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Hi, we currently stay in westchester renting an expensive apartment for the good schools in Westchester but a commute of nearly 55 minutes door-to-door. If I rent or buy and apartment in mid-town, will i be able to join my child in a good public high school?
I raised two kids in NYC. I put my children in private up until High School. I thought it would be ok to go public at this age, but in my opinion... the most important things to consider at this point is... college prep. NYC Public Schools will not prepare your kids adequately for college. PSAT, SAT, subject SAT, AP courses will all determine a lot.
My greatest advice due to how the city is heading... make sure that your kids have strong math skills...meaning going up to at least Calculus before graduating, and search out all the extra computer training... especially programming... Java, C++... and my final advice... all colleges have precollege programs for the weekends and summers... this is a must...congratulations on being a good parent.
If you move to Manhattan there are NO zoned high schools and NO assurance that your kid will get into a good academic high school. All placements are by application, which are due usually sometime in late November/early December of the kid's 8th grade year. Some schools will also ask for interviews, writing samples, or admnister their own tests. For all this you do have to have a NYC address. If you move to the city anytime after the deadline the DOE will simply assign the kid to a school that has space. But becuse most of the stronger high schools are in high demand and will be nearly full, you'd definitely be taking your chances.
There is also a late test in the August before a kid's freshman year for the specialized high schools (Stuyvestant, Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, etc. or auditions for LaGuardia) for folks who move into the city after deadline time but before the kid is in 9th grade. Again, there are no assurances your kid will make the cut, it's a difficult test and most start studying for it or taking private prep classes several months beforehand, at the latest. If the kid doesn't get in, then it's back to whatever random school the DOE has assigned.
Lastly, if a kid ends up in a subpar school for 9th grade, he/she has the option to apply to a new school -- any school in the system -- in 10th grade. But there fewer spots open obviously, especially in the better schools.
Do you really want to take that chance with your kid's education just to shave a few minutes off your commute?
Last edited by citylove101; 01-13-2014 at 08:27 AM..
Hi, we currently stay in westchester renting an expensive apartment for the good schools in Westchester but a commute of nearly 55 minutes door-to-door. If I rent or buy and apartment in mid-town, will i be able to join my child in a good public high school?
Nope. You go to your local zoned school and 'good public high schools' are ones you take exams for like Sty, Sci, etc. with limited slots.
So if your kid isn't as smart as other kids or bad test takers. Your kid will end up in crappy city public high school. Stay where you are. Bite the bullet and live there if your kids' education is important. Or you send your kid to private school which can run you about 10-40k a year per child. I guess you could try charter but that's like lottery so good luck on that too.
Hi, we currently stay in westchester renting an expensive apartment for the good schools in Westchester but a commute of nearly 55 minutes door-to-door. If I rent or buy and apartment in mid-town, will i be able to join my child in a good public high school?
"Expensive" is relative - in Bronxville some of the high rent you are paying goes to the landlord's school taxes - and you can see exactly what you get for your money. In the city, most of your city income taxes just go into a blackhole and its not clear what you're getting. In fact in the city, if you are a middle income earner or above, your taxes will generally go to someone else getting, not you.
As others pointed out, private school fees will make your rent deal sound good.
There are some Catholic high schools like Xavier, Dominican, Cathedral, Vincent Ferrer and Fordham that charge 10k to 15k but your kid will probably find better physical plant facilities and larger course and elective selection in Bronxville. You can check. I heard that a popular school among Manhattanites is St. Mary's in Manhasset which is a few steps from the LIRR station where kids travel to and from Penn. Not to mention that you still have to pay NYC taxes even if you do not use public high schools. If you go this route you can search for schools in the archdioceses of NY and Brooklyn websites.y
Last edited by Forest_Hills_Daddy; 01-13-2014 at 09:43 AM..
Nope. You go to your local zoned school and 'good public high schools' are ones you take exams for like Sty, Sci, etc. with limited slots.
So if your kid isn't as smart as other kids or bad test takers. Your kid will end up in crappy city public high school. Stay where you are. Bite the bullet and live there if your kids' education is important. Or you send your kid to private school which can run you about 10-40k a year per child. I guess you could try charter but that's like lottery so good luck on that too.
This is not right, Repeat: There are NO locally zoned high schools in Manhattan, where OP said he wants to live. None. Some zoned high schools still exist in Queens and Brooklyn. But there are none in Manhattan.
Also, there are several "good" public high schools in Manhattan beside the specialized high schools. But the trick is getting into them as they are highly comepetitive. Still, any kid who gets into Bard, Eleanor Roosevelt, Beacon, Lab School, Baruch, Columbia Secondary, School of the Future, or Millenium will generally have a good college-prep curriculum, have a good HS experience, and be surrounded by mostly smart, decent kids.
And there are several other Manhattan high schools that are not as selective but are a good option for the motivated student who can stick to their studies and not fall in with the students who aren't serious about school and are just marking time. Among that group is Pace, Environmental Studies, Manhattan/ Hunter, Museum, NYC ischool, and Talent Unlimited.
there are several "good" public high schools in Manhattan beside the specialized high schools. But the trick is getting into them as they are highly competitive. ... Beacon
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I rarely post...but I thought I would share
