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.

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.

2012–2013 Dates
July 11-24, 2012	Summer Workshops on High School Admissions. Check out a full schedule with dates and locations here.
September 12, 2012	Registration for Fall SHSAT and LaGuardia High School Audition begins
September 29-30, 2012	Citywide High School Fair Brooklyn Technical HS (29 Fort Greene Place) 10 am to 3 pm
October 10, 2012	Deadline to register for Fall SHSAT and LaGuardia High School Audition
October 13-14, 2012	Borough High School Fairs Brooklyn: Edward R. Murrow HS (1600 Avneu L) 11 am to 3 pm
October 22, 2012	Release of SHSAT Ticket and LaGuardia High School Audition Ticket
October 27-28, 2012	SHSAT for all current 8th grade students (students will be assigned a test date)
November 3, 2012	SHSAT for all current 9th grade students and 8th and 9th grade students with special needs and approved 504 accommodations
November 18, 2012	SHSAT Make-up (by permission only), 9th grade Sabbath observers, Sabbath observers with special needs and approved 504 accommodations
December 3, 2012	Deadline to submit Round 1 High School Application

	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.