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Schools

The New York City High School Blues (or Waiting for Millennium)

Will Millennium 2 finally give Park Slope high school students an option in the neighborhood?

Oh, to be a parent in Scarsdale, Peoria, or even suburban New Jersey—anywhere but Park Slope, where there is no zoned public high school and the New York City high school admissions process is such a bear.

I mean, wouldn't it be easier if there was a zoned high school the way there's a zoned elementary school? Things would be so much simpler…

If I sound a little bit, er, frazzled today it's because today is the day that my 13-year-old daughter (with our help) is required to fill out the "High School Program Choices Form," where she will ever so carefully list all of the high schools she's interested in—up to 12 choices.

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This comes after months of touring schools all over New York City in an effort to figure out which high school would be the best fit. More times than I can count, we've pored over that giant doorstop of a book, "Directory of NYC Public High Schools", with its 534 pages about the more than 600 programs at 400 high schools.

Suffice it to say, it's been a stressful and uncertain time for my daughter, who must make this all-important decision at a rather tender age. And it's been tough and time-consuming for my husband and I to navigate through this highly competitive ordeal that pits kid against kid, for the coveted spots in the coveted schools. To be considered for admission some of the high schools require assessment tests, the Specialized High School Admissions Test, portfolios, essays and interviews while others require auditions for art, drama, dance or music. Most rely on test scores and grades. All of them look closely at attendance and punctuality.

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As of this morning my daughter still wasn't sure which school she wants to put in her number one spot.

To make matters worse, the decision about where she finally ends up is, ultimately, made by a computer at the NYC Department of Education, which uses an algorithm that weighs various metrics and is so complex few can really explain it—and I'm certainly not going to try.

To add to the confusion, last week it was announced that a "replica" of Millenium High School, a very popular and successful Manhattan high school, is going into the fortress of Seventh Avenue known as John Jay High School.

The original John Jay High School, which is currently in the process of being phased out of that building, was not a very good school.  In 2003, , serving grades 6-12, went in. Back when I was looking for a middle school for my son, I toured The Secondary School for Research and was quite impressed. It seemed to have good leadership, committed young teachers and an interesting curriculum.

Still, I ended up sending my son to M.S. 51 over on Fifth Avenue.  Like me, few Park Slopers opted to send their children to one of the middle schools in that building for a variety of reasons, including security concerns. The fact that there were metal detectors was a bit disconcerting.

Despite worries about the building, parents of 8th graders that I've spoken to in the last week seem quite excited about the idea of Millenium 2. Lisa Gioe, the principal, who has been selected to run the new school, currently runs The Math and Science Exploratory School, a popular middle school in Boeurm Hill. She has a proven track record and is said to have excellent leadership skills.

The new school will probably have more in common with M.S. 447 than be a Millenium clone. How exactly do you "clone" a school anyway? Interestingly, Millenium 1 is known for having a great building. "Brightly-lit, cheery and welcoming, Millennium High School has some of the most striking architecture of any public school in the city," says the description on the Inside Schools website.

Isn't it ironic that the Brooklyn version of a school known for its great architecture is going into a building that is anything but bright and cheery? Or is the Department of Education planning to renovate parts of John Jay so that it has Millenium-style lounge areas with upholstered sofas, tables and chairs?

That remains to be seen as does much about the new school coming to Seventh Avenue. Will local parents choose to send their children into a building that is viewed with fear and misunderstanding? Will Lisa Gioe's leadership capabilities motivate parents now at MS 447 and elsewhere to send their children to school in the fortress? It is my prediction that her reputation will pave the way for many Park Slopers, who might otherwise be dubious, to take the plunge.

It is too soon to put Millenium 2 on my daughter's High School Choices List. If everything goes according to plan, the school will be officially announced during the New Schools Round, which usually happens in February. That's when students will have the opportunity to apply to the new school.

For now, my daughter has to fill out her High School Choices Form and get it to the guidance counselor at her middle school. Pronto. Then we wait. To find out where my daughter will be going to school in September; to find out more about Millenium 2; and to see if Park Slope parents will opt into what sounds like a very positive addition to the educational landscape. 

Was it Tom Petty who said: "The waiting is the hardest part?"

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