Wish list: DOE to answer
Last week, we asked readers for questions they'd like to pose to the Powers That Be at the DOE, and you responded with smart, savvy, provocative ideas, summarized in the recent Insideschools alert.
We have another few days to gather questions. Anything you forgot to ask on the last round? Fire away.
10 comments:
This year, very likely due to the removal of Regions in favor of districts, the Region 7, Regional Science Fair did not take place. Will there be a comparable science fair this coming year?
I am not sure if this was already mentioned but I feel very strongly about schools being able to put an official sibling policy in place. We want our children together. In the event of an emergency it is impossible to be in 2 places at one time. Additionally, the money that I currently donate to one school will be split in half so I can donate to another school.
As this year was a communication disaster, I would like to know when we are going to have Town Halls where the new policies are explained & where parents can ask questions?
And when are principals, parent coordinators, and family advocates going to get information to disseminate, so people don't have to relentlessly call the DOE & not get a response....
If you are in an out of district school will your elementary school student be able to switch to the G & T program at the same school if he/she tests in? If not, why not?
Can we get some transparency for wait lists that aren't made public?
Thanks for these questions. Efom, will ask about science fair; 1:11 and 3:58, we're adding your thoughts to extant questions about sibling placement and possible Town Halls. (Watch the blog tomorrow for an announcement about a Town Hall next week in Brooklyn.) Also glad to ask about waitlists, 4:00, but not sure I understand your question, 3:59 -- can you please rephrase? thank you.
Concerning the city-wide G&T programs, I would like to ask what is city-wide about them if attending children are eligible for school-busing only if they live in a five-mile radius in the same borough?
How are average or below-average income families supposed to manage it financially to get their children to and from school every day if the only support they get is a free MetroCard?
Are these city-wide programs only intended for well-off families who can afford to pay for private transportation (where available) or hire a nanny or chauffeur?
Considering the young age of the entrance class (kindergarten), it is only manageable for families with only one child that live not too far from the three programs in Manhattan.
How does the DOE justify that on the one hand there are public school busing options for children attending expensive private schools, but on the other hand not for city-wide public school G&T programs?
Can we get some transparency about middle school applications? And can the policy be made public at the beginning of the school year? Would also like to find out if the DOE plans to allow more students to go out of district for middle school. And what are the plans to create more city-wide selective middle schools like NEST, Tag, and Anderson, so kids from the outer boroughs don't have to travel to Manhattan for the selective programs.
I, too, would like to see more town hall meetings in every district--actually, how about every SCHOOL. I would love to go to CEC meetings to find out info, but the one in our district is really only accessible by car (we don't have one) and the meetings occur at a time that's virtually impossible to attend for my family. Plus, it ends up being parents going together to effect change that THEY want, leaving parents without political pull or connections in the dust. Make them more accessible and make CEC leaders reach out to entire community.
(1) I have often wondered why there could not be at least one Citywide K-12 or at least K-8 G&T program in each outer borough, preferably located on top of a public transportation hub. Otherwise, it's just too hard and too expensive for most outer borough families to shlep their kids into Manhattan for NEST, Anderson, and TAG. (In Queens, for example, obvious choices would be Woodside, Jackson Heights, Flushing, or Jamaica.) (2) Related to this, I have also wondered why the City's only G&T arts middle schools are also in Manhattan (Manhattan East, PPAS, Special Music School, and Ballet Tech.) G&T kids who are gifted in the arts have a double whammy as all of the G&T arts middle schools are in Manhattan, and there are even fewer seats than the "normal" G&T seats available. Nevertheless, there are many excellent cultural institutions across the outer boroughs that could conceivably partner with DOE to create more middle G&T arts seats. For example, how about arts middle schools affiliated with Queens College, or the Brooklyn Academy of Music?
Bottom line: we outer borough families deserve Citywide G&T seats closer to home, and especially more arts oriented G&T seats, which are rarer than hens' teeth.
Post a Comment