Mahalia Watson, a Feerick Center for Social Justice advisory committee member, was quoted in Chalkbeat in an article examining the New York City admissions process for middle and high schools and the effects of the pandemic.
Anxious parents, waiting for months to learn how admissions will work this year, will have to wait longer.
The coronavirus pandemic upended New York City’s competitive process for applying to middle and high schools, as standardized tests were canceled, and changes were made to recording grades and attendance — all factors which are most commonly used by schools to sort through applications.
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The delays to announce how this year’s process will work could make things more unfair because it leaves parents with less time to make sense of the new policies, said Mahalia Watson, founder of the website Let’s Talk Schools, an online guide for parents navigating their school options. She is also on an advisory committee at the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham Law School, which has been working with the education department on high school admissions issues.
One of the biggest hurdles, she said: “People having access to the information — period. That’s always been the issue. The people who are not as well resourced are the ones who always suffer.”
