This is a hot topic of conversation for many parents I know. Where should I send my child to school in Brooklyn? Which is the best option? Public, private (and which philosophy), charter, dual-language…
The answer is…there is no answer! The best school for your child is out there but there are so many factors that contribute to finding this option. I spoke with our contributor, Joyce Szuflita, “the school lady”, and she discussed with me her thoughts on the most important things to keep in mind when making this big decision. Here are her thoughts:
There are a lot of terrific schools out there. First off, I don’t rank schools and I don’t trust websites that do. I hate the letter or number grades that some sites give, because they are often just number crunching and the numbers can be very very misleading. I think you can only trust a more nuanced look, like InsideSchools.org provides. They talk about “noteworthy schools”. They are highlighting schools by quality, not by test score. If you pick a school by test scores, you may get what you deserve – there are test prep factories and schools that are cheating among the high performers. Also, if a school is emerging socio economically and more ‘school ready’ kids are entering on the lower grades, they are not going to be represented in the school’s stats for 4 years – when they are in 4th grade and their scores from the 3rd grade scores are made public. Don’t reject or accept a school until you have toured and seen it with your own eyes. If it feels good (or something feels wrong) you are probably right and you need to look deeper.
I talk more about a school’s popularity. It is always good to be popular, but if you follow the crowd – you will get a crowd. Your school may have a million dollar PTA and fabulous teachers, but if those seasoned professionals have to manage classes of 27 to 32, they are less likely to be able to do the job that they are capable of. If there is no room to teach art or bring in the dance enrichment, what good is all the money in the world?
Some people are afraid of a high ‘free lunch eligible’ population. Look past those numbers (they are often inaccurate anyway). Schools with a larger percentage still often have beautiful and varied enrichments thanks to Title One money and grants and the sweat equity of creative parents. Some people are afraid of a school that has a low Progress Report Grade. That grade is not a Michelin Guide rating of the school as a whole. It is a very specific report primarily meant to show how the school is dealing with kids in the ‘achievement gap’. While this is very important to determine, it a very narrow measure using iffy data, I am not convinced that the Progress Report does that effectively.
I look for a dynamic principal who is a good fiscal and educational leader. I look for a collegial staff that is all pulling together toward the same goals, who are supported by the administration. And I look for a creative and active parent body who will support their teachers with time and/or treasure. If you have all three of those in place, I don’t care if your school is poor or in a small building or not popular – you are golden!
Joyce Szuflita
Joyce Szuflita, NYC School Help, is a 28 year Brooklyn resident and the mom of teenage twins who has spent years interviewing educators, touring schools, combing the internet and being generally obsessed with all aspects of public and private schooling in Brooklyn and NYC. She consults privately with families who want to navigate the school search. She can be seen in the NY Times, Time Out NY Kids, NY Family – Brooklyn, achildgrowsinbrooklyn.com and nycprivateschoolsblog.com