No matter how you feel about Bloomberg and the DOE, I suspect it will come as (an admittedly small) relief that Bloomberg is once again in charge of New York City public schools. After weeks of uncertainty, and the sudden reconstitution of the Board of Ed, a deal was just reached that extends the mayor’s control over public education.

Perhaps “relief” is not the word I’m looking for. It’s just nice to know that someone’s in charge…even if that person seems to value test scores over actual kids.

My daughter will enter the public school system next year in East Harlem, so I have to be honest, aside from what I’ve read and heard about Bloomberg’s tenure from my fellow parents, I don’t have firsthand knowledge of how great/god-awful the schools are, and I’m sure it differs from district to district, school to school.

So parents with public school kids, what do you think? Is this the outcome you were praying for? Did you hope that this would shake things up and pave the way for change? Or was Bloomberg’s success so inevitable that you’re just shrugging right now?

By now I’m sure every NYC parent with a kid in public school is aware that, due to the snafu in Albany, the Board of Ed has been resurrected with Joel I. Klein as chancellor. But it sounds like it may not last for long: According to the NY Times, the board voted, 6-0, to call on Albany to renew the mayor’s control of the city’s schools. One of Bloomberg’s cronies opened the meeting with the following statement: “We need to ensure that as a result of the inaction in Albany, we protect the students and schools of New York City from any chaos and allow them to continue to function.” Those of us who went through the convoluted pre-K lottery process this year know how laughable that statement is. (And, as my mommy friends with kids who tried to get into middle-school this year tell me, what I went through was a cakewalk). The public wasn’t allowed to give feedback at the end of the meeting, and the board adjourned until Sept. 10. So, fellow public-school parents, what do you think? Will you be freaking out all summer, or just wait calmly (ha!) to see how this shakes down?

Let me preface this by saying, I am *not* an expert! However, I have done a lot of research (like most parents I suspect), and have also chatted with friends who went through this process last year.

If your child didn’t receive a placement in this first round, do not give up hope! That said, you should start laying the groundwork for non-public school care. Check out CBOs (community based organizations), either near your home or workplace. See if they have space. In some cases, they’ll keep your kid for the full day for an extra fee, which means you won’t have to figure out how to pick up your kid at 3 p.m.

If you’re hellbent on getting a free UPK placement…call the schools you’re interested in. Be prepared to be blown off, but do everything you can to forge a personal relationship with someone at the school–a parent coordinator, an administrator, etc. Without being too desperate (or creepy!), explain how strongly you feel about your child attending that particular school and ask if you could call in the fall to see if a space suddenly ends up vacant. A parent coordinator once told me, “Call the first week of September. There’s always at least one kid who doesn’t show up.”

In addition, apply for round 2. I don’t have the statistics on how many kids are placed during that round but some must be. I assume you’ll be told which schools still have space, and hopefully one of them will be a good fit.

Lastly, check InsideSchools.org for updates and info. No other site has such comprehensive news about the NYC public school system.

Good luck!

I freely admit that this post is a personal rant. And I figure any other parent waiting for the DOE’s UPK lottery results will understand why. This is maddening! First we were told that we’d be informed of our child’s placement, if any, the week of May 18, with an assurance that those of us who applied online would get an email. Monday came and we did get an email…saying we’d find out at the end of the week of May 18. Guess what? It’s the end of the week (unless they mean Sunday?!) and we’re going into a three-day weekend and we still haven’t heard word one (or rather, I haven’t and neither have any of my friends. Maybe we’re just unpopular?)

I know the folks at the DOE are overwhelmed and doing the best they can…but it’s really just not good enough. Results for the TAG tests were late, as were middle-school placements. I won’t even go into the whole West Village kindergarten debacle. How are we supposed to have any faith in the public school system if we can’t even get our kids into the institutions?

Update: According to a user comment on InsideSchools.org, UPK placements will go out next week. This is unofficial of course. “I just wrote to the DOE about Pre-K notification and was sent this response: “You will receive your Pre-K information next week.”

So…as we go into a holiday weekend, I ask my fellow parents in the dark to vent below! You know you want to…

Update II: So the emails (at least for some folks) have gone out. Everyone I know received notice around 7 p.m. (who knew the DOE worked that late?) My child was lucky and received a full-day UPK placement. We realize how incredible this is. How did everyone else fair?

Just  a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the last day to submit your lottery applications for universal pre-k to the DOE. You can apply online or hand in a physical form. After that, all you have to do is sit back and stress. Families will be notified with school assignments the week of May 18. Good luck (and wish me luck too, please!)

As we’ve previously reported, parents of pre-K students at Shuang Wen–a District 1 public school that accepts kids via lottery and teaches part of the day in Mandarin–were fighting for their kids’ right to automatically advance to kindergarten, since they were promised continuity by the principal. Well, after months of lobbying, it seems that most parents have got their happy ending. As an email sent from Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer states, “It is with great pleasure that I tell you the Department of Education has committed to allowing the current Shuang Wen pre-kindergarten children to matriculate to kindergarten. Due to the dual-track program at Shuang Wen, the students will continue receiving their education in Chinese language and culture. Please see the attached letter from DOE for full details.”

The expanded letter states that student who live in the district will get priority in terms of admission. However, it also says that students who do not live in the district and do not have a sibling at the school may not be able to automatically move up. No word on how many current pre-K students will be affected by that rule. We hope they are few, or better yet, none.

Have you been checking the DOE’s universal pre-k page every single day for info on the 2009-2010 school year? I know I have. And I just got an email (which was subsequently forwarded to me by three friends who also have kids who turn four this year) with updated details about the application process. If your kid was born in 2005, here are the key dates to note:

Friday, March 6: The UPK application period begins. Directories and applications will be available via the DOE site or public schools on that day, and you will rank schools according to preference.

Friday, April 3: The UPK application period ends.

Week of May 18: The DOE finally tells you which school, if any, your child has been accepted into. (Although there aren’t enough slots to accommodate all applicants, remember that for 2008-2009, the DOE was still accepting kids up until January! The fact is, many folks vie for the same few programs. So if they don’t get their first choice, they keep the kid in daycare/with the nanny, etc.)

May 18 - May 29: Families pre-register at schools.

This process is, more or less, the same one as last year, with the DOE centralizing all applications. There are numerous downsides to this process. First and foremost: Even if your kid is accepted into your first-choice school, you will have to reapply next year for kindergarten, assuming your kid is even eligible for that school. Ex: If you happen to get your kid into a UPK program in a talented and gifted school, your child will need to pass the TAG test in order to be admitted to kindergarten there. Or, if you choose to send your kid to a UPK that is outside of your district or zone, you may not be eligible to continue at that public school. Another bummer: Even unzoned schools like Central Park East I and II and Ella Baker are being forced to adhere to the centralized application process, which means they may not end up with the economic, ethnic and geographic diversity that they have had in the past. (I received an email from CPEII, explaining that siblings of current students will get priority followed by students who live in District 4, which has not been the case in the past, when they accepted kids from all over the city based on the school’s own criteria).

The upside to all this? At least we finally know the deal. I urge all parents to sign up for the DOE’s email alerts (it’s the best way to stay on top of all the news). There will also be information sessions throughout the five boroughs about the process, beginning on March 3. Check the DOE’s site for the schedule.

So…how pissed are you? Care to share? On a personal note, I just hope my daughter is accepted somewhere so I can stop paying for daycare!