Recap of 2011 Education Events

Happy New Year!  We are looking forward to a year full of growth and lots of relevant educations information for our fellow parents in 2012.  We've been busy working on updating the site with new features to help you with your school search that will be rolled out soon.  In the meantime, we'll continue to update our calendar events and education news.

Here is great recap of the best and worst education events of 2011 from Leonie Haimson at NYC Public School Parent.

Anything to add?  Let us know in comments below.

 

Applying to Schools? Then Come to Our School Information and Networking Night

'Tis the Season...the school application season...and everyone is talking about schools -- at the playground, on anonymous online message boards, at the supermarket-- but are you talking to the right people and are you getting the right information?

  • How do you know what the right school is?  What do you really need to know about tours, play dates, thank you notes, lottery schools, testing, etc.?
  • Financial aid for private schools – is it real?

We have done the research for you and have put together a group of parent experts from the schools that you want to attend, who are ready to share their experiences.  Let’s Talk Schools is having a social mixer, to provide parents applying to schools an opportunity to connect with other parents in an informal setting to 'talk schools’ with each other.

Come mix and mingle at our School Information Speed Date Night with parents that will give you the real, unedited scoop on schools and answer your questions live, one-on- one.  Our Parent Experts have knowledge of ongoing schools*, experience of successfully completing the application process and they don’t mind talking about schools all night long!

Come join our conversation.

*Schools represented include the following:-

  • Fieldston Lower / Dalton / Trevor Day / Riverdale Country /
  • Bank Street / Columbia Grammar & Prep / St Hilda’s and St Hughe’s / Spence
  • NEST+m / PS 166 G&T / Hunter /PS 180 /Manhattan School for Children / Ascension
  • New York French-American Charter School / Upper Westside Success Academy
  • Weekday Preschool / Claremont (now MontClare) / Twin Parks Schools – Riverside, Central Park and Park West Montessori
* Final list of schools subject to change

Charter school fight for space in New York City

In my school district, the choice of public schools leave something to be desired.  That's why I was very excited to learn of plans for the first public French-American charter school in New York City to open here in September 2010.  My enthusiasm has dampened a bit since I've started researching and reading about charter schools and the recent charter school movement in New York.

Charter schools are a key part of President Barack Obama's plan for the reform of our education system.   NYC's Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, also thinks that charter schools play a vital role in improving the city's public education system, and has made increasing the number of the city's charter schools a key initiative of his third term.

An article in today's New York Times discusses the city's strategy, thus far, of awarding space to new charter schools.

It's a debate that will only get more and more contentious as more public schools are closed down to reopen as charter schools, themselves public schools but supported with private money.  Personally, I disagree with this tactic and feel that this is a way of privatizing our public schools, which I ABSOLUTELY disagree with.  Why can't we invest in improving the schools we currently have?!

Should we continue to open new charter schools or should we work on improving our current schools?  Please leave a comment and tell us your thoughts.