PreK Status
Despite widely-voiced hopes of a formal response from the DOE on the preK imbroglio, there's no real news on that front today, and not much consolation for worried parents.
Representatives say that parents who received offers for their children should go ahead with registration, and say that the application review that's been underway these past many days is ongoing. Discouraging non-news, to say the least.
Time for the afternoon mail? Keep us posted.
11 comments:
I don't even have a dog in the PreK race (we are waiting on K G&T letter ourselves), but this is simply an outrage. The DOE has acknowledged that mistakes were made re: sibling applications, but is now failing to propose solutions for rectifying the problems they are responsible for. This is unacceptable and leaves me in fear of entering into this public school system.
My son still has no letter. No comment from OSEPO on this.
They aren't telling parents anything & it has been over a week. They need to make SOME comment.
News from the mom of an unplaced sib.: I was fortunate in that I was able to reach out to the principal of my older child's school to try to figure out why my daughter did not get accepted. I heard from her staff today that the incoming class had been filled with other siblings. While this was disappointing (it's much easier to be upset with an incompetent bureaucracy and hope for an error), at least I have an answer and some closure.
What I hope the chancellor's office can learn from my example is that, while the uniformity in terms of deadlines and prioritizing is a good thing, it's an even better thing when it's in the hands of school principals. I (and probably scores of other parents) could have had our concerns addressed much more quickly and with a lot less hype. Please consider this for next year's pre-k and kinder. application process!
Councilmember Bill DeBlasio is holding a joint press conference with Family Advocate Besty Gottbaum on the steps of TWEED tomorrow at 1:15. They have asked as many parents as possible to attend. The DOE has asked them to hold off until some kind of "agreement" or statement is made by the DOE today.
Meanwhile, DeBlasio's office has an unofficial tally of about 500 families that are being affected by this. It is not linited to District 15. So far I have spoken or emailed with people from District 14, 3 and another in lower Manhattan (District # ?) at PS184. All of whom have children that were denied admission to their siblings school.
Please contact Sarah Figeureo at DeBlasio's office and have yourself added to the ever growing list.
Sarah Figuereo - sarah.figeureo@gmail.com
(O) 718-854-9791
(C) 347-277-9972
or contact me with any questions or comments...I will speak tomorrow at the conference and do my best to represent all of the parents and children affected.
Gina de la Chesnaye
gforce70@yahoo.com
ALL AFFECTED FAMILIES MUST ATTEND. ONLY OUR NUMBERS AND COLLECTIVE VOICES WILL MOTIVATE CHANGES
Contact: Jean Weinberg
212-788-6969/ 917-520-3995
Councilmember de Blasio, Public Advocate Gotbaum, Demand Answers from the Department of Education About Pre-K Debacle
City Hall— Councilmember Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, parents, and students will hold a press conference tomorrow demanding answers from the Department of Education (DOE) about the flaw in its new system for assigning students to Pre-K. Under the DOE's old Pre-K enrollment system, parents of more than one child had priority to get all of their children into the same school. Now, a major glitch in the new system is creating huge problems for parents of multiple Pre-K age children by not automatically giving them priority for placing all of their children in the same school.
Dozens of frustrated parents have contacted Councilmember de Blasio's office seeking help with this matter. Repeated calls from parents to the DOE have gone unanswered, and they have been left with no recourse to get their children into the same schools.
It is unacceptable that parents who rightly believed that they would receive priority in placing all of their children in the same school must now face the serious difficulties associated with having their Pre-K age children attend different schools. With the new school year only a few months away, the DOE must resolve this fiasco immediately.
###
Who: Councilmember de Blasio, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Parents and Students
When: 12:45pm– Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Where: DOE Headquarters (TWEED)- 52 Chambers Street, NY
Contact: Sarah Figuereo 718-854-9368 or 347-277-9972
While I fully support the sibling issue, please take note that the errors made are not limited to sibling preference alone. There are reports of non-sibling, out-of-zone children being accepted at schools AHEAD of siblings and in-zone children. This makes no sense at all! The DOE must provide an answer as to how and why this happened.
I haven't received the letter.
ANyone know if its possible to "swap" school placements? For example, I want to send my daughter to PS 154 ain Windsor Terrace Brooklyn as its one block from my house, but we received an acceptance to PS 124 all the way over on 4th avenue. If there are any parents who received an acceptance letter to 154 who would prefer to send their child to 124, would we be able to exchange registrations? Just trying to be a little proactive since nothing seems to be getting done. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Speaking of 154, amid all this bull I heard something hilarious today. Apparently last week on one of the days PreK acceptance letters were due a mail bag was stolen off the street in Windsor Terrace while the mailman was on the stoop. So some kids didn't get their letters.
In response to Rob:
I know that you're trying to be proactive, but I don't think that what you're suggesting is at all fair or ethical. Many families (including those with siblings and in-zone non-siblings) were shut out of PS 154 this year. Given all the kids who didn't get a seat in ANY Pre-K program, you should be glad that you have a seat, even if it's not your 1st choice.
i never rec'd my letter and when i called the plcmnt office (i actually spoke to someone)they couldnt find us in the system......He said he would look for my application and get back to me, but i havent heard back. I find it hard to believe that my application never arrived......
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