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I have researched the schools ad nauseum, because I have a child, and that's what we NYers obsess over. I know the Manhattan public schools the best, but I also can share what I know about the private schools as well. Ask away. I'll do my best, and if I don't know an answer I can point you in the right direction.
Hi BearMM,
The UES is part of district 2, which in my opinion is the best in the city. For the UES, the 2 best elementary schools would be PS 6 and PS 290. They go up to 5th grade. They are zoned schools, which means you have to live in a certain catchment area in order to go to one of these schools. There iss a boroughwide gifted and talented school called, Lower Lab (ps 77), but you need to test into it. Many of the students on the UES go onto Eastside Middle School or Wagner, which has a SP program (sort of gifted). Some go downtown to Salk School of Science or to the Chelsea area to Lab Middle School. Some UES elementary kids go on to private school starting in middle school. For middle school, both public and private, you have to apply and test and/or interview. A great website that you might find helpful is Insideschools.org.
Why is there such a heavy concentration of gifted & talented classes in Districts 1 & 2? There are gifted kids all over the city and their communities do not serve them. What gives?
I don't understand why district 2 is a thousand times larger than district 1. Can anyone explain?
District 2 covers a wide section of Manhattan, including the UES, Gramercy Park, the village, chelsea, hell's kitchen, west village, tribeca, battery park city and the financial district and much of chinatown. District 1 covers mainly the east village and the LES. Dist 3 covers the UWS below 96th street. I think it's nuts. District 2 should have been broken up into smaller districts. I think it's the envy of the other districts because we have the best middle schools and high schools that often will only take those who live in the district. I don't know why this is the way it is. Some say the highest real estate is in District 2 so that is why they get to keep some of the best schools to themselves.
Why is there such a heavy concentration of gifted & talented classes in Districts 1 & 2? There are gifted kids all over the city and their communities do not serve them. What gives?
Funny thing is that one of the best middle schools in all of the city is called Mark Twain and it's wayyyyyy out of the way for most people in Coney Island. I believe they send more kids to the specialized high schools than any other middle school. As for gifted and talented, there is a great middle school called Delta in district 3 on the UWS. Brooklyn has tons of great schools in district 15 and in the Bay Ridge/Bendsonhurst/Dyker Hgts area. Queens, especially Bayside has some of the best performing schools in the city. NEST, a gifted school located in District 1 is open to all 5 boros. Hunter elementary school is for Manhattan in elementary school, but opens to the other boros starting in 7th grade. Anderson is located in District 3, but is open to everyone (I believe).
District 2 covers a wide section of Manhattan, including the UES, Gramercy Park, the village, chelsea, hell's kitchen, west village, tribeca, battery park city and the financial district and much of chinatown. District 1 covers mainly the east village and the LES. Dist 3 covers the UWS below 96th street. I think it's nuts. District 2 should have been broken up into smaller districts. I think it's the envy of the other districts because we have the best middle schools and high schools that often will only take those who live in the district. I don't know why this is the way it is. Some say the highest real estate is in District 2 so that is why they get to keep some of the best schools to themselves.
Slight correction: district three also includes a large swath of Harlem form 5th ave to the Hudson and from 125th to Central Park, IIRC. That makes it the most diverse in the city and debates about educational policy are more intense than anywhere else IMO because of the wide divergence in SES among parents and students. All other districts in the city are much more homogeneous, both further uptown and dowtntown.
Distict two schools functions well because it is quite affluent and the correlation between family income and educational standing is long established. Same with district 26 in northeastern Queens.
Hi BearMM,
The UES is part of district 2, which in my opinion is the best in the city. For the UES, the 2 best elementary schools would be PS 6 and PS 290. They go up to 5th grade. They are zoned schools, which means you have to live in a certain catchment area in order to go to one of these schools. There iss a boroughwide gifted and talented school called, Lower Lab (ps 77), but you need to test into it. Many of the students on the UES go onto Eastside Middle School or Wagner, which has a SP program (sort of gifted). Some go downtown to Salk School of Science or to the Chelsea area to Lab Middle School. Some UES elementary kids go on to private school starting in middle school. For middle school, both public and private, you have to apply and test and/or interview. A great website that you might find helpful is Insideschools.org.
Thank you! What do you think about P.S. 158 Bayard Taylor?
Funny thing is that one of the best middle schools in all of the city is called Mark Twain and it's wayyyyyy out of the way for most people in Coney Island. I believe they send more kids to the specialized high schools than any other middle school. As for gifted and talented, there is a great middle school called Delta in district 3 on the UWS. Brooklyn has tons of great schools in district 15 and in the Bay Ridge/Bendsonhurst/Dyker Hgts area. Queens, especially Bayside has some of the best performing schools in the city. NEST, a gifted school located in District 1 is open to all 5 boros. Hunter elementary school is for Manhattan in elementary school, but opens to the other boros starting in 7th grade. Anderson is located in District 3, but is open to everyone (I believe).
Well, that amounts to about 20 schools, I'd say. What about the Bronx, Central Brooklyn, all other parts of Queens except the Northeast? You haven't convinced me that these few schools are anywhere able to serve the need that exists.
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