There was reprieve, but only a short one. The applications to the NYCDOE ranking the schools in the districts in which we were eligible to attend were due and turned in on Friday December 17. There was relief, release, and a few rankling conversations bringing up doubts about the ordering of particular schools due to the fact that the selective middle schools, the “It” schools are so popular that they do not even interview and consider students who don’t rank their school first or second. So the difficulty for 5th graders and their parents is the mental machinations required to get to point of choosing “The One”, the one school, the best school, the school that the child wants to attend, the school parents want their child to attend.
The DOE would like us to believe they’re all fine:
“We expect all of our schools to be academically challenging and nurturing learning communities that cultivate the diverse interests and skills of middle school students.”
Ask yourself questions about your child and assess how good a fit each school would be for him/her:
*What are your child’s interests and strengths?
*What is your child’s learning style?
*Does he/she work best in a group or individually?
*Does he/she thrive in a more traditional environment or and open one?
Next Steps for Students:
Familliarlize Yourself with the Middle School Directory
Create a list of factors that are important to you in choosing a school: your interest(s) and the schools special programs, size, location and the amount of time it will take you to travel there and back each day.
Are there lockers? Is there a lot of homework? Do you have to wear a uniform? What time is lunch? How many of my friends are going there?
Look through this Directory with your family. Become familiar with the different middle schools from which you can choose and make a list of those that you think meet your personal interests. For example if you are interested in taking Latin and playing Basketball, look for those things in the directory page. Also be sure that you meet the Eligibility requirements for the school or program.
(FYI there is exactly one school available to our children that offers both Latin and basketball.)
- Write down any questions you may want to discuss with the support staff at your school or your teacher, as you review the Directory.
Why?
There are a few good and popular schools favored by the entitled well-educated white people of Brownstone Brooklyn and then there are all the others–many of which are filled with the children of just as educated people of color who don’t feel entitled and have faith in the system.
I don’t know what to do with that.