A report from the Feerick Center for Social Justice was highlighted in an article in Chalkbeat. Due to the coronavirus and the change in learning, the report calls for an immediate end to selective admissions in middle schools and a gradual elimination in high school admissions in New York City.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended New York City’s ultra-competitive admissions process for middle and high schools next year. Some parents are fighting to preserve the use of selective “screens” — like grades, test scores and attendance — while advocates for more diverse schools hope the city will finally take action to dismantle the practice.
A group of experts and advocates convened by the Fordham Law School Feerick Center for Social Justice is calling for a middle ground approach, according to a report released Tuesday.
They recommend an immediate end to selective admissions in middle schools, but advise a more deliberate and gradual approach to eliminating screens in high schools. In the meantime, the city could take a number of steps to make high school admissions more transparent and fair next year by encouraging schools to adopt admissions policies to boost diversity and developing some standard screening criteria.
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Any new policies should be revealed by July so that families and schools have time to adjust before the next admissions cycle, the report said.
“This is a really high stakes process for students and families, and all the stakeholders involved in the process are going to need time to figure out how to navigate uncharted waters,” said Dora Galacatos, Executive Director of the Feerick Center.