High Schools

Next year’s high school applicants will learn where they have been accepted more than a month earlier than they have in the past, according the Department of Education, which says it has “streamlined” the process to give students their results earlier. The DOE announced next year’s admissions timeline at the May high school information meetings for families of 6th and 7th-graders This week’s session at PS 166 was packed with parents and middle school students from all over Manhattan who also learned there have been changes in special education admissions.

Lenny Trerotola, head of high school enrollment, emphasized the need for families to make realistic choices to increase the chances that they get a match, adding that schools take a close look at attendance and punctuality. He reiterated several “guarantees” for 8th-graders applying to high school: In 6-12 schools, 8th-graders may stay for high school if they list the school as a choice on their application. For those applying to educational option schools or programs (Ed Opt), which are designed to admit a percentage of high, low, and average students, the top two percent scorers on the state English Language Arts test are guaranteed entry if they list it first on the application. Students who have zoned schools (mostly in Queens, Staten Island, and a few neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx) are guaranteed admittance to if they list it on their application.

Trerotola announced that the High School Directory will no longer list specific special education services on each school’s page. Instead, all schools are expected to serve all students, no matter what disability they might have. He anticipates that parents of special education students will meet with school staff after a child has been placed to design an appropriate program. Parents must approve any revisions to the student’s IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Schools see only the category of special ed (SETSS or Collaborative Team Teaching) on the application, not the actual IEP, he said.

Another big change — all applicants (80,000-plus this year) will receive their match (or the dispiriting news that they did not get one) on the same day in February. That is a big difference from recent years when students who tested into one of the specialized exam school or were accepted by audition to LaGuardia, the specialized arts school, got their acceptance(s) more than a month earlier than other applicants. Next year, students who are accepted by a specialized school as well as another school, must decide which school they will accept before the next (supplementary) round of admission. Students who aren’t accepted anywhere, or who are unhappy with their match,will participate in the supplementary round. If a student with a match decides to enter the supplementary round and gets another match, he forfeits his original, main round, placement. But if he does not get a match, he keeps the first one.

Here’s the 2011-2012 timeline for high school admissions:

Sept 14- Oct 12″ Register for SHSAT exam or auditions at LaGuardia

Sept 23-35″ HIgh School Fair

Oct 22-23: Borough Fairs

Oct 29-30: SHSAT

Dec 2: Applications Due

Early February: Main Round results distributed to all students who applied in December

March: Supplementary Round applications due to guidance counselors

April: Supplementary Round results distributed to students.

Parents can get more information and help at HS_Enrollment@School.NYC.Gov or 718-935- 2399 Parents are encouraged to attend summer and fall informational workshops sponsored by the DOE. Dates have yet to be announced.

September 24–25, 2011	Citywide Fair @ Brooklyn Technical High School, 10am - 3pm
September 16–October 12, 2011	Register for the fall 2011 Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) with guidance counselors
September 16–October 28, 2011	Register for LaGuardia High School Auditions with guidance counselors
October 21, 2011	SHSAT tickets available from guidance counselors for students who registered by the deadline
October 22–23, 2011	Borough High School Fairs, 11am - 3pm
October 29–30, 2011	SHSAT for all current eighth grade students (students are assigned a test date)
October 31, 2011	LaGuardia High School Audition tickets available from guidance counselors for students who registered by the deadline
November 5, 2011	SHSAT for all current ninth grade students and students with testing accommodations
November 20, 2011	SHSAT make-up; ninth grade Sabbath observers and Sabbath observers testing accommodations
December 2, 2011	High School Main Round Applications due to counselors

	Online High School Directory The Directory provides detailed descriptions of nearly 400 New York City public high schools, including information and programs, extracurricular activities, special education services and eligibility.
	New High Schools Directory The Directory provides information about the 15 new public high schools that are scheduled to open in September 2010.