Admissions: Still sifting through the fallout
It's the last full Friday of the school year, and it seems that we can say with confidence, at long last, that all admissions placements (save for upper-grade g+t) have been made. The appeals cycle has begun, and although we're still waiting for word from the DOE on when, exactly, the g+t second round deadline might be, readers write in of registrations and transitions to new schools.
Not that the registrations are going smoothly. Most are, but we've heard from families with acceptance letters not appearing on their new school's list, of kids boxed out of zoned schools and offered seats at distant g+t programs as consolation, and from parents whose children scored well above the g+t cut but who didn't receive seats -- anywhere. We've heard, as you have, of programs that won't open, and of others that are overfull, on the risky gamble that some students may opt for other situations come fall. We've also heard from lots of readers reconsidering their quest for g+t, and opting for zoned schools instead.
We've also heard from Lisabeth Sostre, formerly of District 3, and one of the architect of their middle-school choice program, who counsels parents to harness their political power -- "the strength you have as parents is huge" -- and demand answers on a swath of education issues from whoever aspires to next reside in Gracie Mansion. (See "And the Winner Is..." from June 18th, here, for a heartbreakingly apt take on DOE mishaps.)
A savvy sixth-grader in Amanda Fairbanks's post on City Room says it best; there's likely not a parent who's been though the admissions maelstrom this year who wouldn't agree with her sharp-eyed
summa: "I'm just glad I survived it. We should have a party for that.”
10 comments:
Not sure how you can say --"it seems that we can say with confidence, at long last, that all admissions placements (save for upper-grade g+t) have been made"
In fact, no word yet on the East Village schools of choice--Earth, Neighborhood, Children's Workshop. We're here sweating it out. Any word?
Helen - could you please explain what you mean by "g&t second round deadline." Thanks!
East Village schools of choice have their DOE lists. Call your first choice school.........however note that we were assigned to EVCS (east village community school) by DOE but school says they have not spot for us......
I am having a bit of a twilight zone moment right now. My daughter did not get into the pre-k program at her bro.'s school. We did the appeal, phone calls, etc. No dice. So now I look at the round two list of schools. Hmmm....the sibling's school is on the list of schools with space in pre-k! Huh? How in the h#ll does that happen? After the emails, calls, pleading!
And now, I have already set in motion plans to change my older child's school because the pick-up/drop off had simply become too crazy with the two of them a half a borough apart! This is all so very mind boggling and infuriating. I am truly dumbfounded!
Families who applied to the G&T program from the catchment zone in District 2 were not included in the lottery for the general elementary school programs. This has left many families stuck between a rock and a hard place choosing between either G&T placements far from home or the likely scenario that they will be placed at PS 198 (widely considered the worst elementary program in the area) if they chose to stay local.
If we had known that we would be excluded from the lottery when we applied for G&T, we would NEVER have taken the risk.
You mentioned that we have huge strength as parents - how do we harness it if we can't get the DOE to respond to our phone calls and there is no clear appeal process available? Any thoughts on what we can do to get some leverage to secure a spot at a decent local elementary school (G&T or not) is appreciated.
These thoughts are instructive and informative, thank you. Our understanding was that D 1 results were out; I will check on exclusion of D 2 families from lotteries and whether/if it was communicated somehow. As for the g+t K second round, 10:56, these are for kids who were excluded who shouldn't have been (ie, siblings, in-zone/program-eligible kids who didn't get seats) and for those families with seats they'd like to change.
Bronx Shrink, sounds like you're in deep -- look for some on-the-ground help, like a cooperative, dynamic parent coordinator at the school you'd like both of your children to attend, provided your daughter is eligible. Look for an in-school ally to help you advance your case.
As for harnessing parents' power -- the most obvious means is voting. We will have a new Mayor soon enough, and would do well to demand clear, cogent education policy from prospective candidates. Then, there's always taking the plunge into activism -- at your child's school, or on the school leadership team or a CEC, or with parent advocacy group. Not everyone has the patience or stamina to create change, especially when a system is as large and unwieldy as this one.
I'm in the former PS151 upper east side "unzoned" district. When my daughter didn't make G&T (97% on BSRA, but totally flunked OLSAT), i was a bit disappointed. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise, we're assigned to PS6! My 2 neighbors, are assigned to G&T at hells kitchen and chinatown, and were excluded from the general ed lottery. Any reasons for that? Although I do breath a sign of relief for my daughter, I'm already nervous for my son (who's 1 and a half), I'll have to go through the whole process again in a couple years.
Thank you for the advice Helen.
We have decided to move our 4th grade bound son to CPE I, a school that we visited for their pre-k program and fell in love with. So perhaps it is "fate" that our daughter did not get into her brother's current school. We're actively searching for a pre-k (public or parochial) near my job for the coming year. And then we'll keep our fingers crossed for next year that our daughter will be able to join her brother at CPE 1.
It's too bad the DOE decided to reinvent the wheel. Wait lists work!
Thanks for all the info. Went by Earth this am and they indeed had the list--who knows when we would have been told--and my daughter was admitted. We have to go by on Wed. to observe and get registration info. As has always been my experience, the people at the school are great-it's the centralized types that muck things up. Good luck to all!
We're D1. Our top-choice school said our daughter was admitted (hooray!) but we still have not heard anything from the DoE. Are we supposed to? Did the DoE say they would notify families, or did they leave it up to the schools? I'm not sure if I should be waiting for the other shoe to drop, or if I should trust the school's promise that my kid is in, given other people's experiences with the DoE!
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