When I left that painful ordeal known as the New York City public school parent teacher conference (also known as, "Teacher Can You Spare Three Minutes,'') last week, I overheard a parent who had also just left the building admonishing a child. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but the voice sounded...
Update Monday, Oct. 31: GothamSchools reports that Eva Moskowitz cut her presentation short on Saturday after parents protests disrupted the meeting. Opponents of the plan outnumbered parents who had come to learn about the proposed new school, Cobble Hill Success. The DOE proposed that the...
Department of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott presented a five-point plan to increase parent engagement on Wednesday night, proposing the creation of "parent academies" in every borough, and the introduction of a system to rate schools' parent involvement efforts. High school Progress Reports...
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 harried high school parents, who must rush around large buildings in an attempt to meet every...
I am a lousy PA parent. I watch in awe as my peers chair meetings, organize bake sales, get street permits for carnivals, and write grants for enrichment programs, all the while juggling jobs and multiple children and various and sundry overwhelming challenges and responsibilities. I honestly...
_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 the school only has extended day for ELA. I was told that there is something called Academic...
The A-to-F letter grades on the city's 2010-2011 Progress Reports for high schools are as confusing as ever but don't dismiss the reports as useless. There's a ton of interesting information if you dig deep into the reports, now available on the Department of Education website. New this year are...
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. But now that she’s here, she’s just as likely to get good grades as a child born to a younger man. I...
While some families are occupying Wall Street Friday night (Oct. 21) with a sleepover, other public school parents are looking ahead to a Nov. 8 election day occupation of Governor Cuomo's office where they will rally in favor of the millionaire's tax and against school cutbacks. Parents from a...
Confused about choosing a high school? Insideschools has produced a series of videos on our YouTube channel to help. We give advice on how to make the most of the high school fairs, which are coming up this weekend. Our blog, HS school hustle: how to survive admissions season has useful advice as...
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 Education approved capping enrollment for 73 elementary and middle schools as of mid-October, according to...
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 daycare and child care centers. A district by district listing of schools and CBOs (community based...
The Department of Education is holding public hearings for parents, educators and others to comment on this year’s Contracts for Excellence plan. The C4E, as it is known, contains plans to provide help to the neediest students in seven areas: class size reduction, time on task, teacher and...
Chancellor Dennis Walcott and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr will join education historian Diane Ravitch, Pedro Noguera and other education policy heavy-hitters at the first-ever Bronx Education Summit, Saturday, Oct. 15 at Lehman College. Dr. Ravitch will deliver the keynote speech,...
A special education teacher, Marisa Kaplan, has launched a new blog to help parent and teachers learn about how technology can help kids learn. The blog, EdGeeks.com, also provides place for parents to ask advice--including the questions you may not have time for in your parent-teacher...
"How's Brooks doing at the new school?" That is the number one question I get these days, and the answer is: "Really, really good." But it comes with an asterisk: "So far." This necessary clarification has nothing to do with the quality of the new school and everything to do with the déjà vu...
Sex education classes will start in the spring semester at all of the city's public middle and high schools. When the initiative was announced in August, a poll of Insideschools readers showed that more than 40% of you thought these classes were long overdue, and another 16% thought that schools...
We at Insideschools face a mighty task — keeping up with all the city schools. If we visited one school every school day, it would take us nearly 10 years to get to all 1,700 of them. Increasingly we depend on the Insideschools community — public school parents, students and educators-- to...
Can a high school student ask to be removed from the military recruitment database? How much school can a pregnant teen miss for prenatal care? As part of The New York Civil Liberties Union annual "Week of Action," the organization is visit public high schools this week to inform students of...
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 schools and explain the admissions process. District 3 schools include neighborhood schools, schools...
A standing-room-only crowd greeted Department of Education presenters at the first of six Gifted & Talented information sessions, held Oct. 5 on the Upper West Side. It was a "friendly, lively and through description of the G&T application process," according to Robin Aronow of School...
“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” isn’t autism or attention-deficit disorder. A “special need” means you have to go to the bathroom...
The Success Charter Network, run by former city councilperson Eva Moskowitz, is setting its sights on three neighborhoods in Brooklyn where it plans to open schools in 2012: Cobble Hill, Williamsburg and Bedford Stuyvesant. The network already operates nine charter schools, mostly in Harlem and...
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 silence. Absolutely no talking allowed. To me, it seems abusive. There is a huge yard adjacent to the...
Dear Judy, Our neighborhood school (P.S. 100K) 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 silence. Absolutely no talking allowed. To me, it seems abusive. There is a huge yard adjacent to the...
The city will lay off nearly 800 low-paid school support staff on Friday to help close a $35 million budget gap. School aides, parent coordinators and other workers got their pink slips on Sept. 22. Pending negotiations this week between their union, District Council 37, and the Department of...
Parents of prospective kindergartners in some New York City neighborhoods tour elementary schools the way families elsewhere visit colleges, (although they may not bring their 4-year-olds along). Discovering and keeping track of what schools to visit when can be a challenge. Robin Aronow of...
After his bruising first week of high school, I found my exhausted freshman son lying in a heap of books and papers, soccer cleats and uniform still on, furry cat purring next to him. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that it would be a little while still before I have to worry about what time...
Confused about the high school admissions process? Department of Education enrollment officers will be traveling to each borough twice in October, offering evening information sessions to families of 8th-graders and 7th-graders who want to get an early start. Prospective students may also learn...
With thousands of New York City high school students taking the SATs this weekend, the news that a Long Island teenager was arrested and charged with fraudently taking the exam for six other teens, brings into focus yet again, the degree with which testing has become high-stakes at all...
The Department of Education identified 20 elementary and middle schools as "struggling" and targeted for "early engagement conversations" the first step in a process that could result in their closure. Yesterday's announcement by DOE official Marc Sternberg came a week after the release of 2011...
Brooks has come a long way in the pool. As an infant and toddler, he hated the water (he often reminds me these days that "hate" is a bad word, but I assure you it's appropriate here). I have nightmare memories of him screaming during a Father's Day vacation in Las Vegas when we dared him to try...
Public libraries are letting children and teens off the hook for fines for overdue books. In a welcome-back to school outreach to city kids, the New York Public Library System, (NYPL) Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library, decided to overlook outstanding library fines as long as borrowed...
Interested in next year's Gifted and Talented programs? If your child will enter kindergarten through 3rd grade in fall 2012, you may register beginning today, Sept 26, for G & T testing in January and February. The Department of Education has scheduled information sessions in October, but...
I confess I forgot to do something special on Sept. 20 during New York state’s much-ballyhooed Dads Take Your Child to School Day. Instead, that day I did what I usually do: I took my child to school. And I can’t honestly say I noticed a significant difference in the adult male-female ratio that...
The 2012 school admissions season is upon us! Because of New York City's system of school choice, 5th and 8th graders spend the fall deciding where to apply to middle or high school. Families of four-year-olds are now booking kindergarten tours and information sessions about elementary school...
It's time for 5th and 8th-graders and their families to plunge into the middle school and high school admissions season. Jacquie Wayans of Insideschools.org has teamed up with City College to offer seminars on Choosing the Right School for Your Child on Tuesday, Oct. 18th & Oct 25th. With...
Eighth-graders and parents: If you're not already in the throes of a high school search, now is the time to kick into high gear. Every 8th-grader -- and 9th-graders who want to change schools -- must fill out a high school application,ranking up to 12 choices. Here are some upcoming dates and...
The Department of Education is holding a series of sessions in October for parents of students with special needs to explain the new electronic IEP forms which outlines the services a student should be getting. These meetings are an opportunity to voice concerns and ask questions directly of the...
Dear Judy, I have 8th grade twins in middle school. One is in a combined Collaborative Team-Teaching/SP (honors) class and does not seem to have Regents classes in anything. The other is in a regular SP class and has Regents classes in Earth Science and math. How does whether you take the...
Applying to middle school in New York City is usually not just as simple as enrolling in your neighborhood school. Many districts offer a choice of schools and students must fill out an application. Some districts have zoned schools; others do not, but even in the districts with zoned schools,...
Parents of 8th-graders: Get a jump-start on high school admissions. Come to a meeting tonight of the Citywide Council on High Schools. Lenny Trerotola, executive director of high school admissions, and Sandy Ferguson, executive director of middle school admissions, will talk about updates to the...
Imagine! Free books every month for every child under 5! Thanks to a partnership between the Dollywood Foundation and the Department of Education, The Imagination Library is now available in New York City. Registered pre-school children receive a book in the mail (or by UPS) every month until...
Half a dozen middle schools are experimenting with an unusual approach to teaching new immigrants English: Children write stories about their own lives and read them out loud in front of an audience. The exercises builds confidence and, in some cases, serves as a catharsis for children dealing...
_ Author's Note: If your past week has been anywhere near as chaotic as mine (and if you're the parent of a school-aged child in New York City, I know it has), I hope you'll indulge me in this end-of-summer post. I promise to write all about my son's new school placement next time, but for the...
Whether you are starting high school as a 9th grader or as a senior, there are things you can do right now that will prepare you for college. Here are some quick tips that can help you without adding to stress. High school will be an adjustment, so take it week by week. Take some time to get to...
Black graduates of Stuyvesant High School, disturbed by the paltry number of African American students admitted to the prestigious school and other specialized exam high schools, are offering a free cram course -- a "boot camp" -- beginning Sept. 17 to help prepare 8th-grade minority students for...
The first day of 1st grade typically holds a few unpleasant surprises, and Thursday's start of the school year was no exception. The most serious problem was rain, which at my daughter’s elementary school meant returning students were quickly handed off to unfamiliar adults at the door rather...
As spruced-up kids headed for school today, many toted large plastic bags and backpacks filled with school supplies, paid for by parents who may have spent upwards of $100 to fulfill their teachers' wishlists. Parents at PS 261 in Cobble Hill were asked to buy supplies that added up to as much...
As the new school year begins, we are launching an all-new Insideschools website with dozens of new school reviews, slideshows and videos to help New York City parents navigate a complex school system. Help us flesh out our school portraits by sending photos (as JPEG attachments) and videos...
Shortly after noon one day this week, I called my household of young teenagers to inquire about progress on the summer reading assignments. (Why get them done early when you can wait till the very last moment?) The phone rang endlessly, the texts went unanswered. A sleepy voice finally answered...
