<p>My son is looking to buy a coop in UES. His broker has steered him to look at housing that is is in PS 6 Lillie D Blake school district. The prices in that area are at a premium. However, only a few blocks over, the school district is PS 158 Bayard Taylor where housing is more plentiful and less expensive.
My question is whether there are much differences between these 2 schools academically (stressing academic, economic is obvious) and even if you live in the district, will you be forced to go somewhere else if the enrollment is full?
Is it worth it to buy in PS 6 district?</p>
<p>PS 6 has always been better regarded than PS 158, but there is an additional problem. The Board of Ed is likely going to locate a middle school within the 158. The zone for that middle school would include low income housing projects. Middle school age students are considered more problematic. PS 158 parents are circulating petitions to make it a “screened” middle school, right now DOE is saying 1/2 screened.</p>
<p>Yes, it is theoretically possible to get closed out of zoned school, but generally very unlikely. However, if we are talking at moving now for a Sept admit it is more likely. If the child will be entering K in 2014, it is highly unlikely. Right now, the most overcrowded of the better k-5s is the one in Tribeca – I forget the number.</p>
<p>If you go to this link, I think you can get contact information. Call or email the “Parent Coordinator” and they can let you know if you move in now or later this summer, whether there will be room for his kids. <a href=“http://www.insideschools.org/elementary/browse/school/33[/url]”>http://www.insideschools.org/elementary/browse/school/33</a></p>
<p>Once you are living there, I do not think 6 is one that is pushing out zoned kids.</p>
<p>It looks like PS 6 and PS 158 both funnel into the same Middle School. Will the students from PS 6 also going to be in the proposed relocated Middle School?</p>
<p>Cbreeze, middle school is more complicated than that. Most PS6 grads will go to “screened” middle schools, and then hope to continue to “selective” high schools. Middles Schools in District 2 (which includes the Upper East Side) are not as tightly zoned as elementary schools. So a smaller geographic area feeds into K-5, larger area into more Middle Schools. Many middle schools in D2 are screened, using the child’s score on state tests and attendance, etc records. The more favored ones are SALK, ESMS, LAB, BARUCH SP, WAGNER SP, ANDERSON, NEST ( I think some may also have their own test) The children who do not qualify for screened Middle Schools have a choice of unscreened middle schools throughout that district.</p>
<p>Many parents of PS 6 grads who do not qualify for screened middle schools will consider moving to burbs.</p>
<p>Middle school is a choice program process is similar to the high school process. The kids apply to 4 schools. Being in district 2 will allow child to apply to district 2 middle school which most competitive seat will be at the lab school, east side middle (lab require testing for admissions where east side middle requires math test and interview), the sp program at wagner. </p>
<p>East side middle places more emphasis on writing and art where lab is more of a straight academic program. The catch is that you will have to pick one as your first choice. I think lab has to be your first choice to take the exam (at least that is how it used to be). If you don’t choose east side middle at your first choice you most likely will not get in. </p>
<p>If they want to stay in the neighborhood i would recommend east side middle followed by Eleanor Roosevelt high school. Also check to see if they are in the zone for lower lab school (ps 77).</p>
<p>I think while Roosevelt is not considered one of the city’s selective schools (and many PS6 grads will aspire to Stuyvesant or Bronx Science, which a student must test into), it is, as least according to InsideSchools, somewhat selective - “The school receives applications from 500-600 qualified applicants - those who have scored a 3 or 4 on their 7th grade state exams and have been late or absent fewer than 10 times. Some students are admitted with “high 2s” if they provide a good explanation in a supplementary letter, the counselor said.” IMHO, these are reasonable goals for many kids, but it does serve to keep out the totally unmotivated kids.</p>
<p>Residents in D2, in either PS6 or PS 158 catchment zones will have the same choices for middle and HS, but I suspect most parents will be looking for a screened school</p>
<p>While Roosevelt is not selective school like Stuyvestant, BX Science , LaGuardia or Tech, ElRo has a selective admissions process, with the priority coming from district 2 middle school and was built as a feeder for ESM and Wagner when the ESM parents petitioned for a high school uptown. </p>
<p>Many parents who don’t want the cut throat environment of stuyvestant/bx science opt to go to Roosevelt, where Lab kids tend to be lifers and stay at lab (students leave for Laguardia, but very few leave for stuyvesant/bx science)</p>
<p>Thank you very much for such informative posts. I had no idea that you can’t go on “auto-pilot” from elementary to middle school. Parents really have to be fully informed about the ins and outs in order to navigate the NY public school system. It would be nice to be able to stay in the city and attend the publics thus saving commute time since he puts in an 11 hour day at the office.
It is quite challenging to work and raise a family in Manhattan.</p>
<p>cbreeze, go to this website:
[Insideschools.org:</a> Your independent guide to NYC public schools](<a href=“http://insideschools.org%5DInsideschools.org:”>http://insideschools.org)
which explains the process in all districts (they vary quite a bit for middle school) and has fairly recent reviews of every school in the city. Then bookmark their blog and read every week.</p>
<p>By the time you get to high school, it gets byzantine.</p>
<p>That said, ding-dong and all that, Mayor Bloomberg is about to end his control of the NYC public school system so anything can happen.</p>
<p>With a daughter finishing junior year at a specialized high school, I am SO GLAD to be DONE with what is called NYC school choice!</p>
<p>Where I am in the Bay Area, we don’t have public pre-K programs. I was reading at the above mentioned website that 30% of pre-K applicants in NYC are not matched.Does every neighborhood have a public pre-K program?</p>
<p>Link to the middle school process, which has been the same since long before Bloomberg took office and probably is not going to change anytime soon (only difference now is that students are given 6 choices). T</p>
<p><a href=“http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/B1909D55-3A75-4280-9C7D-1DA0F35DEFEE/126467/middleschool_final.pdf[/url]”>http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/B1909D55-3A75-4280-9C7D-1DA0F35DEFEE/126467/middleschool_final.pdf</a></p>
<p>Attached, please find the middle school directory. What is really head spinning the limited number of seats in screened programs in district 2 and the number of people trying to get those seats.</p>
<p><a href=“http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/06C7611A-4AAE-451C-BD21-BF6A9C34E14B/0/201213D2MSD.pdf[/url]”>http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/06C7611A-4AAE-451C-BD21-BF6A9C34E14B/0/201213D2MSD.pdf</a></p>
<p>I agree that applying “choice” to New York City schools is a misnomer. It is highly selective for many schools – it is not parents making a choice. This is why many parents move to the burbs, the selection process is so stressful. And unlike the college application process, there are very few “safeties” (although if “safeties” are anywhere they are likely in D2/PS6). And explaining this to a child is horrible. </p>
<p>I doubt there will be much change after Bloomberg – if any, the most contested issues seem to be admission to gifted and talented programs (this is for K-5 schools, not as big an issue for P6 parents who are happy with their schools) and affirmative action wrt the highly selective HS (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, etc), which there currently is none.</p>
<p>Even if Bloomberg were to be in power for 4 more years, there are also slight zoning changes, new schools, etc.</p>
<p>OP – you or your son might want to buy Clara Hemphill’s book on the best NYC schools (I think she has different ones for elementary, etc)</p>