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Finding good schools in NYC

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  • #1

    Finding good schools in NYC

    Hey guys, we're not there yet but we are thinking of having our first kid within the next 3 to 5 years. Besides having to move to a larger apartment, we'll have to do some thinking about what school district our kids will be in. I can imagine some of the public schools here are pretty horrific, though we're loathe to pay 40-50k+ a year for private school.

    How did you go about doing research on finding good schools in NYC? Someone suggested the NYC DOE website (see reference link below) and I've also heard greatschools.com might be a good place to start. Any ideas that specifically apply for NYC parents?
    New York City Department of Education
    http://schools.nyc.gov
    The Department of Education operates the public schools in New York City and is the largest system of schools in the United States.
    Tags: schools
  • #2
    This is a great question. I have a friend who's just started looking in Brooklyn and keeps asking me this. The closest thing I've found so far is insideschools.org. You can search what schools are in your district by searching by your address. And you can filter by charter schools which are available only by lottery, though I'm not sure honestly where to start. There are a lot of options that come up!

    Any advice on where to start generally, and also what good schools are in Brooklyn?

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    • #3
      Well to start with, even if you don't have a lot of friends who are parents, I'm sure you'll already have heard of some of the more famous public schools in NYC like PS 6 on the Upper East Side, PS 87 on the Upper West Side and PS 235 in Tribeca. And no doubt you've heard of famous private schools like Dalton on the Upper East Side (yes, from Gossip Girls). And you've heard of special prep schools like Stuyvesant High School, where each year some 30,000 8th and 9th graders take a 3 hr entrance exam to be able to enroll in one of these specialized NYC high schools (Wikipedia link below).

      With that said, please keep an open mind to new up and coming areas and school zones, such as Chelsea and even Washington Heights. Williamsburg also has some great elementary schools that score quite well in public polls.
      Specialized high schools in New York City - Wikipedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org

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      • #4
        I wouldn't get too wed to a particular school zone or school, just be flexible because school boundaries in NYC can change if the city deems the school to be overcrowded. This happened recently on the Upper West Side, and previously in Park Slope as well! If you remember, in November 2013 the boundaries for PS 321 and PS 107 were redrawn due to perceived overcrowding by the city government. Obviously this was terrible luck for a lot of new parents who had purchased homes recently specifically to be in those school zones.

        Just my two cents, it doesn't matter where you go to school. I went to public through from 1st to 12th and didn't have any of this pre-K nonsense. Turned out all right.

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        • #5
          Well at least if you need to move, your child can still stay at the school he or she is already enrolled it. Unfortunately though, if you have a second child after you've already moved, the sibling does not have the right to attend the same school as your first child if you've already moved out of that school district in NYC. Something to consider.

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          • #6
            Aslan, your friend in Brooklyn should attend a charter school fair if they're just starting to search for good schools in NYC and are complete newbies. There was one in Brooklyn this weekend (Mar 3) hosted by the New York City Charter School Center. Good way to meet representatives from dozens of charter schools at the same time.

            Of course, there are lots of different options from charter schools which are technically free, experimental schools that operate independently. Most are in low income neighborhoods, though there are some in middle class neighborhoods as well. A charter school may or may not perform better than a regular public school.

            Also, the Department of Education also grades each school from A to F. These are yearly progress reports that take into account English, Language Arts and Math test scores and improvements on these scores from previous years, as well as the "learning environment." Schools are also compared to each other, but remember that scores are just one factor. Some newer schools may not have enough data yet, so don't discount up and coming school districts.

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            • #7
              Hi Showtime!

              these websites are also great for school info.
              feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!
              www.niche.com
              www.schoolgrades.org
              www.schooldigger.com

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              • #8
                Hey there! This article is over 2 years old, but still quite relevant today.

                https://www.theatlantic.com/educatio...divide/491483/


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