When I was a kid in elementary school, I dreaded lunchtime when a nasty girl in my class would relentlessly make fun of my hand-me-down clothes, tell your-mom’s-so-ugly jokes, and threaten bodily...

Close to half of city elementary schools do not meet state standards for arts instruction, even as the number of certified arts teachers in the schools has grown, according to the 2010-11 fifth...

One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching educators get into trouble when Christmas creeps into the classroom. Keeping God out of government-funded schools can be tricky, particularly when...

Middle school applications are due Friday! We have a new video with tips on how to apply and 15 new reviews to help you make your choices. Manhattan Manhattan East, the Institute for...

The Department of Education announced Friday that it plans to close seven more schools for poor performance, including two Bronx vocational schools, Samuel Gompers Career and Technical High School...

A dozen schools on a list of 47 targeted as "struggling" earlier this fall are now slated for closure, Chancellor Dennis Walcott said today, with more school closures to be announced tomorrow.  The...

For the past year and a half, a group of schools has been experimenting with ways to educate special education students more flexibly and in more inclusive classrooms. Now, Chancellor Dennis...

Three West Harlem secondary schools are on the chopping block for poor performance and in danger of being closed. All three schools are, or will soon be, sharing buildings with charter schools...

September is a long way away, but if your child turns five in 2012 it's about time to apply to elementary school. Applications are available at each school Jan. 9 and are due March 2. You must...

The departure of half the core teaching staff at an elite Upper West Side elementary school has roiled parents who worry test prep is destroying the school’s creative spirit. In July, close to...

There are worse jobs than being editor of a school’s parents association newsletter — bathroom attendant in the dysentery ward the morning after Taco Night, perhaps — but some idiot always...

Can parents from schools with active Parents Associations help others from less-advantaged schools learn such basics as how to set up a PTA, run a fundraiser, or establish themselves as a...

At PS 24 in Sunset Park, 90 percent of the students are Latino and many are still learning to speak English. But, instead of giving them English-only instruction PS 24 offers a dual language...

It’s a beautiful day. Do you know where your kindergartner is playing?   Unfortunately, too many of them are inside, parents say. And often they're not playing.   Some schools confronted with...

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The Department of Education is holding borough by borough information sessions for parents with kids in universal pre-kindergarten programs, known as UPK. The goal is to help parents engage and...

Parent-teacher conferences, being held at most high schools tonight and tomorrow, offer families the opportunity to meet teachers and learn how their children are doing in class. But it's hard for...

_Dear Judy, My daughter scored below a 3 at the State test for math. She is in 5th grade and not doing well with math. I requested to put her in the extended time help period but was told that...

As a father, I’ve got less testosterone than childless men, but I'm less likely to die of heart disease. My older-than-average age (48) means my daughter was lucky to have been conceived at all....

Nine schools in Manhattan's District 2 and 11 schools in District 10 in the Bronx are so overcrowded that they cannot accept incoming zoned students in some grades. In all, the Department of...

If your four-year-old didn't get a seat in a pre-kindergarten program in Round 1 or Round 2 of admissions this year  -- and thousands did not -- there are many seats still available, especially at...

On Halloween, I played a cruel trick. As kids at my door grabbed handfuls of Skittles, I grabbed a camera, snapped a few shots of the children and yelled, “I can’t wait to post these photos on the...

District 3 is holding an elementary school fair to showcase its 21 public elementary schools. On Saturday, Oct. 15, principals,  teachers, students and parents will be on hand to talk up their...

“I hear that some kids in your 1st-grade class have special needs,” my sister (a retired teacher) told my daughter. My daughter stared back in confusion. When you’re in 1st grade, a “special need”...

Dear Judy, Our neighborhood school (in Brooklyn) does not have outdoor recess time. The children never have a chance to play outside. Every day they must sit in the cafeteria for 50 minutes in...