Best public schools in New York (Buffalo, Stuyvesant: magnet schools, colleges, gated)

[Dominican Star]

I am planning on moving to New York State sometime this year and I wanted some information on public schools. I have a teenager in High School and a 1st grader in elementary. I was raised in New York, Brooklyn, but I have been living in Miami for the last twelve years. Can someone give me some insight on the pros and cons? I've heard that the education up north is better than the south. However, I am concern with my kids safety. I remember when I went to school, there was a lot security.

[Viralmd]

Are you moving to NY STATE or NY City? It makes a difference.

[kuvopolis]

The best public school in New York City or State has to be Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. Average SAT score = 1400. AP classes up the wazoo (55 at last count). Nationally ranked debate team, a relatively large number go to Ivys and other competitive colleges.

The other 4 magnet schools in NYC are Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Townsend Harris, and Staten Island Tech. Most of the other public schools are mediocre to poor.

Outside of NYC, Buffalo City Honors is pretty good.

[NooYowkur81]

Basically the way I break it down with NYC public schools is like this,

Elementary schools - Lots of good ones but also a lot of bad ones, you really have to research and tread carefully, this is the base, if your kid goes to the wrong elementary school it can mess him up permanently.

Junior High - Almost completely bad, here is where you really would want to look into having your kid go to a charter school or even consider a private. Junior High is where a lot of NYC kids get swallowed up.

High Schools -There's always a small but decent amount of good ones, but it tends to change every 4 or so years, so you have to keep up-to-date. Do a lot of research. There's also the specialized high schools where you have to take tests to get in.

[Dominican Star]

I will be moving to Bronx, NY (Riverdale area)

[Viralmd]

Then you're in NYC: Stuyvesant and Bronx Science are the best high schools in the city. Both admit students through competitive exams.

[kuvopolis]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Then you're in NYC: Stuyvesant and Bronx Science are the best high schools in the city. Both admit students through competitive exams.

OP, what grade is your teenager? Because if he/she is not a freshman this year, he/she will not be able to take the Stuyvesant/Brooklyn Tech/Bronx Science test. Then he/she will be relegated to the local public school, which will likely be poor to mediocre.

[Dominican Star]

He is a sophomore and he would like to attend a performing arts school. Any suggestions?

[jax78]

Originally Posted by kuvopolis

The best public school in New York City or State has to be Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. Average SAT score = 1400. AP classes up the wazoo (55 at last count). Nationally ranked debate team, a relatively large number go to Ivys and other competitive colleges.

The other 4 magnet schools in NYC are Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, Townsend Harris, and Staten Island Tech. Most of the other public schools are mediocre to poor.

Outside of NYC, Buffalo City Honors is pretty good.

I disagree that the other schools are mediocre to poor (and I'm a NYC teacher). I'm not going to say NYC schools are perfect; they have problems with overcrowding, lack of funds, lack of great teachers -but there are still MANY great teachers.

Anyway, there are many good to great schools in Queens. Bayside, Forest Hills,Cardozo HS to name a few.

[jax78]

Check out insideschools.org

It has a lot of good information about every school in NYC.