Moving to Upper East Side - PS 198 elementary school? (neighborhood, elementary schools)

[Rachael84]

The only public schools in Manhattan that are truly GOOD (like comparable to some private schools) would probably be in Gramercy, Soho, and the West Village. It's because they're the most expensive places in Manhattan. So when a kid's family is making 200k+ a year, the parents are obviously educated and raise good, well-behaved kids. I have heard comments saying that the schools there are comarable to the private schools. But if you can shell out nearly $7000 a month on rent, go for it LOL

But really, like I said before...elementary would be ok if the school is decent, just be involved with your kid as far as homework and just talking in general. Good parents raise good kids :-)

[lphilips]

I am a very active parent with two children in the nyc public school system. While PS 198 is not considered one of the better elementary schools in District 2, it is getting better. It is very hard to get a variance, but can be done. I would call the district office up and call other schools. PS 6 and PS 158 sometimes take children out of zone depending on the grades.

Some of the public schools are wonderful, and I also have a child at East Side Middle School which is wonderful. I don't think she would be getting a better education in private school. As for getting into private schools at this late date, I don't think it would be easy.

If you want more information, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to help you.

[41Willys]

Would you consider a Catholic school?

[jackb]

I have lived on the UES side for 17 years and my children go to private/Catholic schools. It is absolutely worth the money to invest in these schools for your kids. There is no comparison, no matter what others might tell you. The best schools on the UES are south of 96th Street. Look in greatschools.net to see reviews in the area.

[silvia03]

I am interested in PS 198 school. A friend of mind told me that the teachers a re very good. I have a kid with reading difficulties and my friend told me that the school has a special programe for special education . She told me about a teacher the name is Nicolas that he is very good teaching the kid and helping him with the reading. Can you tell me what do you know about this?
Thanks

Originally Posted by Rachael84

It really all depends on the area of the city you go to, like I said. In general, the public schools can be violent. I'm with 4th grade now, which is when kids tend to view other kids by what they wear and really judging them by just looking at them. And I'd say about half the kids in each grade were probably left back, so the kids tend to be older than the typical age for a grade.

The way I described 4th graders acting happens in all schools, but I think in the city the kids can be a bit more harsh. I notice the girls are hardly involved in any of this. Most of the girls tend to get along and not pick on one another as much. The boys are a lot worse.

I'm not sure about private schools or catholic schools. I don't know much about them at all. I would say it might be okay if your child goes to public school for elementary, but I don't recommend it for middle school. The middle schoolers are very, very rowdy, and I would say a good amount of them get involved in drugs. Many fights go on too. I see it at this school. I wouldn't ever want to teach middle school...lol

[Rachael84]

Originally Posted by silvia03

I am interested in PS 198 school. A friend of mind told me that the teachers a re very good. I have a kid with reading difficulties and my friend told me that the school has a special programe for special education . She told me about a teacher the name is Nicolas that he is very good teaching the kid and helping him with the reading. Can you tell me what do you know about this?
Thanks

I don't know about any specific schools, unfortunately. I wish I could help you out more. If you tell me which borough 198 is in, then I can try to tell you a little more about the district. I don't know too many things about the districts though. I got a teaching job in District 9, which is the south Bronx. I would say stay away from some public schools no matter the grade, depending on the area it's in. I teach Kindergarten and I see my better behaved kids being impacted by the behavioral kids. But if it's in Manhattan, you'll find that more of the parents are more educated and have good parenting.

[amp1996]

Hi Rachael, we may be moving to NYC (upper east side) depending if the schools work out. We have a 4th grader and a kindergartener. Are there any schools in the Upper East Side area where kids can go through the
public school system K-12? We are looking for schools with all rounded, whole child development approach. And DEFINITELY non-violent atmosphere!

Thanks.

AMP1996


I student teach in Manhattan (elementary), and plan on teaching there next year. Teacher quality in the schools is as good as anywhere else, but the main problem in NYC public schools are the fighting among the kids. There can be quite a bit of violence in the public schools. City public schools usually always have kids from the projects or homeless shelters, no matter the area. Some of the kids tend to be emotionally or mentally unstable, largely due to the fact that their parents aren't involved with them very much at all. It tends to affect other students if they're so disruptive or commenting on other kids and starting fights with them. If your child is quiet and stays away from those kind of kids and doesn't feel pressured to be accepted, then I think you will be fine. There are many kids in city schools who do perfectly fine.

Although, I would stay away from the middle schools. There's a saying among teachers: the best middle school is still worse than the worst high school. There's middle school kids in this school, and they're very difficult from what I hear. When your child is surrounded by such disruptive kids, it takes away from the learning in the classroom, since the teacher has to focus so much on discipline.

That's just my advice. I hope it helps.[/quote]

[Viralmd]

As I'm sure you're aware, schools are divided into elementary, middle and high schools. It's tough to find a good middle school in Manhattan and the best high schools are the ones, such as Stuyvesant and Bronx Science, where admission is by exam.

[amp1996]

Hi Viralmd.
Thanks for your response. We are in the SF bay area.

We love NYC but not sure about the schools. A couple of years of private school for the middle school is fine, but doing private schools all through high school for 2 kids is not an option for us.

Is Westchester county a better option for families?

[Viralmd]

You have to pick your towns and school districts, but, yes, public schools in most towns in Westchester give you a better chance of getting good public education than the NYC system.