School Advice Needed
We were just notified by email that our two kids were offered spots in the Gifted & Talented program at P.S. 9 (The Sarah Anderson School for Music and Art) on the Upper West Side. I obtained some information from insideschools.org and colleagues who live in the Upper West Side and it seems to be…
We were just notified by email that our two kids were offered spots in the Gifted & Talented program at P.S. 9 (The Sarah Anderson School for Music and Art) on the Upper West Side.
I obtained some information from insideschools.org and colleagues who live in the Upper West Side and it seems to be very popular school. I like the fact that it’s an music/arts school too.
The issues/questions, however, are:
– We live in Brooklyn Heights, so it would be a logistical nightmare to get them to and from school, short of moving to the Upper West Side.
– The kids are currently well-settled at PS8. They love it there and we think the principal and teachers are wonderful. We are very happy with the school.
– Why are there spots available at this time? I assume our kids must have been wait-listed and spots came up as families chose other schools and/or moved out of the neighbourhood.
I know there are many parents on this blog who have a lot of experience with the public school system and can offer very solid advice. Is anyone familiar with The Sarah Anderson School? Can you offer suggestions for other questions to ask the people there to assist in our decision?
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
this is the nicest thread ever! excellent advice all around.
If this were HS I’d say absolutely have them commute. Many of the kids who commute swear by the wonderful experience they had on commuting to HS. But for little kids it seems crazy to invest the time when your local school is good. The only advantage is if it gets you better access to DOE programs down the line, but it sounds like your offer is for k-5 so that’s not an issue. Wait til you need to find a good middle school and pray your kids haven’t gotten stupid in the mean time. If they tested that well once they’ll test well later and you’ll have other options.
Ringo: Lower Lab isn’t Citywide. I wish it were. It’s a District 2 school.
Biff: I believe the G&T program at PS 9 in Dist. 3 is highly regarded and sought after. It’s extremely unlikely that they’d have space for out of district students. Sounds like some sort of error on the part of the DOE to me (shocking!). Good luck!
If you have a disciplined driven kids who seem hungry for more from school, pile it on, but if you have regular ones that get tired and want to play with friends, stay put. My eldest went to a G&T program in the school across the street from us and I can’t imagine piling a commute onto those small shoulders that were already tired and stressed from having to be good all day in school. In my view, school choice is as much about knowing your kid as it is about the quality of the school.
You could always get the kids their own little studio apartment near the school and then they could visit on the weekends.
Our son is in the citywide G&T at NEST, and we’ve been very happy with it. In large part that is because the school turns out to be a good fit for him. We commute via subway, but as not as far as you would have to, and it’s fine (except when its pouring rain). Based only on that, I would heartily recommend the citywide programs. However, we did not have the benefit of a strong local school – we qualified for the local G&T, which is very crowded, and the school we’re zoned for has a long way to go (sorry, wine). So for us, the decision was easy – if I were in your shoes, I would probably opt to stay local.
The only other thing to consider (assuming it is the K-8 Andersen) is that going to Andersen takes you out of the middle school application process, which means one less rung on the education anxiety ladder for you and your family.
Did you put PS9/Manhattan on the form?
It could be a DOE mistake. Or, as I said, the new rules say something like all kids who get 90% or higher get a G&T seat now. So if things were full, they’d just go down the line until the found a seat. Which frankly doesn’t speak well of the PS9/Manhattan school.
I think there are still only 3 city-wide G&Ts in Manhattan: Lower Lab, Anderson, and NEST. These are highly coveted and I know a lot of brooklyn NEST families — there are buses. The new Brooklyn city-wide, Brooklyn School of Inquiry, is also highly regarded. I’d consider traveling to any of the manhattan city-wides or The Brooklyn School or Inquiry. I personally wouldn’t consider any of the other G&Ts but I confess I don’t know much about them.
biff – is this for elementary or middle? for middle, commute. for elementary – just a big maybe.
let us know what happens!
Jaguar, you’re excused.
CGfan, it’s PS9. I have the email in front of me from them. If their website and G&T application states that the school is open only to District 3 residents, then perhaps this was an error after all. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. I wanted to wait to contact them until I had the benefit of all of the feedback from people here and from others I’ve spoken with.
Thanks again to everyone for their insight.