My husband is hating his commute right now and is toying with the idea of moving our family back to NYC....we'd probably be in lower Manhattan, because I've stipulated that if the reason we are moving is commute related, I want him to be able to walk to work. Naturally his mentality is "the sooner the better!" But realistically, I'd be looking at needing fall placements for second grade, kindergarten, and PK3. I know the latter two are really going to be tricky.
I'm somewhat familiar with the NYC public school enrollment process, because my oldest went to Universal PK (when it was just 4year olds) in Brooklyn. However, we never went fully through the Kindergarten enrollment process because we moved to the suburbs as I was filing the applications. My husband seems to think that living in a zoned area gives us guaranteed admission at our neighborhood school....I think he's totally wrong, given that we missed all the enrollment dates for fall already, and all zoning gives you is priority, not a guarantee. My understanding is that the girls must be given a place somewhere in the system, but in theory it could be anywhere (I assume they try to keep you in your borough?), it will most likely be everyone else's "leftovers", and that the kids could be separated.
Any insight from someone who knows or has been there would be very much appreciated! Thanks!