Help! Need some Park Slope public school basics

Thinking of moving to North Slope from Massachusetts. Kids will be in 2nd, 5th and 6th grade in the fall (this is a return to the slope – lived there when the kids were younger). I am so confused by the public school situation – which schools are guaranteed, and through what grade? Through what grade do locally zoned kids go to PS 282? What happens after PS 282? Is there just no guarantee as to which school the kids will attend? How comfortable are folks with the public school options after PS 282? I would be grateful for any guidance and insight you can provide. Thanks!

davidd83

in General Discussion 9 years and 2 months ago

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robu | 8 years and 11 months ago

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Hi All. Sorry for the late reply on this,

First, @Boerumresident is absolutely right that you should always go to schools.nyc.gov/schoolsearch/ first to check to see what the situation is with your home address and it’s elementary zone and overall district, which constrains (somewhat) 1) your child’s movement among elementary schools and 2) your child’s middle school choice.

I sit on CEC 13, am the Youth Chair for CB6, and have had 3 kids at 282, including one who has since gone on to middle school. I also live in the 282 zone. Here’s what I hope and believe is an authoritative answer:

First, know that middle school is a function of 1) the district of your child’s elementary school and 2) the district of your home address. In many cases these are the same, but when they are not, you will get access to BOTH sets of school and the middle school form that will be generated by your child’s elementary school will include the *union* of the two districts’ middle schools.

Regarding the 282 zone, it is correct that the 282 zone (i.e., addresses in the 282 zone – a.k.a. “Nort h Slope “) “flips” to D15 for middle school. That is, while PS 282 is a district 13 elementary school, *addresses* (i.e., student who live IN, not attend school AT) in the PS 282 zone will get District 15 choice.

Here are 4 scenarios:

1. You live in the 282 zone and your child goes to PS 282 for elementary school (my first hand experience): Your child will get D15 schools (e.g., 447, 51) because of your address AND will also get D13 schools (Arts & Letters, the new Dock Street school, eventually the new middle at Atlantic Yards) because 282 itself is a D13 elementary.

2. You live in the PS 9 zone and your child goes to 282. Your child will ONLY get D13 choice because the PS 9 zone does not have this quirky rule (they are “normal” D13) and 282 is a 13 school.

3. You live in the 282 zone and your child attends 321. Your child will ONLY get D15 choice because you live in the 282 zone (which flips to D15) and PS 321 is a D15 schools

4. You live in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens (D17) and your child attends 282. Your child will get access to both D13 and D17 middles (but NOT D15)

I feel 100% confident in this information as it’s a very frequently discussed item on CEC 13, between CEC 13 and CEC 13, and among 282 families.

Note, 282 also has a middle school – MS 282. MS 282, along with MS 266 on Park Place and 6th, are D13 schools (despite being located in the D15 middle school choice catchment, to make it even more confusing) and adhere to the same policies as other D13 middles such as MS 113, Unisons, Fort Greene Prep, etc …. with one additional wrinkle — MS 282, like MS 8 and Arts & Letters also in D13, give an additional admissions preference to “continuing on” students from their respective lower schools, as these 3 schools have, to some degree or another, a K-8 model

Boerumresident | 9 years and 2 months ago

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I know it sounds weird and I originally heard that second hand, but if you type in an address in the school finder, that’s what it says. Insideschools.org indicates the same. I have no idea why.
You can test it by going here: http://schools.nyc.gov/schoolsearch/

Type in an address that’s zoned for 282 elementary — here’s what the DOE says:

Zoned Middle Schools
Notes: Zoned to District 15. No zoned school. Contact 718-935-2371 for more information.

slopefarm | 9 years and 2 months ago

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I am not sure about what boerum says. I know you can apply to a D15 middle school if you live outside the district if you attended a D15 elementary school. So if you live in D13 but got a variance for 321 (ahh, yes, back in the time of the dinosaurs) you were eligible for D15 middle schools.

Boerumresident | 9 years and 2 months ago

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Sorry — when I wrote that the North Slope is zoned to attend D15, I meant for middle school but not elementary school — it is still zoned for 282 for K-5 years.

Boerumresident | 9 years and 2 months ago

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One weird point — parts of the North Slope are “zoned” to attend District 15 schools instead of District 13, so the 6th grader can also apply there. I don’t understand exactly the full extent of this, so paying for a consultation may not be the worst idea. I don’t think that prohibits you from enrolling at 282, but in the unlikely event that 282 is at capacity in its middle school years that might be a problem.. District 15 schools are “unzoned” in the sense that they do not give any preference based on location within the district.

However, re the D15 schools, my understanding that there are more D15 schools that are highly regarded (and thus more competitive). On the other hand, middle school acceptances just went out, so you are probably going to end up on waitlists if you go that route. Also worth keeping in mind is that very few middle schools claim publicly to give preference to siblings.

slopefarm | 9 years and 2 months ago

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Almost universally, a zoned PS is through 5th grade. Middle school is 6-8 grade, so you need to be looking for middle schools for your rising 6th grader. District 15 (which does not include 282 zone) has much better middle school options, but you are coming to MS late in process, with seats already assigned, so I would suggest reaching out to district office to find out your options. Also, I second the reference to Joyce Szuflita for help in navigation.

Lurker | 9 years and 2 months ago

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Short answer is you aren’t guaranteed any school whatsoever, since most that are perceived as “good” are way overpopulated and have waiting lists. It may be easier transferring in at higher grades in elementary than starting in K, if you’re lucky. If you don’t go to a K-8, you have to apply for Middle School, and then again for high school. It’s a pretty terrible ordeal all around.

geezee | 9 years and 2 months ago

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You might want to reach out to Joyce Szuflita at nycschoolhelp.com Her website has lots of info on it, and you could also schedule a phone consultation. In general, you are zoned for a local elementary school and the apply to middle schools in your district, but some schools are K-8 so you can avoid the MS madness.