NYC Middle School Directory Causes Problems for Non-English Speakers

Editor's Note: Article updated to reflect the release of translated materials on Oct. 23.

Parents of New York City fifth graders have begun the search for middle school but some Spanish-speaking parents said on Tuesday that the complicated process has been even more difficult this year because of a lack of information in their native language.

The middle school directory is published every year by the Department of Education to help parents navigate the process. For many weeks at the start of the application season — when the fairs and tours were underway — it was only available in English. The Department of Education posted translated materials on Oct. 23.

Janet Duran, president of the parents association at P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte in Washington Heights, says the lack of information in Spanish has caused problems.

“The parents who don’t speak English have many problems filling out the application,” said Duran. “Many times they commit the error of selecting a school that was not really what they wanted.”

Duran says that 95 percent of parents of children at the school do not speak English as their primary language and many rely on their young children to translate for them. Duran, who is searching for middle schools for her twin boys, says that this kind of oversight by the city has happened before.

“This is not the first time that the Department of Education has sent out information we depend on only in English,” she said. “They’re not thinking about the Hispanic community.”

Nelson Rojas, the parent coordinator at P.S. 132, said his school hosts two orientations on the application process in both English and Spanish, but not all parents attend the events.

“Sometimes we have an immigration status that is a problem for them and they are afraid,” says Duran, “I think they need to make more information in Spanish, especially this middle school guide.”

Shortly after dismissal on Tuesday, Pura Maria, who has a daughter in fifth grade, was running upstairs to meet with a teacher who could speak to her in Spanish.

“It’s a little difficult for me. I had to leave my job early,” she said. “I came running here so that her teacher can explain to me what the process is.”

Middle school applications are due the first week of December. The exact date has not been set yet.

Meanwhile, SchoolBook's search also tool provides current information in Spanish, translated from the English directories, including admissions methods and test scores.