I took my son out of private school this year. He is attending Williamsburg Prep HS in bklyn. The school receive an A for their academic. Can you explain what is a smartboard?
A Smart board is a white board that’s connected to the Internet. A teacher can write on it, as she would on a black board, but can also navigate the world wide web with her students. It’s basically an electronic blackboard.
We were hoping that you would comment on it based on first hand knowledge since it is an important new option for many of us. We found your guidance very helpful when choosing an elementary school. Is there any way you could make a visit in the next weeks? As you know we only have a couple of months to make this decision. You are the expert in this area and there are so few resources we can depend on!
How do you feel about Laguardia for a school choice for a musically talented kid but a kid that has some learning issues– ADD and dyslexia. How “kind” is the school for kids with learning issues and do you think the school would be too academically rigorous and overall too large of a school? Thank you in advance for your advice and expertise.
May not be the best choice because of its size, but perhaps you could pose the question to someone in the guidance department or the parent coordinator.
We are moving back to NYC from India. What would recommend as a great Public School in NYC ( preferably in the downtown) with ample day light for kids to enjoy. I hope to buy your book on NYC Elementary Schools once we land there…Best Regards
If my child is accepted to a specialized HS and I accept the school, will he still be part of the selection for the non-specialized HS choices he made before we make a FINAL DECISION?
In other words, if my son gets a seat in one of the spec HSs but really wants his first choice in the non-specialized HS choices made, can he accept the spec HS seat, wait for the regular HSs acceptance results, then pick where he wants to go??
Sounds confusing but i trust you know what i mean.
If your child is accepted at a specialized school, he will also be notified if he was accepted at his other top choice at the same time. If, say, he was accepted at Brooklyn Tech and at Eleanor Roosevelt he may choose Eleanor Roosevelt. However, it is also possible he will be accepted at Brooklyn Tech but NOT at Eleanor Roosevelt. At that point, you must either accept Brooklyn Tech, or forefeit your seat at Brooklyn Tech and put your hat back in the ring.\, hoping to get Elearnor Roosevelt in the second round. That is, you canot hold on to your specialized seat while waiting to see if you get your real first choice.
After the rezoning battle in lower Manhattan, we are now zoned for PS 276 for our daughter who will be starting kindergarten in 2012. My wife and I are debating what we want to do, but don’t have all the answers. Do we stay in the zone here and take a chance on an unproven school or bite the bullet and move to Tribeca to be in well-established 234? Are you hearing anything positive or negative about either the new PS276 or the new PS397? And between those two new schools, any major distinctions?
I haven’t visited PS 276 but I have met the principal and like her. She is in the same “network” as PS 234 which means they have the same staff development, and the two schools have similar philosophies. Small is nice. I don’t know PS 397. Why don’t you visit both of them? Clara
I am moving to NY either to Manhattan or Queens, probably Floral Park on the North Shore Towers (don’t know which section of Floral Park that is). My decision where in the city to move in, pretty much rests on which one is a good school district. I have a 4 yrs old and would like to enroll her in pre-k with the idea to also keep her in the same school district for K and on. Can you help me narrow down the SD list to the best ones in the city? Also, do you know which SD Floral Park belongs to, and if it is a good one?
floral Park is in District 26 which is one of the best districts in the city. Call 311 to find out exactly what school you are zoned for, and check out the Insideschools.org website. You really can’t go wrong in District 26.
I’m a middle school student that is in 7th grade at Simon Baruch middle school. I’m in the SP program and my mom just got the third edition of your best public middle schools parents guide for my little brother who will be entering middle school next fall. I read the section on Baruch, and loads of the details are wrong. For example, we don’t have a Latin teacher, the “improvisation” you mentioned when talking about the drama class was actually a project that students had rehearsed for weeks (i know because i did that project just last month), when talking about how “anyone can join the track team or play basketball or tennis” you forgot to say that they needed to tryout for it and anyone who got in could play, the 6th grade science teacher who “coaches the baseball team, runs the after school science club, and co-runs flag football intramurals” left last year. These incorrect details, among others, show misinformation. I’m not saying it’s your fault ( who knows, maybe a friend gave you the incorrect details) but I think you should take my school more seriously. Many parents rely on your books to choose schools for their sons and daughters, and if you give incorrect info, they may end up in a school they hate, all because of a few hours of laziness on your side. (I’m not saying that you are lazy, I’m just inferring things)
Emily: Thanks for the update. Why don’t you post the new information about Simon Baruch on the Insideschools website? I wrote the book a couple of years ago and obviously some things have changed.
I took my son out of private school this year. He is attending Williamsburg Prep HS in bklyn. The school receive an A for their academic. Can you explain what is a smartboard?
A Smart board is a white board that’s connected to the Internet. A teacher can write on it, as she would on a black board, but can also navigate the world wide web with her students. It’s basically an electronic blackboard.
Hello, I would just like to know when will you be coming out with the fourth edition to (best public high schools)?
Sorry, no new edition is planned. Our funding ran out!
I have an 8th grade son
I would like to know what you think of the “iSchool” High School.
Thank you
I haven’t been there but hear good things about it…I like the principal, who was at Mott Hall II
We were hoping that you would comment on it based on first hand knowledge since it is an important new option for many of us. We found your guidance very helpful when choosing an elementary school. Is there any way you could make a visit in the next weeks? As you know we only have a couple of months to make this decision. You are the expert in this area and there are so few resources we can depend on!
Many thanks.
Will do my best
How do you feel about Laguardia for a school choice for a musically talented kid but a kid that has some learning issues– ADD and dyslexia. How “kind” is the school for kids with learning issues and do you think the school would be too academically rigorous and overall too large of a school? Thank you in advance for your advice and expertise.
May not be the best choice because of its size, but perhaps you could pose the question to someone in the guidance department or the parent coordinator.
We are moving back to NYC from India. What would recommend as a great Public School in NYC ( preferably in the downtown) with ample day light for kids to enjoy. I hope to buy your book on NYC Elementary Schools once we land there…Best Regards
There are a lot of good schools downtown and some new ones opening soon. Why don’t you check out http://www.insideschools.org for some ideas? Clara
If my child is accepted to a specialized HS and I accept the school, will he still be part of the selection for the non-specialized HS choices he made before we make a FINAL DECISION?
In other words, if my son gets a seat in one of the spec HSs but really wants his first choice in the non-specialized HS choices made, can he accept the spec HS seat, wait for the regular HSs acceptance results, then pick where he wants to go??
Sounds confusing but i trust you know what i mean.
If your child is accepted at a specialized school, he will also be notified if he was accepted at his other top choice at the same time. If, say, he was accepted at Brooklyn Tech and at Eleanor Roosevelt he may choose Eleanor Roosevelt. However, it is also possible he will be accepted at Brooklyn Tech but NOT at Eleanor Roosevelt. At that point, you must either accept Brooklyn Tech, or forefeit your seat at Brooklyn Tech and put your hat back in the ring.\, hoping to get Elearnor Roosevelt in the second round. That is, you canot hold on to your specialized seat while waiting to see if you get your real first choice.
After the rezoning battle in lower Manhattan, we are now zoned for PS 276 for our daughter who will be starting kindergarten in 2012. My wife and I are debating what we want to do, but don’t have all the answers. Do we stay in the zone here and take a chance on an unproven school or bite the bullet and move to Tribeca to be in well-established 234? Are you hearing anything positive or negative about either the new PS276 or the new PS397? And between those two new schools, any major distinctions?
I haven’t visited PS 276 but I have met the principal and like her. She is in the same “network” as PS 234 which means they have the same staff development, and the two schools have similar philosophies. Small is nice. I don’t know PS 397. Why don’t you visit both of them? Clara
I am moving to NY either to Manhattan or Queens, probably Floral Park on the North Shore Towers (don’t know which section of Floral Park that is). My decision where in the city to move in, pretty much rests on which one is a good school district. I have a 4 yrs old and would like to enroll her in pre-k with the idea to also keep her in the same school district for K and on. Can you help me narrow down the SD list to the best ones in the city? Also, do you know which SD Floral Park belongs to, and if it is a good one?
Thanks
Clara, I’d be most appreciative if you can answer my query. I’m very interested in your opinion based on your extensive experience.
Many thanks
Analia
floral Park is in District 26 which is one of the best districts in the city. Call 311 to find out exactly what school you are zoned for, and check out the Insideschools.org website. You really can’t go wrong in District 26.
Clara
I’m a middle school student that is in 7th grade at Simon Baruch middle school. I’m in the SP program and my mom just got the third edition of your best public middle schools parents guide for my little brother who will be entering middle school next fall. I read the section on Baruch, and loads of the details are wrong. For example, we don’t have a Latin teacher, the “improvisation” you mentioned when talking about the drama class was actually a project that students had rehearsed for weeks (i know because i did that project just last month), when talking about how “anyone can join the track team or play basketball or tennis” you forgot to say that they needed to tryout for it and anyone who got in could play, the 6th grade science teacher who “coaches the baseball team, runs the after school science club, and co-runs flag football intramurals” left last year. These incorrect details, among others, show misinformation. I’m not saying it’s your fault ( who knows, maybe a friend gave you the incorrect details) but I think you should take my school more seriously. Many parents rely on your books to choose schools for their sons and daughters, and if you give incorrect info, they may end up in a school they hate, all because of a few hours of laziness on your side. (I’m not saying that you are lazy, I’m just inferring things)
Emily: Thanks for the update. Why don’t you post the new information about Simon Baruch on the Insideschools website? I wrote the book a couple of years ago and obviously some things have changed.