Everyone. Calm down about your middle school random numbers.
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By Joyce Szuflita
I know you are freaking out. People who panic drown. Stop it. It is not as bad as you think.
Lottery numbers will be revealed this season for middle school and high school placement.
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By Joyce Szuflita
Counter to my speculation earlier this year (It happens), I have gotten conclusive confirmation from the Director of Enrollment that random numbers will be released before the application deadlines this fall.
nyc middle school admissions season fall 2022
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By Joyce Szuflita
Here is what is going on.
Some academic screens will be adopted at some middle schools. In those programs, students will be ranked based on a composite of their course grades from fourth grade. Decisions about which school will allowed to screen will be made at the District level between the Superintendents, CEC’s and the schools. There will be a limited number of those programs and announcements about which programs will be screened will be announced when applications open in late Oct.
Algebra 1 and the path to Calculus
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By Joyce Szuflita
Thinking about the sequence of high school math classes and requirements for graduation and for college placement is confusing. It is something that I try to make parents aware of when thinking about vetting middle schools, just because this is all confusing and knowledge is power. None if it is a deal breaker, and thinking about what is appropriate in high school math is top of mind for elite colleges as well as high school and middle school educators.
2021 middle school admissions: lessons learned from District 15
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By Joyce Szuflita
Hi everyone else in the City!
Now that the City is taking on a version of the admissions plan that was adopted by District 15 a few years ago, I thought you could befit from some good old Brownstone Brooklyn insight.
2021 middle school admissions: Vol 1
/By Joyce Szuflita
As I predicted (hate to say, “I told you so”) and as recommended in the Fordham Law School Feerick Center for Social Justice report back in May, middle schools are removing all screens for placement for the 2021-22 school year.
District priorities will remain in place and students will be ranked by lottery and sometimes also with an economic diversity priority. Exactly what will happen to Citywide and Borough-wide screened and audition programs (like Twain, ICE, Medgar Evers, PPAS, 318’s Chess Program…) has not been laid out. It seems to me that the design and focus of those few schools/programs are so unique and specialized that they may be considered separately. We’ll see. Watch their MY SCHOOLS listings and their websites for more information.
Dates:
The application will be open in MY SCHOOLS on Jan. 11
We don’t yet know a deadline. Go here for ongoing information.
Sign up for DoE email blasts.
Other questions that I have:
What about sibling priority?
What about zoning?
What about tracked programs within schools?
Will borough-wide and city-wide programs retain their geographic priorities?
District 15 re-zoning: update 12/2020
/By Joyce Szuflita
The PAR Team recommended that the vote for rezoning be moved to late winter or spring. With the deadline for fall 2021 kindergarten coming up on Jan. 19, 2021, the recommendation is that any re-zoning plan go into effect for the 2022-23 school year.
The map for the re-zoning will be publicized in the new year, in line with vote.
One aspect of the possible proposal is to transition PS 676 to a middle school.
That’s all she wrote for now.
"now that district 15 middle schools are lottery..."
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By Joyce Szuflita
This has been a big change and not so much. I explain my take on this over and over every day, so I thought that I would write about it here. It is “big”, because parents and the district recognized that encouraging diversity in all of the 11 middle schools in the district would benefit everyone; the students, the schools, and the community. It was also an enthusiastic nudge for parents to look past the few well known popular favorites…and it has worked pretty well.
touring schools in 2020
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First a few basics:
Elementary schools sometimes have the same number in different boroughs. When you do a google search, look for the “PS ‘XO’, Brooklyn” or “Queens” or “Manhattan” when searching for a specific program.
middle school and high school plans?
/By Joyce Szuflita
Read this great article from Chalkbeat that lays out the problem and presents what I feel is a realistic and pragmatic approach (in this moment) to screening students (or not) for middle school and high school. It is reporting on the Fordham Law School Feerick Center for Social Justice report.
What should 5th graders do to prepare for middle school admissions in the fall?
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By Joyce Szuflita
With the knowledge that much is yet to be revealed there are definitely things that you can do now to prepare for the fall. The City is starting to address concerns about admissions and the Chancellor has scheduled Admission Engagement Sessions by borough to allow you to weigh in on the changing admissions process.
First, you should know that even if you have a zoned middle school (and that is rare) you will be able to rank schools in your district of residence (and in the district where your child attends public school - which is usually the same district).
Read Morestuff to keep in mind for middle school search 2019
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By Joyce Szuflita
Tours and open houses are booking now. Go to schools’ individual websites for info. There is a mania for naming schools things that often has nothing to do with what is going on in the school. Don’t judge too quickly by the name. Also, all of these schools have to cover the same curriculum and they only have three years to do it. They will often only talk about the stuff that makes them different. MOST of what they do will be THE SAME. It is different deal at high school where the schools can wrap up the basics required for a NYS diploma in a couple of years and you spend significant time doing AP’s, IB’s, College Now classes, electives or pre-career classes. Middle schools are more the same than they are different!
Arts and Letters may be merging
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By Joyce Szuflita
There are many unanswered questions, but finally the rumors about where Arts & Letters is probably relocating can be answered! They are likely moving and merging with PS 305. I have lots of questions about how prospective families will be considered, like, will it now be an exclusively zoned school rather than non zoned? Will it be some kind of hybrid? Will there be additional seats for K or MS? Inquiring minds want to know! I think this sounds like a great solution. A merge helps A&L find a new permanent home and it help bring thoughtful attention and popular muscle to 305, a local school that is drastically under-enrolled. It also helps PS 20 where A&L was formerly co-located. They now have room to come into their own.
Here is the parent blast from the Principals involved about it:
The myth of the "best school" busted. Glory hallelujah.
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By Joyce Szuflita
I have been sitting in my tiny office spinning with rage about the lazy conversations that I hear around school quality. Let me say right up front this blog is NOT about equity. I think schools are better when they are filled with diverse learners and students of every race and class. Period.
This is about something else: how people talk about the elite schools that everyone is focused on. I think that the underlying premise is false and until we understand the schools with a clear eye - WE CAN’T SOLVE THE ULTIMATE PROBLEM of “school quality” which is poverty.
Read MoreWhy the D15 Diversity Plan should work
/By Joyce Szuflita
You guys know that I am generally very positive about this plan. I feel that it will accelerate the small momentum that has already started in a majority of the up and coming middle schools in the district and I don’t think that it will hurt the academic rigor at the popular programs. For the most part, it will improve their school cultures and your children’s middle school experience. I think that it will likely work because of the sheer volume of quality middle school programs in D15. I have been saying this in every forum I can find, but you don’t have to trust me…
My view of the District 15 Diversity Plan for Middle School
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By Joyce Szuflita
District 15 has gone through a long and public process to work toward a plan to bring more balanced diversity to district middle schools. They have engaged parents in the planning process in many ways over years. You can read the plan here.
Why do I care? First, parents come to me very fearful about what the future holds for their students and I want to explain what they may be able to expect. Second, it is personal.
Read More2016 Changes in Middle School Info
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By Joyce Szuflita
The biggest change that I have found is that NEST+M is no longer a "School Based Application School". It has a code number which means that you will rank it on your application, just like you do if you are applying for Mark Twain or PPAS, etc.
Changes for D15 Middle School Applications
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By Joyce Szuflita
There is one big admissions change for families applying in the fall of 2016 (5th grade families) for middle school in 2017. Your rankings on the application will be "blind". The schools will NOT know how you have ranked them. While this is not the major overhaul to the system that many feel is needed, it does make the process easier in the short term for families. You no longer have to 'strategize' about your first two choices. Rank all schools in the order that you like them with no fear of being 'out of the running' if you place a school 3rd or 4th or lower.
how does opt out affect admissions?
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By Joyce Szuflita
Everyone is asking me this. I can't have an opinion because I am not an expert on the tests neither am I in the back rooms of the schools you want to attend at middle school or high school. For several years, I have contacted many principals from popular, high performing district middle schools in the Districts that I cover.
the clone wars
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by Joyce Szuflita
What's in a name? Granted NYC School Help is lame. If I had thought another minute, I probably could have come up with something better, but when you search "joyce" or "help! schools" I figured it would be likely to come up in the search. Lately there has been a rash of similarly named schools that have occasionally been scrambling my brain.
