Its Thanksgiving What am I thankful for? My boys Wally is healthy happy and 7 , Victor is happy hungry and 5 Garbage cans . The garbage is literally pilling up in the third floor common area. But a garbage can there would solve the problem. The train. It has become a symbol of what the school used to do right … Unfortunately the once “Montessori “common area has become a staging area for cutting students . Teachers and administration ... Read Full Story

While searching for our next advisory project I came across the following article written by a student from another High School.MADDY KIEFER ‘08Most seniors remember the mixed grade advisories that were disbanded in September 2005. Upon our promotion to the upper school in 2004, we were put in advisories with upperclassmen, which, although daunting at first, was eventually an experience that many of us appreciated. Older students provided us with all sorts of advice for surviving high s... Read Full Story

THIS COMMENT WAS LEFT IN RESPONSE TO THE LAST POST.As a teacher who is attempting literature circles, I have many thoughts going through my mind. While the literature circles are reaching the lower level kids (sometimes!), my higher level kids are not getting a deeper analysis and understanding of the text (which is why I am compensating for that by torturing myself, by creating higher level thinking questions for EVERY GROUP. OY!) There is so much theory, and yet the practice is such a diffe... Read Full Story

THIS COMMENT WAS LEFT IN RESPONSE TO THE LAST POST.As a teacher who is attempting literature circles, I have many thoughts going through my mind. While the literature circles are reaching the lower level kids (sometimes!), my higher level kids are not getting a deeper analysis and understanding of the text (which is why I am compensating for that by torturing myself, by creating higher level thinking questions for EVERY GROUP. OY!) There is so much theory, and yet the practice is such a diffe... Read Full Story

A conversation at lunch in 318 on Friday got me thinking. I need to clarify a few things in my mind, and perhaps others could help me in my thinking. Usually tracking is something that keeps kids locked in place for their entire academic experience. Those of us that went to school in NYC remember there was the top class, the bottom class, the middle class—and I, for one, know I had the same kids in my class from 1st grade to 5th grade. Same in tracked high schools—you’re in ... Read Full Story

A conversation at lunch in 318 on Friday got me thinking. I need to clarify a few things in my mind, and perhaps others could help me in my thinking. Usually tracking is something that keeps kids locked in place for their entire academic experience. Those of us that went to school in NYC remember there was the top class, the bottom class, the middle class—and I, for one, know I had the same kids in my class from 1st grade to 5th grade. Same in tracked high schools—you’re in ... Read Full Story

In a Queens school district that is one of New York City’s most overcrowded, a plan to replace an old restaurant supply store with a gleaming $70 million high school for 1,100 students might seem irresistible.Not so fast.The proposal has instead become a flashpoint of contention over how public school enrollment should be determined, and if a compromise is not reached before a critical City Council vote that is expected later this month, it may be scuttled.Residents of one neighborhood ... Read Full Story

In a Queens school district that is one of New York City’s most overcrowded, a plan to replace an old restaurant supply store with a gleaming $70 million high school for 1,100 students might seem irresistible.Not so fast.The proposal has instead become a flashpoint of contention over how public school enrollment should be determined, and if a compromise is not reached before a critical City Council vote that is expected later this month, it may be scuttled.Residents of one neighborhood ... Read Full Story

In many circles, class size is considered as fundamental to education as the three R’s, with numbers watched so carefully that even a tiny increase can provoke outrage among parents, teachers and political leaders. Alarms went off in New York and California last week, as officials on both coasts warned that yawning budget gaps could soon mean more children in each classroom.But while state legislatures for decades have passed laws — and provided millions of dollars — to cap ... Read Full Story

In many circles, class size is considered as fundamental to education as the three R’s, with numbers watched so carefully that even a tiny increase can provoke outrage among parents, teachers and political leaders. Alarms went off in New York and California last week, as officials on both coasts warned that yawning budget gaps could soon mean more children in each classroom.But while state legislatures for decades have passed laws — and provided millions of dollars — to cap ... Read Full Story