|
OP, all high school admissions in NYC are by application, and the better ones often require an additional exam, portfolio, interview, or audition. You MUST have a NYC address to do any of it. This application process, which closes ususally sometime in November, is necessary even for the few local zoned high schools still around in Brooklyn and Queens (there are no zoned high schools in Manhattan). List your zoned option first and its an automatic admit. These high schools also often have programs of different selectivity within them in addition to the "zoned" program. So you basically have three choices:
a) Get an apartment now in one of the zones where there are acceptable zoned high schools and the transfer of the student will be easy. Forest Hills HS and Bejamin Cardozo HS in Forest Hills and Bayside Queens, respectively; Midwood HS and James Madison HS in the Midwood section of Brooklyn might also be worth looking at. All have decent zoned programs and some highly sought after spcialized ones. These schools are also large.
b) Get an apartment anywhere that's an easy commute to Manhattan, research the high schools that might best fit your kids needs, and go through the entire application process in the fall of his junior year, hoping that he can land a spot at the place that's right for him. Problem here is that he may need to be present for tests, interviews, or auditions, which almost all the stronger high schools require.
c) Do what a lot of frustrated NYC parents end up doiing. Move to the 'burbs, where enrolling in a good high school is so much easier.
|
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
