As spring turns to summer, an 8th grader waits for placement

limbo

June 18, 2010

As spring turns to summer, an 8th grader waits for placement

by Philissa Cramer, at 2:50 pm

Even more anxious than teachers at schools without students for next year are the parents of students without schools.

We received a letter to Chancellor Joel Klein from Catherine Fleischmann, an Upper West Side mother whose eighth-grader still doesn’t know where she’ll attend high school. Fleischmann’s daughter is one of more than 6,500 eighth-graders who didn’t get into any of the schools they applied to. Unhappy with the second-round school options, Fleischmann filed an appeal earlier this month and will find out the outcome by mid-July.

“I can’t begin to tell you what a nightmare this has been for us,” Fleischmann told me. Here’s her letter to Klein:

Dear Chancellor Klein,

I am writing to seek your help.

My sweet, hardworking, dedicated daughter is an 8^th-grade honor student at Delta middle school, an academically accelerated middle school. She has had almost perfect attendance since kindergarten. Unfortunately, she was not matched to one of her first choice high schools, even though there were still openings in those schools. Her second-choice tier of schools consists of schools at which she will neither be safe nor academically challenged.

My daughter did not hear of this devastating news by way of a letter sent to our home but rather from her guidance counselor at school. An absurdity in and of itself! When she was told of this terrible situation, she was so distraught that she spent hours roaming the streets hysterically crying because she had no high school to attend. The transition from middle school to high school is a very important developmental milestone for any child. Without a permanent school placement, there is no way for my daughter to emotionally prepare herself for this very difficult life transition.

As a lifelong New Yorker and the mother of three wonderful children, I have worked hard the last 17 years to ensure my children receive the best education possible — something I know the New York City Department of Education can offer. My oldest son graduated from Stuyvesant and I have never doubted the quality of the education he received. I was happier than if I had won the lottery when he was accepted to Stuyvesant. Today, however, my worst nightmare has become an unbearable reality — my earnest, dedicated daughter was not matched to any of her first choice high schools. How do you explain the injustice of this random process to a heartbroken, embarrassed, ashamed child?

My daughter is a very focused, hardworking, sensible and caring individual. She has performed community service at an elementary afterschool program. She has helped raise funds for Katrina victims and was acknowledged in Reuters and by the Red Cross. She is a star athlete in soccer and basketball. She has always been ranked at the higher level in her class. Her former teachers from nursery school through middle school are astonished that this has happened to their former star student.

Following months of touring high schools and listening to advice from her older brothers, my daughter finalized the list of schools she wanted to attend based on what she believed would afford her the most opportunity for academic success. Because of an entrenched random system, she was not matched to any of her first round schools. This absolutely absurd process has led me to a place where I never expected to find myself, needing to appeal this most ridiculous and unconscionable oversight. The system has only succeeded in turning my daughter’s life upside down. She remains on unsteady ground while also having to endure humiliation and ostracization by her peers for not having a high school match.

Due to the way that the current system is set up, the message you are sending children is that it does not matter how hard they work, they could still wind up without any place to go. I understand that year after year more than 7,000 students do not get matched to a high school. This is an incomprehensible and unacceptable practice, whether it is happening to my daughter or another parent’s child.

This is the greatest city in the world but our education system does not reflect that. There is a major shortage of good schools and too few solutions put forward by our educators to remedy this problem.

I hope that this situation will be addressed so that my daughter will be placed in a high school of her choice, which will be academically challenging and appropriate for her. She deserves to be able to picture herself in a new place, her new high school, on her graduation day.

I look forward to hearing from you as to how you intend to rectify this situation.

Thank you for your anticipated assistance.

Sincerely,
Catherine Fleischmann

Smith

It’s even more humiliating for fifth-graders and harder for parents to explain it to them.
anon

Wasn’t there a zone HS for Ms Fleischmann’s daughter in the upper west side ?
Peter

Brandeis, the Upper West Side zoned school is closing and not accepting students.

In this opaque system while this young ldy received none of her 1st round choices schools to which she applied have vacancies, her problem, she’s too smart, the computer randomizes assignments by test scores.
Ticked-off Taxpayer

Anon — there are no more zoned high schools. All students have to apply to high school, even if they live across the street from high schools they’d like to attend. The worst part is, with all of these “themed” small schools, the kids applying to those essentially have to make a career choice in 8th grade, since they are then not allowed to transfer out if they don’t like the program! And for this the large, comprehensive high schools are being shut down?

Peter — please explain how “the computer randomizes assignments by test scores.” Does this mean no priority is actually given to matching students to their true top choices outside of the specialized high schools?

Ms. Fleischmann — you may have to park in Tweed until you get what you want. That’s what a neighbor of mine had to do last year, after the DOE LOST all his son’s paperwork. In fact, you might want to check and see if that’s what happened to your daughter.
EFM

My friend has the same problem. To add to the mess she has identical twins, both with excellent grades and attendance, one of which got accepted to a specialized high school, and other one, having just missed the cut off score, first got no match and then got completely mismatched, and was forced to appeal. So him and his family continue to wait, unable to celebrate the good luck of one twin, for fear of making the other feel even worse.

The high school selection process totally sucks.
http://www.classsizematters.org Leonie Haimson

How many students are still not assigned to HS? It is a terrible process, completely opaque and made worse by the fact that DOE has eliminated nearly all the neighborhood zoned HS which before, students had a right to attend.
anon

“… Her second-choice tier of schools consists of schools at which she will neither be safe nor academically challenged. …”

a statement like this would make any parent wonder: If a HS isn’t SAFE or academically challenged for YOUR child ? THEN whose’s child is the HS for ?

An attitude like that, I would recommend leaving at the door when filing an appeal.
Smith

This is supposed to be the happy, carefree time of a kid’s fifth or eighth-grade year. It’s a shame the DOE doesn’t time this differently.
I noticed that…

The OSEPO process is failing to match students to their selection list. I see feel that this process was only created to carefully select the students who will attend the new small schools the first two or three years so that the graduation rate is high enough to tout mayoral control. After a small school is established and have had two or three graduating classes with the percentages that support the mayor’s education reform, many small schools are now receiving students who never listed the school they’re in as one of their selections.

I’m in a small high school where we are receiving students released from prison, severely emotional unstable children, students with learning disabilities should be placed in a D75 school, and students who never requested to be in this school want a transfer.

I still don’t understand how zoned high school selection was eliminated when all high schools still fall under community school district identification. Wouldn’t it make sense and for the children sake to pick a high school that’s in their district (zoned) and they will complete the last four years of their learning-experience journey in a high school where they want to be in and they want to graduate from with pride. Why isn’t the DoE looking carefully at the OSPEO process of those students who are shut-out of their selection unfairly? Is this student being placed in a newly created small high school? Will she be used as a pawn witht he other freshmen to make the small high school look successful? Where will those 6,500 students be placed?

I hope someone keeps track of those students’ high school placement because I feel that they are going to be used in the DoE’s plan to saturate the small high schools and the upcoming charter schools, in an attempt to starve the other high schools.
Peter

There are zone high schools (Bayside, Cardozo, Madison, etc.,), they are extremely popular, and overcrowded due to their popularity.

Closed schools (Taft, Jefferson, etc.,) had 40% graduation rates for years, 6 out of 10 kids were not graduating, perhaps too many schools were closed, the history of “turning around” failing schools shows us that in spite of efforts successful turnarounds are rare.

As far as the assignment of students the current system allows for up to 12 choices, the computer assigns students within ability groups, a “bell-shaped” curve by test score, to schools.

If a parent/student only applies only to “popular” schools, Beacon, Eleanor Roosevelt, the new, Frank McCourt, etc., they are “competing,” with many other students and the computer randomly assigns. It is a neutral system, knowledgeable, middle class parents have no advantage over other parents.

On the other hand schools with relatively few applicants have kids assigned by the Enrollment Office. It is a competitive system, some schools have thousands of appicants for hundreds of seats, other not enough applicants to fill seats.

What was unsaid, but is hovering over the discussion, in a system dominated by students of color do you want your white child to go to a school in which most/all of the kids are of color?
I noticed that…

Peter, Would that question stir up racial tension among the parents and within the community? Moreover, isn’t it obvious the demographic makeup of the school when a parent looks up the school’s profile on the DoE website? Why didn’t you ask if you want a white child to attend a “high-performing” charter school in Harlem where most/all of the kids are Blacks and Hispanics? Why is the selection process limited to 12 high schools when there would be a greater placement opportunity if a student can select 15 to 20 high schools instead.

Before OSPEO was created, was the high school selection process that void of opportunities for all 8th graders?
Peter

I noticed that …

There are many more choices now than under the old system, however, that system, to be polite, was porous, a phone call to the “right” person got you into the school of your choice … the frustration today is that the computer spins and makes “colorblind” assigments, unless you’re the Governor, his kid goes to Beacon, a highly desireable school, the Gov is either lucky, or maybe he knew who to call …
I noticed that…

Peter,

so very true; yetso very sad for those who are not related to the Governor or a well-know politician!
anon

I Noticed that…

…..
“The OSEPO process is failing to match students to their selection list. I see feel that this process was only created to carefully select the students who will attend the new small schools the first two or three years so that the graduation rate is high enough to tout mayoral control.” …..

It is a known fact that the new small HS DO NOT have to accept ESL and Special Ed kids during their first two years of start up. This is in BLACK and WHITE.

btw> NYC Council Education Committee is holding a hearing this Monday, June 21st (1 PM) regarding the NYC DOE admission process – this includes HS admission – parents that want to speak about their problem may sign up to be heard.

Place: 250 Broadway – Hearing Room, 16th Fl
“This hearing will focus on DOE’s policies and procedures that affect student admissions and enrollment for Pre-Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and G&T programs, which are implemented by the Division of Portfolio Planning and the Office of Student Enrollment.”
Peter

“It is a known fact that the new small HS DO NOT have to accept ESL and Special Ed kids during their first two years of start up. This is in BLACK and WHITE.”

Was the case at the beginning of the Gates New Century High School Initiative, not so for the past five or six years, small schools from day one are assigned Special Ed and ELL kids in proportion to the applicants to the school.

If the Guidance Counselor in the middle school does their job properly kids should be assigned to schools among their choices, unfortunately in this world of “let a thousand flowers bloom” too many counselors do know how the system works have no one to ask, receive no PD, and make poor choices.
I noticed that…

Anon, Thank you for the info. I hope the UFT sends reps to the hearing so that the members and the community at large can learn about the outcome from the hearing.
I noticed that…

I hope Leonie Haimson attends the hearing. She will definitely raise many issues and ask plenty of questions.
Anon

I noticed that…
“Anon, Thank you for the info. I hope the UFT sends reps to the hearing so that the members and the community at large can learn about the outcome from the hearing.”

Under NYS ‘Sunshine Law’, these meetings are open to the PUBLIC. You don’t need the UFT or Leonie H. – you can attend yourself and ask questions.
Just get there early and sign your name down to speak.
PS: You MAY even get yourself on public access TV.

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June 18, 2010

As spring turns to summer, an 8th grader waits for placement

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