New DOE Kindergarten Registration Policy Successful...At Driving Parents Mad
Submitted by Anna Fader on
We wrote earlier about the NYC DOE's decision to change some of the basic principles of Kindergarten admissions. The main one that they seem to be toying with is the promise that every child who lives within a school zone is entitled to a spot at that school. The fact that families would have to apply for their neighborhood schools was dropped on parents just weeks before the kindergarten application process began and gave parents no time to seriously reconsider their options.
Yesterday the NYTimes reported on the outcome of this system, which is that many families that expected seats in their local schools are being turned away. Parents are understandably frustrated, angry and worried and DOE spokesman, Andrew Jacob's, advice that families should "wait until September" is perhaps one of the most idiotic official responses I've ever heard—as if parents are going to sit on their heels until school starts in the Fall to figure out where their 5 year olds will attend school.