Hepcat sent me this interesting tidbit of information about children’s books this morning from the Washington Post:

Children have welcomed the Harry Potter books in recent years like free
ice cream in the cafeteria, but the largest survey ever of youthful
reading in the United States revealed today that none of J.K. Rowling’s
phenomenally popular books has been able to dislodge the works of
longtime favorites Dr. Seuss, E.B. White, Judy Blume, S.E. Hinton and
Harper Lee as the most read.

So if you thought the Harry Potter books are the most popular children’s books of all time you’re WRONG.

The classics still hold sway. Yay for the perennial childhood faves: Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, Green Eggs and Ham, The Outsiders, Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing and To Kill a Mockingbird.

The mother of a student at PS 15 in Red Hook wrote to say that the Department of Education has decided to place a new
charter school in their building starting next fall.

Many of the parents
connected with the school – and other members of the community – are
quite upset by this.

PS 15 has received high grades, and excels in
serving its existing student population – and has small classes and a
"family" feel that really supports the students in many positive ways.

This mom is wondering if anyone out there has ideas about how to block having a second school placed arbitrarily on their premises:

As part of the effort to protest this decision, I’ve set up a blog that
provides substantial background on the issue, and I’d like to ask you
to take a look at  your convenience, and if you have any suggestions or
feedback on how we can block having a second school
arbitrarily placed on our premises, we’d be glad to hear from you.

 

And just for the sake of democratic argument, if you have an
interesting argument pro-charter schools, feel free to speak up on that
as well.

 

Here’s the link to the blog: http://charter-free-ps15.blogspot.com/

The interview letters for New Voices, MS 51, and Math and Science went out this week to those students who put those schools as their first or second choices on the middle school applications.

I didn’t find out until yesterday that OSFO didn’t get any letters. In fact, I just found out yesterday that the letters went out at all.

Luckily I ran into another parent who’s child didn’t get any letters. That’s when I realized that there was a problem. Immediately, I went to the guidance counselor at PS 321 and she said there was a computer glitch and that’s why OSFO wasn’t on the list at her first or second choice schools.

Apparently the DOE has a new database. Maybe that was part of the problem. The guidance counselor said she’s sure there are other kids who might not be in the database. Hopefully their teachers or parents will figure out that they didn’t get any letters.

If you are applying to a school that requires an interview and you didn’t get a letter this week, talk to your child’s teacher or the guidance counselor at your school!!!

PS 321’s guidance counselor spent more than an hour trying to rectify the problem. Talk about red tape. She had to make so many phone calls and had to wait on so many calls on hold. I was amazed that both she and I kept our cool.

We did resolve the problem with MS 51. The problem with New Voices should be resolved soon.

The New York Daily News and The Gowanus Lounge reports today that the Khalil Gibran International Academy will move into PS 287, a school building in Ft. Green next year after growing too large for its current Boerum Hill location at the Brooklyn High School for the Arts. Let the controversey begin. Who can forget the brouhaha when the school was set to move into PS 282 in Park Slope and later when it moved into the building that also houses Math and Science Eplorations, a middle school.

PS 287 is located at 50 Navy Street. It is described on Inside Schools as “a spacious building within sight — and earshot — of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the Manhattan Bridge, PS 287 is a small school that knows how to attract big supporters and resources. The school, which serves a high-poverty area, benefits from a stable leadership. The principal has been there for 17 years, supported by several longtime staff members (the librarian, art teacher, and parent coordinator among them), who are extremely committed to the school, as are a number of community organizations.”

Here’s what the Daily News had to say:

Some parents are concerned about older students from Khalil Gibran going to school alongside their elementary school kids. PS287 currently houses the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, a high school that is moving into an old courthouse next year.

“We told them the high school children and elementary children are not a good mix. So why ignore us?” PTA President Edgardo Rivera wrote to parents.
The parents also questioned why their pleas to keep the school out failed, while parents from PS 282 in Park Slope successfully lobbied to keep the school out last year.

A schools spokeswoman said the Education Department would work to answer all of the parents’ questions.
In its first year, Khalil Gibran has suffered several setbacks, including having its founding principal step down last summer, only to see her later sue the city to get her job back. That matter is pending.

Public prekindergarten application forms will be available soon:

Prekindergarten applications for the 2008-09 school year will be
available shortly. The following is the timetable for the 2008-09
school year.

March 24: Application packets will be available at schools,
community-based organizations, borough enrollment offices, and online
at http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/ and at this web page.
These packets will include a directory of public school and CBO
pre-Kindergarten sites for the 2008-09 school year.

April 11: All applications for public school pre-Kindergarten seats
must be postmarked by this date.

Week of May 19: Parents will receive notification about their child’s
placement in a public school pre-Kindergarten program.

To apply to pre-Kindergarten programs offered by CBOs, parents should
submit applications directly to the appropriate CBOs between March 24
and April 11.

This is the same process as in previous years. CBOs will
notify parents directly about their child’s application status

.

More controversy for the Kahlil Gibran International Academy. This time it’s not about the principal. But the school is in search of a new home. Again.

A few months ago I heard on a school tour that the school was definitely moving out of the Dean Street building, which also houses the Math and Science Exploratory School, a middle school, and the Brooklyn High School for the Arts.

Now they are talking about PS 287 in Ft. Greene and parents there aren’t happy about it. It’s deja vu all over again: who can forget the uproar caused by parents when the school was set to move in PS 282 in Park Slope.

At
a meeting with education officials Tuesday night, parents from PS287
were uneasy about older students moving into the building used by their
younger kids. The following is an excerpt from the NY Daily News article:

"It’s a bad idea altogether," said PTA President Edgardo Rivera. "We want the elementary school to stay an elementary school."

"I’m adamantly opposed to its being in this building," said Ed Brown, president of the Ingersoll Parents Association.

Less
than a year old, the school has been mired in controversy since its
inception, with its founding principal stepping down last summer, then
suing the city to get her job back.

That is the question at this free symposium about mayoral control after Bloomberg on Thursday, March 6, 2008 from 8:15 am to 10:30 am at the Tishman Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street (between 5th and 6th avenues)

The event will feature a presentation  by Joel Klein, Chancellor, New York City Department of Education. Here’s the blurb from the invitation:

When Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office one of his top priorities was to repair the city’s ailing public schools. The state gave him control of the school system five years ago and must soon decide whether to extend that power to future administrations. Are the schools more accountable today? Students and teachers more successful? Parents more engaged? Principals more effective? What’s the track record of mayoral control—and should it continue after 2009?

Other speakers will include:

Christopher D. Cerf, Deputy Chancellor for Organizational Strategy, Human Capital and External Relations

Carmen Colon, Executive Director, Association of NYC Education Councils

Ernest A. Logan, President, NYC Council of School Supervisors and Administrators

Hon. Alan Maisel, Member, New York State Assembly (D-Brooklyn)

Merryl Tisch, Vice Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents

MODERATOR: Samuel G. Freedman, Columnist, “On Education,” The New York Times, and Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Light breakfast will be available beginning at 8 a.m. You must reserve a spot at this event. Go to centernyc.org

A large group of PS 321 parents, teachers and administrators joined hundreds of others in protest against recent school budget cuts in front of the Department of Education in Manhattan Thursday afternoon.

The school’s PTA leaders encouraged parents to make their voices heard at the protest or with letters and calls to their city council members. This from NY 1:

Hundreds of students, teachers, parents, and lawmakers gathered outside the Department of Education headquarters in Manhattan Thursday to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $100 million education cut.

They denounced the budget plan — which is part of the mayor’s plan to cut spending citywide.

High school students at the protest said the cuts will make it harder for them to finish school.

“I want to graduate,” said one student. “I want to get an education. I don’t want my money to be taken away for this. I need my education so I can go somewhere in this world.”

“It affects the students, it affects the teaching skills,” said another. “We need that money and they can’t take it away from us because it’s the only thing we have.”

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says he’s redirected $230 million from the head office into city classrooms over the last two years, and he’s looking to continue that trend.

It’s not just about our school. It’s about all the schools in NYC. The president of the PS 321 is encouraing everyone to come to the march today in front of the DOE in Manhattan. Here are the details.

Join citywide students, parents, teachers, and principals for a march on the Department of Education to demand a restoration of the cuts. The march will take place on Thursday, February 14th at 4 p.m. at DOE Headquarters, 52 Chambers Street.

If you can’t make it to the march, you can write letters of protest to Joe Klein, or council members Bill De Blasio, David Yassky, Robert Jackson or Christine Quinn.

jklein@school.nyc.gov

deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us

yassky@council.nyc.ny.us

jackson@council.nyc.ny.us

quinn@council.nyc.ny.us

This Saturday, Novelist Regina McBride, author of “The Nature of Water and Air,” “The Land of Women,” and “The Marriage Bed,” will offer a special one-day workshop in Park Slope. That’s this Saturday February 16th from 10 am until 5 pm.

Register now to reserve a place in this workshop that is designed for writers of all levels. The cost is $125.

NOTE FRM OTBKB: “I have studied with Regina McBride since 1998 and I recommend her classes to all writers wherever you are in your process. Using relaxation and sense memory, her technique is wonderful whether you are just beginning to write, embarking on a novel or memoir, or very experienced and in the midst of a novel or short story.

For inspiration, character development and incredible writing exercises, Regina’s course has been vital to my development as a writer as it always propels me to my best writing. Especially great when your work needs a little jump start.

If you are interested, please email nightsea21@nyc.rr.com

Inner Lives: Developing Characters

An Intensive Workshop with the Focus on the Fictional Character

With Regina McBride

Using relaxation, sense memory, and emotional memory (Stanislavski acting techniques transformed for the writer) a variety of exercises will be offered to enable the student to find a deeper, richer connection to the character he or she is creating.

Exercises will be followed by writing periods, and opportunities for people to read and share their work. The atmosphere will be safe, with the focus on exploration. The class is designed to help the student break into new territory with the character, and with the story itself.

Today, Brownstoner ponders whether recent school budget cuts will threaten PS 321’s style. More to the point, he wonders what will be the effect on local real estate.

So how does all this circle back to real estate? This is no doubt overly simplistic, but is it possible for the budget cuts to make some would-be Slope buyers (who often move to the neighborhood because of schools like P.S. 321) reconsider, or think about shelling out for private school instead? Or do the strong voices of parents at P.S. 321 affirm the lure of the school and neighborhood?

Put that way, the budget cuts could be a good thing for the neighborhood—and PS 321. The school is already crowded. This year there are ten kindergarten classes. On the tour I was leading this morning, one OTBKB reader asked me, what happens when those buildings open on Fourth Avenue.

Good question.

Can the school acomodate that influx of students? It seems to me that District 15 needs another public school. Otherwise PS 321 is going to have to add a fourth floor or a new quonset hut in the backyard.

Do the budget cuts really threaten PS 321’s quality? Yes and no. That discretionary funding does add a great many bells and whistles to the school like literacy intervention, special teachers, paraprofessionals, school supplies, books, and furniture.

A school needs discretionary funding to run smoothly.

Of course, parents and teachers are upset. And they have good reason to be. But the thing that makes PS 321 great is the quality of its teaching staff, the administration and the curriculum that they’ve spent years developing.

Still, there is much to worry about. Budget cuts could affect one of the sacred proponents of the school: small class size. That’s what it’s all about. Small class size makes for better teaching and better learning, there’s no way around it. The kids get more attention; the teacher has more time to work with and know each student.

Intervention services and help for struggling learners are other important elements in the success of a PS 321 education.

In her letter to parents Principal Elizabeth Phillips writes,

“I fear what this means for next year in terms of class size, intervention services and arts programming, which is where we put the largest amount of our discretionary funds.”

Larger class size, less art, and intervention services. Say it isn’t so. If the budget cuts affect these important things, there will be much consternation among parents, administration and staff.

It’s hard to say what these cuts will mean in the long run. The school has been through budget cuts before and it has persevered. PS 321 is a strong, resilient and vital institution that will continue to prosper in spite of these DOE obstacles.

.

Late start today. And no, I didn’t oversleep.

This morning I was a tour guide at a PS 321 tour for prospective parents. It’s always an interesting thing to do.

Initially there were about 30 parents on my tour and they were most eager to see the pre-school and the kindergarten. A smaller group stuck it out as I took them to see the first through fifth grade.

The school is a pretty easy sell. As one person on the tour said, “The school really speaks for itself.” As a parent there for 11 years, I know the school very well. I have to admit I feel very sentimental that this is our last year at the school.

I’ve seen more than one fifth grade parent break down and cry at the thought that their child is about to graduate.

Indeed, OSFO is off to middle school and I will lose my connection to this wonderful school community. I feel sad but I haven’t cried yet. I cried a lot when Teen Spirit was in fifth grade.

I enjoyed showing my tour classroom of a teacher who has been teaching 3rd grade at PS 321 for 40 years. Teen Spirit had this teacher and she’s a pretty tough cookie; very old school. But as I told the group, “Your kid will know the multiplication tables cold with her. She really knows how to teach.”

It was fun to revisit the first grade. The kids looked so tiny sitting at their tables. The prospective parents didn’t seem that interested in the older grades. From the vantage point of pre-school, it’s hard to imagine that your kid will ever be THAT BIG. It’s scary, I guess.

Last week the city suddenly cut the budget of every school in New York City. They made the announcement without warning and the very next day the money was extracted from the school’s bank accounts.

Gone. Poof.

PS 321’s budget was cut by $125,000. For a school that does not receive Title I funding, this accounts for a large amount of the school’s discretionary spending.

According to the school’s principal: “because the cut comes mid year when we have already spent more than half of our budget, we have limited areas we can cut from.”

This huge cut will have a serious impact on the school. Here is a list of where the cuts will come from:

–No new furniture

–Supply budget to be cut—no new math books

–Professional development costs will be cut

–When a fourth grade teacher goes on maternity leave in February, she will be replaced with a staff member who is currently providing academic intervention.

–Substitutes and paraprofessionals will be cut

–Literacy intervention teachers working 4 days will work 3; fewer periods for kids in need of intervention.

–Money set aside for “roll over” cushion will have to be used this year; negative impact on next year’s budget.

In a note to the parents in which she explained the budget cuts, Principal Elizabeth Phillips wrote, “I fear what this means for next year in terms of class size, intervention services and arts programming, which is where we put the largest amount of our discretionary funds.

There will be an information and strategy session about fighting back against the school budget cuts sponsored by Council Member Bill De Blasio on Wednesday. Here are the details:

Wednesday, February 13th, 2007
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Brooklyn Borough Hall Hearing Room
209 Joralemon Street
(Between Court and Adams Streets)
Brooklyn, NY

-Hear from teachers, students, parents, advocates, and
union leaders about how these sudden cuts will affect our schools
and our children’s education.

-Learn about what you can do to reverse these cuts NOW and
prevent future budget reductions.

-Discuss your concerns with fellow parents, teachers and
community members, and share your ideas about how we can fight
to preserve our children’s education and reverse the budget cuts
together.

For additional information or to RSVP please call
Phil Jones at 212-788-6969 or email
deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us

Join citywide students, parents, teachers, and principals for a march on the Department of Education to demand a restoration of the cuts. The march will take place on Thursday, February 14th at 4 p.m. at DOE Headquarters, 52 Chambers Street.

If you can’t make it to the march, you can write letters of protest to Joe Klein, or council members Bill De Blasio, David Yassky, Robert Jackson or Christine Quinn.

jklein@school.nyc.gov

deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us

yassky@council.nyc.ny.us

jackson@council.nyc.ny.us

quinn@council.nyc.ny.us

Last Friday, my daughter (OSFO) had to take what seemed a sudden standardized math test that her teacher told me had something to do with appraising teacher performance.

I am guessing that my daughter was randomly chosen to take one of these controversial tests.

On Thursday, her teacher pulled me aside at dismissal and told me that OSFO was noticibly distressed when told about the test. Luckily, her teacher clued me in on what was going on and told me to reassure OSFO that she shouldn’t worry about the test at all. Her teacher felt bad about the whole thing. “This isn’t really fair to them at all.”

That night, OSFO told her dad that she had a BIG test the next day. Somehow this was a big deal for OSFO. He wasn’t sure what it was. I told him what OSFO’s teacher told me.

Tests are tests and they freak out some kids. This test is meaningless as far as OSFO is concerned. It will determine nothing about her future. But it put her into a state of worry for an afternoon and an evening.

I ask you this: Why put a kid through this kind of anxiety?

This was in today’s Times. It looks like the DOE is putting yet another quantitative spin on education.

I suppose the idea is: if you’re going to test the students you might as well test the teachers.

But come on.

This makes me sick. How do you measure the art of teaching. How do you quantify a teacher’s contribution to a student’s life. Do you get points for being inspiring? For explaining things clearly? For being patient and illuminating? How about insight and encouragement?

How do you measure that stuff?

Sure, these tests will reveal something worth knowing. And it some cases they reveal inadequacies in a particular teacher’s methods. But I am so sick on this reliance on tests, which is dehumanizing and gross.

It’s also a waste of time and just one more bit of busy work that takes teachers and students away from what they should be doing: TEACHING and LEARNING.

New York City has embarked on an ambitious experiment, yet to be
announced, in which some 2,500 teachers are being measured on how much
their students improve on annual standardized tests.

The
move is so contentious that principals in some of the 140 schools
participating have not told their teachers that they are being
scrutinized based on student performance and improvement.

While
officials say it is too early to determine how they will use the data,
which is already being collected, they say it could eventually be used
to help make decisions on teacher tenure or as a significant element in
performance evaluations and bonuses. And they hold out the possibility
that the ratings for individual teachers could be made public.

“If
the only thing we do is make this data available to every person in the
city — every teacher, every parent, every principal, and say do with it
what you will — that will have been a powerful step forward,” said
Chris Cerf, the deputy schools chancellor who is overseeing the
project. “If you know as a parent what’s the deal, I think that whole
aspect will change behavior.”

I just got this email from Insideschools.com

The ELA’s are over and it’s time for 5th graders to get serious about middle school admissions. Applications are due Feb. 6 and last week schools started distributing middle school directories in the districts that offer a choice of middle schools.

If your child hasn’t brought home a directory by now, contact your school’s guidance counselor to find out when they’ll be available. Parents with children who are not enrolled in a public school should be able to pick up a directory at the nearest enrollment office, but call ahead first.

As of this week, not all of the offices had the directories on hand. Also note that the actual application forms are not included in the directories. They should be distributed the week of Jan. 21. Be vigilant. Some schools are better than others in getting these forms out the parents on time, so if you don’t have one in your hands by Friday, Jan. 25, contact your school’s guidance counselor to get an application.

Are you looking for a middle school that combines strong
academics, Judaic studies, excellent facilities, and a warm active community?

The Hannah Senesh Community Day School may be what you’re looking for.

They are holding a Middle School Open House on Monday, January 14^th, from
6:00PM to 7:30PM in their beautiful new building at
342 Smith Street
(between 1^st and 2^nd
  Place ), right at the
Carroll Street
stop on the F line.  Meet Hannah Senesh students, parents, and
teachers. 

To RSVP, contact Iris Klein, Admissions Director, at (718)
858-8663 or iklein@hannahsenesh.org

This from NY 1:

A federal judge ruled Wednesday afternoon that the city can move
forward with plans to appoint a permanent principal for the city’s
Arab-language school.

The Khalil Gibran International Academy’s former principal, Debbie
Almontaser, had asked for an injunction which would have blocked the
city from moving forward with its plans.

"His honor took a very detailed analysis of all of the facts," said
James Lemonedes of NYC Law Department. "He considered everything very,
very well, and he gave a very detailed analysis of all the applicable
law."

Almontaser claims the Department of Education violated her First
Amendment rights by forcing her to resign after she came under fire for
refusing to condemn a t-shirt with the word intifada on it.

The judge said that statements made by government employees during
the course of their duties are not protected by the First Amendment. He
also said that it was reasonable to assume that putting her in the
position as principal of Khalil Gibran would make it hard for the
school to fulfill its duties.

Her lawyers claim that Almontaser did and said nothing wrong.

"We have a woman who was told to speak to the press when she doesn’t
want to, she’s essentially mandated to speak to the press, when she
does, they don’t like what she says and they fire her," said her
attorney Arthur Levine. "No case stands for that proposition. I think
[the judge’s] interpretation of the Supreme Court decision is flat out
wrong

Debbie Almontaser, the founder and principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy filed a federal lawsuit today against the
city’s Education Department, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg.

She is charging that they violated her right to free
speech and denied her the chance to return to her post as principal f the school, which is located in Boerum Hill.

I got an email this morning about this event featuring the education diretior of the Learning About Multimedia Project, It Sounds VERY interesting and WORTHWHILE.

I’d like to tell you about an upcoming event a the Park Slope YMCA on 9th Street, that would probably be of interest to many of your readers. 

On
Thursday, Nov. 29th at 7 pm, Dr. Katherine Fry, education director of LAMP (Learning about Multimedia Project) is giving a talk about media in our lives and how media shape us and our children. 

The discussion will be mostly a town hall format, with Katherine Fry
moderating. 

This media town hall is the culmination of a series of media workshops for adults, children and teens that the LAMP has run this fall at the Y.  P

Parents and educators are especially encouraged to attend.

Space is limited, so those who are interested should contact
Katherine Fry at katfry(at)thelampnyc(dot)org or Lisa Solomon at the Y at
(718) 768-7100 ext. 115.

Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and associated with the Bard High School Early College on Houston Street in Manhattan,  which was originally given a C grade, told the New York Times in an interview that the DOE report cards are “reductive” and
“depressing." The DOE is reconsidering Bard’s grade.

   The New York Times writes:

"The Bard high school is unique
within the city, as the only high school where all graduates leave with
a two-year associate degree. Nonetheless, Mr. Botstein’s basic argument
is being echoed throughout the city by educators and parents at some
schools that, like his, are nontraditional and high-performing. They
say that while the new rating system, which is driven by standardized
test scores, may be a good way to measure whether schools are imparting
basic knowledge, it is less useful and even harmful on the higher end
of the performance spectrum."

BOTSTEIN QUOTES (as told to the New York Times):

“You
have a system that is broken and that is failing, and they are
desperately trying to improve it. But don’t throw the baby out with the
bath water.

"There are a couple of places, and we’re one of
them, that really do something different and well."

“Not all plants are weeds,” he said, “so why are you spraying insecticide on the whole thing?”

“Let’s say we’re a vegetarian restaurant and you’re telling me our meat
is not good. I’m telling you we don’t serve meat. We’re not in the meat
business.”

For what it’s worth, New Voices (or MS 443) got an A. That’s good news for parents who are looking for a middle school for their child in District 15.

The school is located on 18th Street near Seventh Avenue. Parents who have been on tours this year LOVE the principal, the cozy feeling of the school, the classroom work and the arts programs.

The school
has the coziness of an elementary school, with tables instead of desks
and classroom libraries filled with picture books as well as novels and
biographies. The narrow hallways can feel a little confining to gangly
8th graders, and in the woodwinds ensemble rehearsal room, trombone and
flute players had to jigsaw around each other to allow ample elbow
room. Still, the classrooms are bright, with tall windows, harbor
views, and ample light. Reading, writing, and social studies are
combined into one "humanities" class, in which students have one
teacher for two or three periods a day. That means a teacher has just
two classes a day–and a total of just 50 or 60 pupils to get to know
instead of the 180 that would be typical at a traditional junior high
school.

Something and nothing.

You go to a great school and it got a B or less because its test scores didn’t improve from the previous year. Now you understand the less than glowing report card.

You go to an up and coming school that got a great grade because its test scores did improve. Now you understand why it got the big A.

What does it mean?

Something and nothing. You know your school and you know whether it’s any good or not. No report card score is going to tell you anything that you don’t already know.

It’s all about test scores, parent surveys, and criteria designed by Chancellor Klein. But mostly it’s about which schools showed improvement over last year. That’s why schools you’d expect to get A’s got B’s or worse. They didn’t show improvement from previous years. And showing improvement is what it’s all about.

On this report card, that is.

The New York Times reports:

Several esteemed elementary schools that middle-class parents often factor in to their real estate decisions — including Public School 6 on the Upper East Side, P.S. 87 on the Upper West Side, P.S. 234 in TriBeCa and P.S. 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, — received B’s. Other popular schools fared worse. P.S. 154 in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, received a D, as did Central Park East I in Harlem.

The F schools range from Washington Irving High School, a large Manhattan school that has struggled for years, to the Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School, a small Bronx school that opened in 2004.

MS 447 Math & Science Exploratory School sometimes referred to as Upper Carroll is having an open house on Saturday October 6 at 10 am. You can just show up.

This will be a good way to hear about the school. Not a good way to see the school in action. But you will, most likely, get to meet administration and teachers and hear the talk.

This is a very hot school in Boerum Hill and this open house should attract quite a crowd of nervous parents.

MS 447 Math and Science Exploratory School.
345 Dean Street Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: (718) 330-9328 | Fax: (718) 330-0944 Principal: Lisa Gioe-Cordi
Parent Coordinator: Julia Castro (347) 563-4908

Every Wednesday at 9:30 am I hear that the Urban Assembly for Arts and Letters in Ft. Green is having an open house for parents. A few friends have gone and they’ve been exceedingly impressed.

The Urban Assembly of Arts and Letters
225 Adelphi Street Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: (718) 222-1605 | Fax: (718) 852-6020 Principal: Allison Gaines Pell

New York City’s public school system won the Broad Prize for student achievement and the lessening of the gap between white and minority students.

Mayor Bloomberg accepted the award yesterday along with Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein in Washington. The $500,000 prize money will go to scholarship funds.

Eli Broad, is a philanthropist in LA, is head of the Broad Foundation, which works to improve large school districts nationwide

I’m not saying this is a comprehensive list. Or that that these are the only good schools. But here’s a list of some of the middle schools in Brooklyn and downtownish Manhattan that fifth grade public school parents may want to tour. Call the parent coordinators for more information about open houses and school tours. Call soon. Inside Schools is an essential on-line resource for all NYC public schools. That’s where I got this information and there’s tons more there about these schools and many more.

MS 447 Math & Science Exploratory School
345 Dean St. BROOKLYN, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 330-9328 | Fax: (718) 330-0944
Principal: Lisa Gioe-Cordi
Parent Coordinator: Julia Castro (347) 563-4908

MS 448 Brooklyn Secondary School for Collaborative Studies
610 Henry Street BROOKLYN, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 923-4750 | Fax: (718) 923-4730
Principal: Alyce Barr

M.S. 443 The New Voices School for Academic & Creative Arts at PS 295
330 18th Street BROOKLYN, NY 11212
Phone: (718) 965-0390 | Fax: (718) 965-0603
Principal: Frank Giordano
Parent Coordinator: Enid Parra (347) 563-5377

M.S. 51 William Alexander School
350 Fifth Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11215
Phone: (718) 369-7603 | Fax: (718) 499-4948
Principal: Lenore Berner
Parent Coordinator: Audrey Komaroff (347) 563-5371

The Urban Assembly Academy of Arts and Letters
225 Adelphi Street Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: (718) 222-1605 | Fax: (718) 852-6020
Principal: Allison Gaines Pell

Secondary School for Research
237 7th Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11215
Phone: (718) 832-4300 | Fax: (718) 788-8127
Principal: Jill Bloomberg
Parent Coordinator: Patricia Squillari (347) 563-4950

I.S. 239 Mark Twain School
2401 Neptune Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11224
Phone: (718) 266-0814 | Fax: (718) 266-1693
Principal: Carol Moore
Parent Coordinator: Henry Kinsey (347) 563-4596 | Website
I.S. 98 The Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences
1401 Emmons Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11235
Phone: (718) 891-9005 | Fax: (718) 891-3865
Principal: Mrs. Marian Nagler
Parent Coordinator: Myra Chernick (347) 563-4683

I.S. 240 Andries Hudde School
2500 Nostrand Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11210
Phone: (718) 253-3700 | Fax: (718) 253-0356
Principal: Elena S. O\’Sullivan
Parent Coordinator: Celina Acham (347) 563-4678

MANHATTAN

Institute for Collaborative Education
345 East 15th Street NEW YORK, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 475-7972 | Fax: (212) 475-0459 Principal: Mr. John Pettinato
Parent Coordinator: John Lombardo (347) 563-5162

539 New Explorations Into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+M)
111 Columbia Street NEW YORK, NY 10002
Phone: (212) 677-5190 | Fax: (212) 260-8124
Principal: Olga Livanis
Parent Coordinator: Marcy Rios (347) 563-5305

M.S. 260 Clinton School for Writers and Artists
320 West 21 Street NEW YORK, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 255-8860 | Fax: (212) 807-0421
Principal: Jeanne Marie Fraino, IA
Parent Coordinator: Cindy O’Neil (347) 563-5171

M.S. 260 Clinton School for Writers and Artists
320 West 21 Street NEW YORK, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 255-8860 | Fax: (212) 807-0421
Principal: Jeanne Marie Fraino, IA
Parent Coordinator: Cindy O’Neil (347) 563-5171

NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies
333 West 17th Street NEW YORK, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 691-6119 | Fax: (212) 691-6219
Principal: Gary Eisinger/Brooke Jackson
Parent Coordinator: Marilyn Coston (347) 563-5282

Does anyone know anything about this high school? Is it new? Please share the goods if you know anything. A friend of mine was asking.

A lot of fifth grade parents wait for the first middle school fair, which is usually in October, to make appointments for middle school tours but the truth is the time to call the schools is NOW.

A friend called MS 51 yesterday and she was 89th on a list. The school doesn know the dates of the tours yet but said they would call her back.

She’s #89. Yeesh.
Their phone number: (718) 369-7603

Year ago, when I went to the middle school fair, a lot of the tours were already filled up. I had to wait until January to see MS 51 that year. And that’s pretty late.

Another friend called Brooklyn Collaborative and they told her to call back — they aren’t eady to take names. She said she spoke to a very nice woman.

New Voices is taking calls and you can get an appointment for a tour if I remember what my friend told me correctly. It can’t hurt to call Upper Carroll (on Dean Street) and the Urban Assembly of Arts and Letters.

Suffice it to say, everyone is a little fatutzed about the whole thing. I’ve had a million conversations about middle school and it’s only the first week of school.

You can’t start getting agitated too early, I guess.

Mayor Bloomberg today accepted the resignation of Debbie Almontaser, the principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy slated to begin classes in September. At 3:10 p.m. the Department of Education released this statement by Amontaser, who was one of the Park Slope 100. 

This morning I tendered my resignation to Chancellor Klein, which he
accepted. I became convinced yesterday that this week’s headlines were
endangering the viability of Khalil Gibran International Academy, even
though I apologized. I have spent the last two years of my nearly 15
years with the Department working to create the unique educational
opportunities that the school will offer. I will not allow the recent
outcry to undermine these possibilities for the children of our city.

Almontasser, a longtime public school teacher and former resident of Park Slope, was criticized by some for not condemning a t-shirt made by a group which shares an office with the Yemeni-American association that Almontaser represents.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers said her support
for the Khalil Gibran International Academy was shaken because Almontaser’s did not initially take concerns seriously about t-shirts that said, "Intifada NYC" and were sold by an organization called, Arab Women Active in the Arts. Mayor Bloomberg had this to say on his weekly radio show.

I know the woman. She’s worked for the city in a variety of capacities.
She’s very smart. She’s certainly not a terrorist. She really does
care. And she said something a couple days ago -– she got a question,
she’s not all that media-savvy maybe, and she tried to explain a word
rather than just condemn. But I think she felt that she had become the
focus of — rather than having the school the focus, so today she
submitted her resignation, which is nice of her to do. I appreciate all
her service and I think she’s right to do so. But now, let’s look to
the future.

Supporters of Almontaser in Park Slope urged her to stay on as principal. The school, whihc is expected to open as planned, is located in the Brooklyn High School of the Arts and the Math and
Science Exploratory School in Boerum Hill. No replacement for Almontaser has been selected.