Another look at the new New York City elementary school application process, which is slowly becoming clear – or not:
It’s springtime, and the streets are filled with the sound of parents of 4- and 5-year-olds freaking out. This is normal behavior for March, when city parents traditionally bum-rush the schools of their choices and try by hook or by crook (or, according to persistent urban legend, gift of cookies) to get their kids to the front of the line. This year, though, the stress level is up a notch, thanks to a new application process… [read more]
NOTE: After this column had gone to press, schools spokesperson Andrew Jacob contacted me with several clarifications/corrections:
- Kids who don’t get into any schools on their list will be admitted to their zoned school; enough spaces will be held open to guarantee this. If they do get into another school on their list, however, they relinquish the right to automatically get into their zoned school – no backsies, in other words.
- The parent coordinator who said that gifted and talented test results won’t be in until May 16 “is wrong. We will be sending the results by mid-April” – only a couple of weeks later than originally projected.
- The DoE is promising to provide buses to take kids to gifted classes if they’re elsewhere in their district.