Hellobee Boards

I thought the same thing. So much pressure!

I live in NYC and I intentionally moved to a neighborhood with an amazing public K-5 two blocks from my apartment so I wouldn't have to pay a ridiculous tuition or have my child pass any tests to get in!

Thinking about the process does kind of stress me out though and make me want to move back to the burbs!

We're house-hunting right now and I don't want to live too far out of Boston, but I don't want to live within city limits because I don't like the Pre-K & Kindergarten issues that we'd be dealing with.

@Modern Daisy: so, your lo does not have to test in to the neighborhood school?

I don't quite understand all of this school choice stuff in NYC. If your neighborhood public K is inferior you can send your child to a better public K. The superior public K would enroll all of the neighborhood kids and space permitting allow others to attend if they test well?

I'm more glad that I don't live in NYC for the space/cost of living, than for the schools. Like @Mrs. Bee: said, if I was renting, I'd just try to move to the neighborhood with the good public schools I think. But buying would be a LOT to think about.

This is a big part of the reason I'm not in a hurry to buy anything now. I don't feel like I know enough about the area schools to make a decision NOW about where future LO will go to school in 5 years.

@MRS. LEMON-LIME: The way admittance to my zoned public school works is first priortiy goes to children with older siblings already in the school, second priority goes to children that are zoned for the school, then it gets opened up to children who are not zoned for the school, but as far as I know testing is not required for admittance, I think that is a private or G&T school thing.

I'm scared to read the post!

No offense to that post, but I thought it was really unrealistic as to the experience of most NYers. Most people here in NYC don't even consider private education based on commuting, price, etc. As someone who went to one of the private schools that require testings, but only for 7-12 grade, I just felt the post was really skewed to an experience that so few NYers deal with at least at the elementary school level (high school is something different). Many people don't have a choice or the resources to apply for or get their kids to a non-zoned school for better or worse. I went to my neighborhood public elementary just like most kids I know, which was a two minute walk from my building. No tests, no binders, no nothing, and I got a perfectly fine education. I'm sure it wasn't as nice as many people's, but it was solid.

I would consider the private school I went to for middle and high school for our child's elementary school years (it would have to be for a daughter since my school was all-girls), but quite frankly I'm not sure that DH and I would want to spend that kind of money, and I am hard pressed to want to pay full price for kindergarten. I value education but not to the tune of so much money.

Anyway, this is all to say that I firmly believe that post isn't everyone in NYC's experience. It's a city of over 8 million people. That post is just one slice of life. That said, some people like a lot of options.

@ModernDaisy - Schools are one of the neighborhood factors we're considering for our next apartment (in April). Plus churches with schools.

It didn't scare me. It does fascinate me. Think of it this way... NYC has soooo many options and there are so many different ways to approach it. It's an interesting study in differences and I feel that we can always learn something from the experiences of others.

(I shoulda been an anthropologist!)

@Mrs. Bee: No, I don't think so necessarily. Many parents don't have information quite frankly about options like G & Ts, etc. nor from my understanding are G & Ts available in every community. Based on my experience, the people who are most likely to pursue these types of programs and schools are people who with a certain level of education, have particular personal networks where school options like this are discussed frequently (or perhaps ad nauseum), have a certain level of wealth, have certain language skills, etc. It's not impossible to pursue these options, but not everyone can nor do they know how to. It's not a bad thing to not pursue more or better education options for your kids, but I don't agree about the assumption that everyone is going to take this path or can take this path. It's just the reality of the diversity of experiences in this city.

@BKCaribBaby: Totally agree with you! I think as the city gets more and more competitive and high stakes with regard to real estate prices, it can feel like everyone in the city is wealthy - or at least pretty comfortable. But the fact is, that isn't the truth.

I agree that the post sounded stressful, but it doesn't have to be like that. Some people choose to play the game, others don't. It's different for me since we're Catholic and I would choose Catholic school for my LO. Plus, we have now moved to the suburbs - not b/c of schooling, but because of my husband's job. But the people I knew in the city for the most part could not afford a lot of the options mentioned in that post.

It does scare the begeezus out of me, we don't have any testing like that around here either. My sister lives in Toronto and I know that they have a lottery to get into the french schools, but other than that, it's just based on where you live unless you go private. I think if/when they have kids her DH said they will go private.

@everbee: Haha do you also not have any infant daycare options within a 15 block radius?? If so, we must live next door to each other

@BKCaribBaby: I agree with you. The posts were interesting to read but did not present the experience of NYers I know. I don't know anyone in real life who has prepped their kid for a G & T test, though I know people whose kids have taken the test (I took the test, too). In my experience kids go to their zoned school for elementary school.

@Modern Daisy: This happened to me, too. We don't live in an affluent neighborhood, but we do live in family-oriented one, so most of the daycares had long waiting lists and we had to go for a nanny share. In my neighborhood they are actually in the early process of building a new elementary school, so the zoning may be changed a bit when it's time for LO to go to school.

@lindsayinnyc nope..not near those schools.

What I think is incredibly interesting to me is the fact that the concept of G&T programs seems to be treated not as a resource for a unique subgroup of children (the truly "gifted") but as a means of ensuring a "good" education. Generally speaking, I think that 4 years old is way too early for most children (and for most parents) to determine if they really need such a program. I also am intrigued by the question of whether or not parents given the "opportunity" to pursue a G&T program would in fact do so. The word "opportunity" needs more definition here: is this an opportunity because the child demonstrates giftedness -- or because the parents have the means (financial, time, etc) to prep a child for entrance exams?

Anyway, I've worked in gifted programs and with gifted children on and off for years, and this is always a fascinating topic for me.

@Mrs. Bee: No worries, Mrs. Bee! I still think the post was quite helpful. The whole G & T school option has really changed since I was in NYC public way back in the olden days. I probably have a few years before I need to think about this, but it's good to see what the process is like even now.

@meredithNYC: You hit the nail on the head totally. NYC has changed so much in the last 10-15 years as many families are choosing to stay here. It's made everything from real estate to education much more complicated. I agree about people making certain choices, perfectly fine choices BTW, to pursue certain educational paths for their kids. It's about school choice, which I guess is what we should want as parents, right?

@mrsjazz: I guess this means I need to start looking into daycare just in case I want to go that route, huh? Ay...

I don't have kids yet, but I live in the NYC area, and honestly the way the public school system works here is a big reason why I plan to actually raise my kids somewhere else. The inequality is what bothers me the most. A recent report by the Schott Foundation found, "Primarily because of New York City policies and practices that result in an inequitable distribution of educational resources and intensify the impact of poverty, children who are poor, Black and Hispanic have far less of an opportunity to learn the skills needed to succeed on state and federal assessments. They are also much less likely to have an opportunity to be identified for Gifted and Talented programs, to attend selective high schools or to obtain diplomas qualifying them for college or a good job. High-performing schools, on the other hand, tend to be located in economically advantaged areas."

As PPs have mentioned, not every parent has the time or the resources to be very involved in their kids' education. Putting aside this kindergarten issue, once kids get to high school, no one necessarily goes to their neighborhood school. There is an admissions process for high school during which "students can rank up to 12 programs from more than 600 programs citywide. The Department of Education conducts workshops and fairs to help parents and students learn about the high school admissions process and make informed choices." (http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/High/Admissions/default.htm). This basically results in institutionalized inequality because not all parents are going to take the time to go to these workshops and fairs and even help kids choose the schools that they are interested in/are best for them. How is a 13-year-old 8th grader supposed to make an informed decision for his or herself?

Additionally, the recent emphasis on charter schools has resulted in a practice called co-location in NYC public schools -- this involves a charter school opening up in a pre-existing public school, essentially sharing the building with them. The concern about this is it potentially takes resources away from the school already in the building and it certainly takes away space at the very least. (http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121206/williamsburg/locals-blast-charter-schools-proposed-co-location-williamsburg)

Anyway, I apologize for this novella, but I did a project on the NYC public school system in grad school and it's something I'm passionate about. Just thought others might find this information interesting!