Edition: U.S. / Global

Public Schools: Choice or Chance?

Published: January 5, 1997
(Page 2 of 3)

Ms. Huggins emphasized the more whimsical aspects of her school: how a kindergarten teacher gets on the floor with her students and rows an imaginary boat; how every class is filled with students' artwork; how vocabulary words dangle from the ceiling of a second-grade class, and how third graders help each other with math.

''Look at the faces of the kids,'' Ms. Huggins insisted. If they don't look excited to be learning, the school isn't doing its job.

Gail Foster, founder of the Toussaint Institute, a resource center directed at black and Hispanic parents, advised parents to visit schools and inquire about the next step for graduates. ''What schools do the children go to when they leave here,'' she suggested. ''In other words, what track is this school on?''

Ms. Hemphill pointed to what she called the school principal's vision.'' What, for example, is the philosophy on how to teach reading? Does he or she believe in segregating gifted children in a special class or include them in a mixed group? Is the principal a strict disciplinarian?

Know Whom to Ask: Teachers and Parents

Jennifer Hardy admits to being obsessed. Her 4-year-old daughter, Elsa, is kindergarten-bound in the fall. In the last 10 months, Ms. Hardy has attended two seminars and paid a private consultant $25 for a list of desirable schools, toured a half-dozen schools and talked with principals.

''I've gone a little overboard,'' Ms. Hardy confided. She declined to reveal her neighborhood school because she is considering using a relative's address to enable Elsa to attend the ideal school. ''I can't talk to a parent of a school-age child and not ask where they sent their kid to school and why they chose the school.''

Overboard? Perhaps only slightly. Experts familiar with the city school system recommend focusing on a district or several districts, based on either where you live or work, at least one year before your child begins school. Some say you really need two years to explore the system.

Call the school district office. Many districts have a staff member assigned to tell parents of their choices within the district. Some schools require specific forms, while others require a letter explaining your interest in a particular program. Deadlines for applying to competitive schools vary.

More elementary schools are offering open houses for parents, though some resist parents' requests to visit classrooms. Such resistance should be a red flag, parents' advocates say: if a school is unwelcoming to prospective parents, it is not likely to welcome parents' ideas later.

Some districts, like District 4 in East Harlem, have some alternative schools, mostly based on themes -- for instance, a junior high for girls -- that are open to students from throughout the district.

School districts and private organizations offer seminars to help parents that often include presentations by district officials and a list of theme programs.

Ask school officials about gifted programs open to students from beyond the immediate neighborhood. Most are fiercely competitive and require intelligence tests and interviews for kindergarten. At the Hunter College Elementary School, for instance, where an average of 1,200 applications pour in every year for 16 nursery school and 32 kindergarten slots, applicants have to score around the 98th percentile on the Stanford-Binet I.Q. test. Applicants are also tested as part of a small group on ''age-appropriate activities'' modeled after the school's curriculum. Polly Breland, the director of admissions, would not disclose details about the tests. The school is open only to Manhattan youngsters.

Often magnet programs, particularly in racially segregated neighborhoods, are open to students from throughout the city. But, Ms. Hemphill argued, gifted programs can be unfriendly to blacks and Hispanics. ''There's a natural tendency on the part of a lot of principals and a lot of superintendents to get middle-class kids into the school,'' she said. ''And in the society we live in, that often means white people.''

Know Where to Look: Near and Far

Often, the search for a school need go no farther than your own backyard. In the hoopla over school choice, the neighborhood school can be overlooked -- and that, education experts say, can be a mistake. It is usually within walking distance and can better nurture a sense of community. Most importantly, every child in New York City is guaranteed a place at the neighborhood school, no matter how crowded.

''I tell all parents to try their neighborhood school first,'' said Judith Baum, a spokeswoman for the Public Education Association, a nonprofit school advocacy group. ''That might be a very good school. They shouldn't write it off.''

But sticking to your neighborhood school may not always be sound judgment. According to a New York Times analysis of test scores, schools with relatively few poor students are likely to score higher on statewide math and reading tests, while schools with a high poverty rate are likely to fare poorly.