Dear NYC Schools Chancellor Banks and NYC Elected Officials,
As a NYC public school parent, I am deeply concerned. In the main 2023 fall admissions cycle (students beginning 9th grade in September 2023), there were 4,338 total 8th graders who received no match from any of their non-specialized public high school selections in NYC. This accounts for 6% of the total applicants. (*1) Even if specialized high schools are included in the population, the number of no matches dips just one percent, to 3,820 (5%).
There is a limited number of zoned high schools across the city. Only 38% of high school applicants in NYC have access to a zoned high school. (*2) Plus there are significant disparities in the distribution of zoned high schools and their course offerings across NYC. Even if a zoned high school option is available, the course offerings may be sparse, and not able to meet the academic or emotional needs of students.
There has also been a significant disparity in the distribution of borough or geographic priority since 2021. Some boroughs have many popular, high-demand high schools with borough admissions priority, while others have none. As a result, students in some school districts have disproportionately lower probability for high school admissions to their selected schools - particularly, students in Districts 2, 3, 21, 22, 25, and 26.(*3)
Oftentimes, the result of these admissions issues is long commute times which negatively affect high school students, including: less time to sleep, exercise, study, socialize, and participate in extracurricular activities. For many of our high school students, working to support their family is a necessity, but far more difficult after long commutes. Families face increasing anxieties, concerned for the safety of 14-year-olds traveling long distances to high school as crime and violence surge in the subway system. The NYC DOE/NYCPS needs to restore or expand zoned, borough, or geographic priority to ensure reasonable commute times for all high school students at schools that will meet their needs. Every community deserves a high quality, local school.
Another part of the problem is the lack of adequate transparency and timely information about the high school admissions process for New York City students. There are over 700 unique public high school programs to choose from, and it is impossible to properly research each school and make site visits. Clear and timely information is critical to formulating an appropriate list of 12 choices. Priority groups and lottery numbers play significant roles in admissions, and not knowing them until one or two months before the application deadline creates hardship and anxiety, especially for working families who may not have quality internet access. Lottery cutoff information for each school from previous years has not been made public by the DOE/NYCPS. Since 2021, computer scientist Amelie Marian, a public school parent, and other individuals have been conducting surveys of the resulting lottery number admissions outcomes. It has been determined that having the pre-existing knowledge of a high school’s group/lottery cutoff information can help families and students to better rank and list their 12 choices. Families who had access to this information are less likely to receive no matches. (*4) However, this data is based on a relatively small population. The DOE/NYCPS already has comprehensive data and should disclose to the public in a timely manner in order for families to make informed selections and decisions.
For many families, leaving the NYC public school system or leaving NYC altogether, albeit upsetting, has become their only option when their high school admissions outcome does not meet student needs. Despite families investing in their communities for years, they are losing trust in the system. This is incredibly concerning for the long term sustainability of the NYC public school system as a whole, especially with the small class-size mandate law likely to further reduce acceptance rates.
I strongly urge you to listen to NYC families and take immediate action, to:
Expand quality zoned high schools throughout the city.Expand or restore equitable and appropriate borough or geographic priority to all students.Provide a list of zoned, borough, and geographic priority schools with maps by June 2024.Provide 2023-24 admissions outcome information immediately and commit to providing this information within two weeks of the release of admissions results going forward.Provide past lottery cutoff information for each school, separated by priority group, DIA, SWD immediately by the end of March 2024. Provide each student’s priority group information for screened programs in June 2024 for Fall 2025 admissions.Provide the lottery number that will be used by each current 7th grader in the Fall 2024 high school application by June 30, 2024.Provide in-person high school open houses in the spring and summer of 2024.Provide physical phone-book type high school list and guidebooks at each 8th grade classroom and each NYC public library, as well as posting a PDF file on the DOE website that is easily downloadable. The book should have a map of each borough with all the high schools on one page.
(Footnotes)
(*1) NYC Department of Education Public Schools InfoHub Admissions Outcome https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/admissions-and-enrollment/fall-2023-admissions-outcomes
(*2) Citywide Council on High Schools Resolution 2023-24-08 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lV-84VLS-Y_K1rNZ1hPUwQrR61QYDGyo/view(*3) *According to the NYC DOE InfoHub above (footnote 1), 74% of all 32 citywide district applicants received matches to their choices 1-3, while only 55%, 63%, 67%, 64%, 57%, and 62% of applicant from the respective districts 2, 3, 21, 22, 25, 26 received matches to their 1-3 choices. 85% of citywide applicants received matches to their choices 1-5, while only 66%, 74%, 79%, 77%, 72% and 75% of applicants from respective districts 2, 3, 21, 22, 25, 26 received matches to their 1-5 choices.** NYC DOE does not publish the list of zoned or borough and geographic priority schools, but some parents have created lists. The links can be found here:
Brooklyn priority https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XBETtOKo13r5svgzeynIgYxDEPkPPp4uscQGMZBgy5I/edit?usp=sharing
Queens Priority https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cn7JQq0oY6tWX1sZJ5cw23nDfyZxGP-VGs2NhA9bNUs/edit?usp=sharing
Manhattan Priority
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b-PXnNi-ieZUw6qGdy-Y8nDCCNt1r_Dep8Vi-U07tQs/edit?usp=sharing
***Community Education Council District 2 has passed the Resolution 241
Resolution #241 - Resolution to Provide Geographic Priority for D2_Manhattan High School Admissions
(*4) “Results From 2023 NYC School Admission Lottery Surveys” by Amelie Marian https://medium.com/algorithms-in-the-wild/results-from-the-2023-nyc-school-admission-lottery-surveys-260acc6fa4e6“Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability through Crowdsourcing: A Study of the NYC High School Admission Lottery” by Amelie Marian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hliJWdP4sUA
