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Today is the day that applications to New York City high schools are due, the beginning of the end of the process that will sort eighth-graders into high schools, taking into account a combination of the student’s preferences, the schools’ preferences, and randomness.

The process can be messy and frustrating for everyone from special education students, who have to fly a little blind in figuring out which schools would accommodate them best, to the most academically successful students, who face monumental odds trying to get into the top specialized schools, like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science.

At Inside Schools, Liz Willen, a former New York City education reporter who is now a New York City parent, marks the occasion by reviewing the steps that got her son to today — and offering this amazing quote:

Harvard University’s Dean of Admissions William Fitzsimmons, whose territory includes New York City, told me he’s always known “that it’s much more difficult to get into any school in New York than it is to get into Harvard.’’

Some GothamSchools review: We kicked off the season with advice from experts.

Randi Weingarten (via Flickr)

Randi Weingarten, the teachers union president, hopes to be known as an unconventional labor leader. She will be sending that signal strongly on Monday, in a speech at the National Press Club that she is hyping as a big deal — both to reporters and to D.C. education insiders. Mayor Bloomberg is introducing her speech, which is titled, “Making the Right Choices for Education and the Economy.”

Janet Bass, a spokeswoman for the American Federation of Teachers, the national union that Weingarten recently became president of (she’s holding onto her local New York City presidency too), told me that the speech will be “provocative”:

She’s going to be talking about provocative ways — interesting, unconventional ways — to improve schools and student achievement, and will be putting forth some recommendations that some people would not think are typical of a teachers union.

Any guesses on what Weingarten will endorse? Keep in mind that in her big speech accepting the presidency of the AFT, she promoted the idea of “community schools.” In case you’ve forgotten, below the jump is a video clip with the key description: (more…)