Deputy Chancellor Responds to Your School Choice Questions

Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott affirmed his support for school choice at the first SchoolBook community event on Dec. 8, but a number of questions from the hundreds of people in the audience went unanswered because of time limitations. On Dec. 9, we published a sampling of the leftover questions. Here are responses to some of them by Marc Sternberg, the deputy chancellor for portfolio planning.

What happens to students whom schools don’t “compete” for?

The high school admissions process is a match process in which students list up to 12 choices on their application. High schools consider students who listed their school as a choice on their application.

Schools do not know how the student ranked them (1-12); they only know that a student listed the school as one of his or her 12 choices.

Students are matched to their highest-possible program choice, subject to school admissions methods and seat availability.

Every eligible student who participates in the process (and meets promotional standards) is guaranteed a seat at a New York City public high school. Last year, 73 percent of 8th graders were matched to one of their top three choices.

Why do all the kids have to be tutored to get into the specialized schools?

Tutoring is not a requirement for admission into a specialized high school.

The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) measures knowledge and skills students have gained over many years, and keeping up with schoolwork is the best preparation.

We also encourage students interested in Specialized High Schools to take our free practice tests so they can become familiar with the format of the test. Practice tests are available in the Specialized High Schools Student Handbook, which is available at public middle schools, enrollment offices, and online at http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/High/Publications.

I just moved to Harlem and found out I’m in District 5 with almost no choice for middle schools. Why is this?

There are several middle school choice options for families who live in District 5. There are 13 district-based choice schools, seven citywide choice schools and seven charter schools.

Families have a variety quality options, many more than they did a decade ago.

To find out more about middle school choice, you can visit the D.O.E. Web site at http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/Middle.

Why were the neighborhood schools discontinued? MetroCards and buses are very expensive.

Before 2003, with a few exceptions, a student’s zip code determined where he or she went to high school. There was no choice process available for students who wanted a better option than their neighborhood high school.

Today, that’s not the case. We created a comprehensive high school admissions process so families can choose their schools instead of being automatically zoned to one.

The admissions process we have today preferences equity over geography.

Many students receive free MetroCards and yellow bus service. Depending on their grade level and distance from their home, students may receive a half-fare MetroCard, a free MetroCard or free busing.

For more information about transportation eligibility, you can visit the D.O.E.’s Pupil Transportation Web site at http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/Transportation.

The D.O.E. is proud of the idea of choice, but little is talked about the most vulnerable kids who effectively have no choice. The kids whose families might not have the social capital to navigate the system.

Our primary goal is to build a system of great schools so that every child has access to a high-quality education, no matter their income, race, zip code or learning challenges.

That is why we have made it a priority to focus on bringing new, high-quality schools to neighborhoods that have been traditionally disadvantaged.

We have created admissions processes that are standardized so all students have access and can participate, with the same information about school choice being offered to every family.

We understand that our students come from different backgrounds, and parents have varying amounts of time to devote to the process. To support families, we host dozens of fairs and workshops across the city, which help them learn about their options.

In addition, we’ve developed new resources for guidance counselors to improve their capacity to support students.

With middle schools, do the schools know how a particular student ranks them?

Schools with zoned, limited unscreened, or unscreened admissions criteria do not see students’ ranking of the schools.

The ranking information available to academically screened middle schools varies by district. In Districts 1-5, schools can see the ranking information. In Districts 13-16, a ranking range is revealed (1-2, 3-5, 6+). In all other districts, the student’s ranking of the school is “blind” or hidden to the schools.

One issue with small high schools is that they have small budgets so there are fewer foreign languages, fewer A.P. classes and electives. Can you address?

Most new schools have partnerships with nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions and businesses that bring additional resources to enhance learning.

New school students may be able to access additional A.P. classes, P.S.A.L. sports and programs through other schools located on the same campus.

Many of our new small schools are also designed around a theme — for example, we have schools that focus on math and science, journalism, music, and health care, to name a few.

If maximizing choice is desirable from your perspective, then why does the current system limit choice by locking us into particular districts? Not all districts have equal choices.

Most students at the elementary school level attend the zoned school in their neighborhood. Experience has shown us that the overwhelming majority of parents prefer to have their elementary school-age child in a high-quality school in their own neighborhood, if that is an option.

There are a few citywide and district elementary choice programs, but generally the range of schools available to a student increases as the student gets older.

At the middle school level, there are zoned schools, district choices, borough choices and a group of citywide schools.

At the high school level, we have a citywide choice process.

For more information about school choice at each grade level, visit http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment.