, merged, or shifted out of the DOE Universal Pre-K system, and 540 new programs have opened or expanded their grade offerings to include pre-K and/or 3-K! We’ve recently...
As I write this from my standing desk at work, it occurs to me that in hundreds of school visits over my nine years at InsideSchools, I’ve seen only two standing desks in classrooms. One was on my recent visit to PS 51, where, in a single classroom, I spotted not only a standing desk, but also...
It seems like a no-brainer: Research says children who feel safe and supported by adults have an easier time learning. Environment and tone matters, and at the core of a school's positive culture are the relationships that develop. We have seen schools foster connections through advisory...
A couple years ago, a poetry question appeared on the ELA test in Texas. The poet’s name was Sara Holbrook. If her name sounds familiar, it is probably not because of her poetry so much as her very public confession: she had no idea how to answer the test questions about her own poems! I often...
In her book, The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot shares her wisdom on what parents and teachers can do to prepare for the (sometimes fraught) parent-teacher conference. Here are four of my favorite insights: "Parents should...
The tech industry in New York City is booming, but is the NYC school system preparing its students to take advantage of the tens of thousands of new jobs coming to the city over the next decade? A new report by the Center for an Urban Future finds that tech companies want to hire locally, but the...
Take a look—it’s LeVar Burton talking about literacy. I’ll disclaim right now: I wanted to be one of those kids on Reading Rainbow doing the book reviews. Like, desperately. It never happened, but that didn’t dampen my adoration for the show or its host. In this interview at SXSW EDU, Burton...
A version of this story ran in February 2019. It has been updated with new information for 2020. If you want to explore options beyond your neighborhood elementary or middle school you may want to enter a lottery for a charter school. There are also some charter high schools open to students...
Learning Black history is a year-round endeavor, but since this is Black History month we’d like to kick it off with a few resources for the whole family. Black History in Two Minutes: Watch these short videos narrated by Henry Louis Gates Jr. on topics ranging from the Harlem Renaissance and...
Originally posted February 20, 2019. Recently I spoke to educator Chip Wood, a co-founder of Responsive Classroom, an approach to teaching based on the belief that students do their best learning in a classroom where they also practice cooperation, empathy, responsibility and self-control....
Dear Friends, I’ve worn a lot of hats in the New York City education scene. As a parent, I felt the highs and lows of finding a public school for my child. As a teacher, I did my best to reach each student even with class sizes approaching three dozen. As an official in the city’s education...
Filling out the U.S. Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step for most students seeking financial support for college. But the form can be complicated and intimidating, particularly for students. Many fill out the form themselves and have...
Tom Liam Lynch, a leading scholar and practitioner working at what he calls “the intersection of education, technology, and policy,” will become the new director of education policy and editor-in-chief of InsideSchools at the Center for New York City Affairs (CNYCA) at The New School. He is...
A previous version of this story ran in October 2018. It has been updated with new information for October 2019. Here are some good middle school options that accept students from all over Queens and, in a few cases, Brooklyn. Also consider schools that are open to children citywide. This list...
A previous version of this story ran in October 2018. It has been updated with new information for October 2019. Here are some good middle school options that accept students from all over Brooklyn and, in a few cases, Queens. Also consider schools that are open to children citywide. This list...
A previous version of this story ran in October 2018. It has been updated with new information for October 2019. Beginning in 2019, all Bronx middle schools are open to students borough-wide. Here's our list of best bets for middle schools in the Bronx. Also consider schools that accept children...
A previous version of this story ran in October 2018. It has been updated with new information for October 2019. Here are some good middle school options that accept students from all over Manhattan. Also consider schools that are open to children citywide. This list does not include charter...
If your child has special needs, applying to high school can be an especially daunting task. The information you need to make good choices may not be readily available on school websites or in the high school directory. While all schools are expected to offer special education services, the...
New York City is in the midst of an intense debate about opportunity and racial and socioeconomic fairness in determining which students get to attend which public schools. Last month, the School Diversity Advisory Group appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio recommended phasing out elementary school...
MARCH 20, 2020 UPDATE: New York State has cancelled the standardized math and ELA exams for grades 3-8 for the 2019-20 school year. Parents of children in grades 3 to 8 who took standardized state reading and math exams this year can find their childrens' test scores at www.mystudent.nyc, the...
This is the second of a two-part interview with InsideSchools founder, Clara Hemphill by Urban Matters, a publication from our colleagues at The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School. Urban Matters: Last week, we talked about the school-by-school reporting you oversee at...
This is the first of two-part interview with InsideSchools founder, Clara Hemphill by Urban Matters, a publication from our colleagues at The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School. Urban Matters: Let’s start with InsideSchools. It’s immensely popular; it's web site that gets more...
Applying to middle school in New York City can be overwhelming. Parents must wade through dozens of choices and make sense of complex admissions policies. Now, InsideSchools has a new tool to help parents find programs that may be right for their children. Building on the success of our high...
Dear readers: We’re looking for a new director of education policy and InsideSchools to help our staff carry on the research and writing that have made our website and policy reports indispensable for 1.5 million readers a year. We’re looking for someone with a deep understanding of the issues...
If you are unhappy with your high school match, you may reapply to schools with open seats during Round 2. Keep in mind that if your are an 8th-grader and are matched with a school in Round 2, you forfeit your Round 1 match. Current 9th-graders who are offered a 10th-grade seat during Round 1 or...
There is greater demand than ever for the large, popular high schools. For the fourth year in a row, Francis Lewis in Queens took the number one spot for the most applicants of any high school in New York City—a whopping 17,440 students applied to this huge neighborhood school, compared to 10,403...
The Mayor’s School Diversity Advisory Group this week released a report making a compelling case for why racial and income integration in the public schools matters. Now the challenge is coming up with realistic plans to make it happen – and at the Center for New York City Affairs we have some...
Can your dyslexic child read grade-level books at 200 words per minute? Can your dysgraphic child write her reading response with enough supportive details? Can your disorganized child turn in homework on time without reminders? With assistive technology, students with disabilities are now able...
Starting in September more three-year-olds will be enrolled in free, full-day public school. The Department of Education will offer roughly 20,000 3-K seats across 14 community school districts by 2020. Unlike the rapid rollout of universal pre-k, the city has adopted a more measured pace for...
There are busy days ahead for us at InsideSchools. We’ll be introducing some new features while continuing our work providing parents with authoritative independent information on New York City’s public schools. In 2019 we will: Expand our reach by recruiting “parent ambassadors” to gather and...
Applying to high school in New York City has long been a daunting process, especially for students who don’t have top grades or test scores. Now, InsideSchools has a new tool for 8th-graders (and the grown-ups who help them) to find which of the city’s 700 high school programs may be right for...
Mayor Bill de Blasio faces an uphill battle in Albany in his quest to get rid of the admissions test for elite high schools including Stuyvesant and Bronx High School of Science, but there’s a lot he can do now to advance his Administration’s stated goal of increasing opportunities for talented...
It’s tricky to use data to evaluate a school, and we all wrestle with confusing and sometimes conflicting information. It’s hard to know: Will my children be safe? Are the teachers effective? Does the school prepare students for college? Now, we’ve redesigned our website to try to answer these...
Originally published in the New York Daily News. In the mostly pessimistic debate over school segregation here's a reason for optimism: For the first time in decades, we have the possibility — if not yet the reality — of integrated public schools in many neighborhoods in New York...
Q: Help! I don't think I am going to get into my dream school. I applied early action and was waitlisted. I have sent them updates, and also filed for other schools, but I am so worried about the volume of applications. What if I don't get in anywhere? A: Not getting in anywhere is every...
Applying to Pre-K? Some popular schools have hundreds of applicants for just a few seats, but we've compiled a list of promising programs that aren't hopelessly oversubscribed. Applications are due March 30. See our Pre-K guide to learn how to apply and to search by address for all Pre-K...
Got a 4-year-old? Applications for free pre-kindergarten are due March 30! This week, we're bringing you the best bets in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, based on our visits and intel on schools most likely to have space. See our Pre-K guide to learn how to apply and to search by address for...
If you're one of the 3,837 8th-graders who didn't get a high school placement this week (or if you didn't like the placement you got) you may want to consider a charter school. Most charter schools start in the elementary or middle schools grades—and don't accept students in 9th grade—but a few...
New York City offers lots of free and low-cost summer enrichment programs for children from kindergarten through high school. Kids can learn to paint at the Brooklyn Museum, canoe on the Bronx River, or build solar-powered cars in a three-week camp called Summer Engineering Experience for Kids...
We’ve long known that children of color tend to fare poorly in segregated, high-poverty schools. Now, a new study by my colleague Nicole Mader shows that even some of the richest schools in the city don’t bring black and Latino kids up to the level of performance of their white and Asian...
We asked you, our readers, what you like and what you would like us to improve. Here are our responses to the feedback you provided in our end of year survey. 1) Show the maps for school attendance zones. We’re working on a way to make the zone maps more prominent—but for now you can find...
