middle school students can rank any school in the city
/By Joyce Szuflita
This is a change. For many years, 5th graders have only been able to rank schools where they lived and attended school, and in addition a finite number of boroughwide or citywide schools…but not every school in the city.
The DoE has announced that starting this season, MYSCHOOLS will allow you to rank any school anywhere on your application. This seems like a big deal, but is it? The important distinction is that the schools’ priorities are remaining the same. For example, if a popular school has priority for District 2 students and residents, a student applying from outside of the district is considered for a seat after ALL the students and residents in District 2. If the school can easily fill with people from their own district, you are never getting a chance from out of district.
Occasionally very big and popular schools may have seats available after all district students have been placed. That will be an opportunity for people across the district line.
Also, sometimes strong schools are not recognized by their own district students, but other people may really like them relative to the options they have in their own districts and may feel like a small commute is worth it.
Sometimes, because of the vagaries of geographic boundaries, you might be closer to schools in the next district than you are in your own. Now you can rank them.
Is this a great thing? The answer is “it depends.”
One question that has been asked and so far remains unanswered: Does the same priority remain for “students and residents”? This equal priority has been misunderstood and is constantly mistaken by DoE employees and parents alike. It has always been the case that STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS HAVE EQUAL PRIORITY. It is assumed that Residents are preferenced. They NEVER HAVE BEEN. I don’t see any good reason for this to change, and like other years, people are telling me second hand that they have heard that “students” are not considered with the same priority as residents. I will believe it when I see it.
We need to wait until the MYSCHOOLS directory is finished being edited, but if it continues to say, “Priority to students and residents” - then take them at their word.
