More Frank McCourt Info

Insideschools.org blog post on the proposed Frank McCourt school.

http://insideschools.org/blog/?url=http://insideschools.org/blog/2009/07/24/parents-press-for-a-new-school-to-honor-frank-mccourt/

NYT Tribute to Frank McCourt

One of the proposed new high schools in the Brandeis complex is the Frank McCourt School of Journalism, Writing, and Literature.

The Storyteller Begat the Teacher Who Begat the Writer

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/books/21mccourt.html?_r=2&hpw

Services Offered by The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review offers free practice exams to help students figure out where they’re scoring and how much time they’ll need to dedicate to preparing for the exam.  Some students may need to go on to privately tutor or take a classroom course, while others may just need to purchase a book and brush up on a few skills and learn test-taking and time management skills, in order to achieve their goal.  Taking an exam with us is a great way for students to experience what it’s going to be like on the actual test day.   

I noticed someone wrote on the blog back in April about a free test offered at Mott Hall II.  We actually ran that exam, since we partner with the school to run an on-site course.  All the students were invited to participate in the course at a reduced fee since we partner with the school.  The school was also allotted some scholarships to give away.   Some parents seemed wary of our free exams on the blog, but there’s nothing to be leery about.  We provide marketing materials to students who come in to take a free exam, but there’s no commitment to working with us in the future.   All students receive a detailed score report after the exam to help them pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. 

Provided by Emily Leidner

High School Programs
The Princeton Review of Manhattan & The Bronx   

Free Practice SHSAT

Emily e-mailed me and asked to post this information with I have done. I asked her to send more information about TPR which I will then post. —Sara

***

My name is Emily Leidner and I am the Director of Outreach of High School programs at The Princeton Review. I’ve recently begun reading your blog, and was hoping you might be able to post information about The Princeton Review’s free practice SHSAT exams. We offer students the opportunity to take a free SHSAT in a proctored environment. About a week after the exam students and parents receive a detailed score report, so they can have an idea where the student is scoring and where exactly his/her strengths and weaknesses lie.

Our next free exams will be held on:
Tuesday, July 28 at 10am
Saturday, August 15 at 10am

Both exams will take place at 594 Broadway, Suite 502.  Students can register at www.princetonreview.com/nychighschools or by calling 212- 925 6447.

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Provided by Emily Leidner

High School Programs
The Princeton Review of Manhattan & The Bronx

SHSAT Prep and Stuyvesant Work Load

This was provided as a comment, but it is so comprehensive I am uploading as a post as well. —Sara

***

I have two thoughts about SHSAT tutoring: Although we found tutoring to be extremely helpful (Next Level Learning in Manhattan) and my daughter probably wouldn’t have gotten into Stuyvesant without it, her first year was EXTREMELY tough and she definitely wasn't prepared for five hours of homework a night. Now it's all I can do to convince her to stick with it. Her social life has evaporated and she's still trying to get us to transfer her out. If the beginning of this year doesn’t go significantly better we’ll probably withdraw her and see about getting into Beacon (which is supposed to be awesome!). The stress is very high at Stuyvesant and a lot of kids and parents I talk to weren’t totally aware of what they were in for, even after attending the fair.

So my advice is, before you make a serious attempt at the SHSAT, make sure your son fully understands the demands and is willing to invest himself in a very serious and challenging program. Once you have that out of the way then check with friends and get referrals to tutors. At this late stage I would say you probably have to go with a tutor, unless your son is the kind of kid who’s self-motivated and willing to cram for the next several months. Our tutor gave our daughter some kind of assessment test and then focused their work on her greatest weakness (math). She also struggled with the paragraphs that you have to sort and rearrange so the repetition for that was useful.

Provided by Lisa deMauro, Counselor, The Computer School

Test Prep Course Recommendation

SHSAT prep course recommended by friends of Ben with older siblings who did get into good schools:

Geller/Rosenstein/Feldman (GRF Test Preparation Classes)

Several locations around the city, 10 3-hour sessions twice weekly start in August or September and go right up to test time. Fee: $845

Call Richard Geller at 212 864 1100. He usually doesn't answer but if you ask if there are still openings and for him to send out a brochure, he will do it promptly (at least he did for us a month or so ago). Other numbers are: 

Ken Rosenstein 914 772 0011

Barry Feldman 201 461 3591

I don’t know if there are still openings or not.

DOE Summer Info Sessions and SHSAT Prep Question

After taking a couple weeks off from the end of school, I'm starting to think about HS again. There was a very informative session at Brooklyn Tech about Specialized schools — from the "Making Choices" flyer you posted on June 22. I recommend these sessions, as they're a great way to familiarize yourself with school options in advance of the school fairs (which are sure to be chaotic). Schools now on our radar (that weren't before) include: Brooklyn Tech, Brooklyn Latin, HS of Math and Science at CUNY.

My question, and I'd love to post it to get feedback from all the parents, is: What kind of SHSAT tutoring are people doing? We did the Computer School course in the spring but I was not satisfied with it. We bought a Kaplan book for the summer, but I don't know (a) if that's enough or (b) if I can convince Willie to go through it methodically. I just spoke with an individual tutor who scared the heck out of me ("If your kid hasn't been working with me since last March; it's too late..." Oy). As grating and self-serving as this tutor was, she did wonders for a friend's son who transformed from a test-worrier to supremely confident and aced it.

 I'm opposed to testing and to competitive tutoring — but given the situation, I also don't want to leave my son at a disadvantage.

Provided by Tom Thompson

"Finding a HS" Workshops

Link to information about the DOE summer workshop series entitled "finding a high school that is right for you."

://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/4C1A6A24-BB70-4361-8202-CDB79C513287/63705/MakingChoicesFlyer_0616091.pdf

Provided by Denise Blackwell

West Side Spirit Article and Op Ed about Proposed New Brandeis School

http://westsidespirit.com/?p=2575

http://westsidespirit.com/?p=2584

Link for General NYC Public School Parents Blog

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com

(Just read a scathing post on the sorry state of NYS Math and the Algebra 1 Regents Exam. Not good given we need to compete in a global economy. It is good that Computer School and other schools offer Math at 2 years above grade level.—SM)

Link for the Facebook Cause to Help Create the Frank McCourt School

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/295552?m=e8d06de8

DOE Community Forum Regarding New HS in Brandeis Complex

Very interesting DOE meeting about what a 4th (and maybe 5th) new school in the Brandeis Complex could be. There is a compelling proposal on the table for a school named after Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes) that will focus on journalism, creative and expository writing, digital communication and literature while also offering a well-rounded curriculum in math, science, social studies, and foreign language. The school would accept approximately 200 students in 1010, which is our year.

Our NYC elected officials (Scott Stringer, Gail Brewer, and Helen Rosenthal) all spoke personally and eloquently in support of the new school as did potential partners including Symphony Space. Others, including UWS writers and journalists, spoke to the relevance of the subject matter in today’s information world. Check out the yesterday’s post for more information.

There was a lot of discussion around topics outside the scope of this blog including: What should the DOE process be to create, open, and phase out schools? What is the impact on the students, teachers, and staff of a school that is being phased out? Should this or other new schools give preference to D3? How do we maintain diversity? How can we build an inclusive community? All very interesting and complex questions. 

I highly recommend getting involved. Join the Facebook cause and the D3 parents Yahoo group (see yesterday's posts) and attend a future community forum.  The DOE promised more meetings in the fall.

D3 Parents Yahoo Group

If you are interested in joining the Yahoo Group District 3 Parents—Informing and Empowering Parents of the Harlem Valley and the Upper West Side, you can e-mail the chair of the D3 Presidents' Council, Bijou Miller, at eclinger@nyc.rr.com. Be sure to put Yahoo Group or District 3 Parents in the subject so she won't think it's spam. She will then e-mail you an invitation. I just joined. It doesn't take long.

New D3 HS School Proposed for 2010

The founders of the Frank McCourt High School of Journalism, Writing and
Literature have created a Facebook page to champion their cause. I cut and
pasted the meat of the page below but you can also go to facebook and join the
cause. This is the school that will be discussed at the June 11th meeting at
Brandeis at 6 p.m.



http://apps.facebook.com/causes/295552?m=e8d06de8



Goal: 
To create a college preparatory public high school on West 84th Street, with a
focus on creative and expository writing, journalism, digital communication and
literature.

Positions:


1. Creating a selective, college preparatory high school to serve Community
School District 3 in Manhattan.



2. Creating a public high school with a focus on journalism, creative and
expository writing, digital communication and literature.



3. Including opportunities in the Spanish language (and eventually French) for
students who are English Language Learners or who are bilingual/biliterate



Description: The Frank Mc Court High School of Journalism, Writing & Literature
is a new, college preparatory high school with a focus on creative and
expository writing, journalism, digital communication, and literature.

The school will also provide opportunities in creative and expository writing,
journalism and literature in the Spanish language (and eventually French) for
students who are English Language Learners or who are bilingual and biliterate.

The school will reflect our neighborhood, diverse in all ways, home to so many
great writers and thinkers. The school's rigorous, project-based curriculum will
be strengthened through partnerships with neighborhood institutions including
the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Symphony Space, and Fordham
University. Teachers drawn from New York's literary, journalism, and digital
media community will guide and inspire students to become great storytellers and
literary critics.



The school will open with a 9th grade of about 200 students and will add one
additional grade per year for a target enrollment of 800-1,000 students. A full
complement of math, science, and social studies curriculum, as well as
extracurricular clubs and sports, will round out this exciting learning
community. Admission will give priority to students from Manhattan's Community
School District 3 (from 122nd street to 59th street), and will be based both on
grades and a portfolio application, with the goal of enrolling a spectrum of
engaged students.

Provided by Bijou Miller

DOE Meetings About Beacon and New High Schools on the Brandeis Campus

There are two important DOE meetings on June 11 regarding high schools.

1. 4:30 pm—DLT (District Leadership Team) meeting regarding Beacon High School's status as D3 preferred or city wide. Open for public listening but only DLT members speak. 

2. 6:00 pm—General meeting regarding the new school(s) forming on the Brandeis campus. See attached flyer.

Location:
Brandeis High School
145 West 84th

For more information, call the District 3 office at 212-678-5857.

CS Support for HS Application Process

In addition to one-on-one counseling regarding the HS application process, there is year-round support for essay writing at The Computer School. CS has a writing center staffed by ELA teachers and student volunteers. CS also conduct interviewing workshops in the fall for those students applying to schools requesting an interview.

Provided by Erin Hill

Letter to Chancellor Klein

If you haven't written to the chancellor about the D3 high school issues, here is a copy of my letter, which you can use as a template. You can take off the last paragraph about Beacon if you don't agree or change anything to reflect your views. I put links to Contact the Chancellor and Contact the Mayor on this blog and provided the e-mails of Scott Stringer, Gail Brewer, and Helen Rosenthal (Chair, Community Board 7) so it will be EASY FOR EVERYONE TO TAKE ACTION!!! See right side, scroll down.

The more we can make our opinions known, the more chance there is for change. 

As Malcom Gladwell said in The Tipping Point, “Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push—
in just the right place—it can be tipped.”

***

Dear Chancellor Klein:

I am the parent of a 7th grade student at a middle school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and we have just begun our NYC Public High School search process.

I am writing to express my concern that while five high schools in District 2 (D2) give preference to residents of that district, NO high schools in District 3 (D3) give preference to residents of D3.

Adding to this inequity, there are more good high schools in D2 than in D3. According to my preliminary research, there are at least 5 good high schools in D2 (which give preference to D2 students) and only Beacon in D3 (which I understand used to give preference to D3 students but currently does not).

I do realize that there is the new NYC iSchool (opened 2008) and schools forming in the Brandeis Complex (opening 2009 and 2010). I applaud your achievement in creating these new small schools and look forward to tracking their evolution. However, these schools have a very limited number of seats and are as yet unproven.

I think that every NYC district should provide multiple good schools and that the policy of giving preference to a district’s own students should be equal across all districts and all schools. Either give preference or don’t, but do it equally, and thus fairly.

As an advocate of community schools, my personal preference is that Beacon, our neighborhood Upper West Side public high school (approximately 275 seats per class) give preference to students graduating from our Upper West Side public middle schools: The Computer School, Delta, Mott Hall 2, Center School, Manhattan School for Children, etc. and that more good high schools are developed on the Upper West Side to take the pressure off of Beacon.

If this is not possible, then all D2 schools should be opened up to accept D3 students as well as D2.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

(YOUR NAME)
District 3 Parent