Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 21:40     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.


Can you elaborate on this? Applying to K in the fall and seriously debating just going to our zoned elementary. Nervous for a few reasons (1) would be behind when they transfer to private in grade 6; (2) if we don't like public, is it hard to get into a private in a non traditional entry point year (like first, second, or third)?


Do you homework on the public. And look into the local middle schools. I think more kids generally go to private for 9 than 6, though plenty do go for 6. So going public for K likely means staying public through 8, though not required. I think class sizes are being reduced which in some ways is great (small classes are better) but are there enough good teachers to go around or are they just hiring warm bodies?

As someone else said, public school kids generally do fine (or better) when transferring to private - I wouldn't worry about being behind. Though that obviously depends on the public school and the private school.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 21:36     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.


Honestly, with the class size law starting to apply to not just the highest-need schools, even the case for private middle school is getting weaker - your 6th grader’s experience in a 23-kid math class in the screened program at Wagner is probably not going to be $65,000 inferior to the experience they’d get a few blocks away at Dalton or Spence.

(it will, however, guarantee you a spot in their high schools and thus spare you from that particular rat race)


Agreed - going to private starting in K just guarantees you peace of mind. And for private K they have less academic info to judge your kid on, which could be good or bad. But it is a lot of money to spend when there are very good free options.

A good zoned public elementary is great and there are plenty of them. Do not obsess with G&T - top zoned publics are just as good (or even better) and G&T often has a lot of kids and families who think they are extra special when they really aren't.

And there are plenty of very good public middle schools, though there is no guarantee you will get your top choice. On the east side you might have to travel a bit - for instance, Salk is a great school and not an awful commute but a bit of a trek from the UES. On the west side there is Booker which thinks it is Stuy-prep (which has pros and cons) then a few other schools which are small and good such as WESS and Computer.

We did public K-8 and went through the public and private HS process, which was a miserable experience though the outcome was good. We found that kids who did K-8 public were doing just as well (or even better) at TT privates as kids who had been in private K-8.


How have your kids adjusted socially? Was it hard making friends when a large number of kids had been together since elementary or middle school (assuming a K-12 school)?


My child adjusted very easily though we were very anxious about this - they basically knew no one in their grade at the new school. And though they have friends, they are relatively quiet and far from a social butterfly. Doing a sport at the new school helped in finding an immediate friend group, though over time their friend group has diversified. And one of our decision points was what percentage of the class is new kids vs. old.
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 15:57     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.


Honestly, with the class size law starting to apply to not just the highest-need schools, even the case for private middle school is getting weaker - your 6th grader’s experience in a 23-kid math class in the screened program at Wagner is probably not going to be $65,000 inferior to the experience they’d get a few blocks away at Dalton or Spence.

(it will, however, guarantee you a spot in their high schools and thus spare you from that particular rat race)


Agreed - going to private starting in K just guarantees you peace of mind. And for private K they have less academic info to judge your kid on, which could be good or bad. But it is a lot of money to spend when there are very good free options.

A good zoned public elementary is great and there are plenty of them. Do not obsess with G&T - top zoned publics are just as good (or even better) and G&T often has a lot of kids and families who think they are extra special when they really aren't.

And there are plenty of very good public middle schools, though there is no guarantee you will get your top choice. On the east side you might have to travel a bit - for instance, Salk is a great school and not an awful commute but a bit of a trek from the UES. On the west side there is Booker which thinks it is Stuy-prep (which has pros and cons) then a few other schools which are small and good such as WESS and Computer.

We did public K-8 and went through the public and private HS process, which was a miserable experience though the outcome was good. We found that kids who did K-8 public were doing just as well (or even better) at TT privates as kids who had been in private K-8.


How have your kids adjusted socially? Was it hard making friends when a large number of kids had been together since elementary or middle school (assuming a K-12 school)?
Anonymous
Post 06/12/2025 15:55     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.


Can you elaborate on this? Applying to K in the fall and seriously debating just going to our zoned elementary. Nervous for a few reasons (1) would be behind when they transfer to private in grade 6; (2) if we don't like public, is it hard to get into a private in a non traditional entry point year (like first, second, or third)?
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 10:20     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:And there are plenty of very good public middle schools, though there is no guarantee you will get your top choice.


This is true but it's why I mentioned Wagner, which is the zoned school for the UES but is, nevertheless, perfectly fine. Likewise with Baruch, the other big district 2 zoned school for midtown / downtown; they both have screened programs (which as I understand are not all *that* academically rigorous - and cover the majority of kids in each school - but do at least allow them to differentiate instruction somewhat, and keep you with the same cohort of Regents-algebra-track kids for your other subjects) and I believe they're both going to start rolling out class size law caps with their 6th grades next year. And test-score-wise they're both very similar to what you'd see at an upscale suburban middle school.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 09:49     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.


Honestly, with the class size law starting to apply to not just the highest-need schools, even the case for private middle school is getting weaker - your 6th grader’s experience in a 23-kid math class in the screened program at Wagner is probably not going to be $65,000 inferior to the experience they’d get a few blocks away at Dalton or Spence.

(it will, however, guarantee you a spot in their high schools and thus spare you from that particular rat race)


Agreed - going to private starting in K just guarantees you peace of mind. And for private K they have less academic info to judge your kid on, which could be good or bad. But it is a lot of money to spend when there are very good free options.

A good zoned public elementary is great and there are plenty of them. Do not obsess with G&T - top zoned publics are just as good (or even better) and G&T often has a lot of kids and families who think they are extra special when they really aren't.

And there are plenty of very good public middle schools, though there is no guarantee you will get your top choice. On the east side you might have to travel a bit - for instance, Salk is a great school and not an awful commute but a bit of a trek from the UES. On the west side there is Booker which thinks it is Stuy-prep (which has pros and cons) then a few other schools which are small and good such as WESS and Computer.

We did public K-8 and went through the public and private HS process, which was a miserable experience though the outcome was good. We found that kids who did K-8 public were doing just as well (or even better) at TT privates as kids who had been in private K-8.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2025 00:13     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.


Honestly, with the class size law starting to apply to not just the highest-need schools, even the case for private middle school is getting weaker - your 6th grader’s experience in a 23-kid math class in the screened program at Wagner is probably not going to be $65,000 inferior to the experience they’d get a few blocks away at Dalton or Spence.

(it will, however, guarantee you a spot in their high schools and thus spare you from that particular rat race)
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 21:47     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
If I were to raise kids in NYC all over again, I would totally do a good zoned public for elementary school and apply to private for middle. I feel that all the money spent for K-5 in my kids' private schools was probably not necessary.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 22:21     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Move to a neighborhood with good public schools. Forget about G&T - the program never was good and is now pointless, and a good public is just as good if not better. Great schools on the UES and UWS as well as various areas downtown. I know UWS best and 9, 87, 199 and 166 are all very good.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 20:00     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
If you want private, reach out to the Parents League. They can help you navigate applying in an off year. It's not impossible, but it's definitely more difficult.

https://www.parentsleague.org
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 19:58     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
For girls, Nightingale and Marymount will also be hard to get in. Hewitt will probably be easier. It is a small, underated school. Great location and great teachers.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 18:55     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
If you are not set on TT, you may be able to get a spot at some of the private schools. I have heard of boys getting into Fieldston Lower, St David’s, Allen Stevenson and Browning at non-entry years in lower school (and Nightingale, Marymount and Hewitt for girls). I’m not saying it happens every year, but it isn’t out of the question. Definitely worth investigating.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 17:47     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Anonymous wrote:Having done this recently: it's incredibly hard to do non-entry in elementary school. Very few spaces and most of them go to people with connections.

The good news is there are some really excellent zoned neighborhood public elementary schools, and your son will be in great shape to apply to a competitive middle school for 6th grade. Check Niche or InsideSchools and also the official NYC MySchools site for the neighborhoods you're considering. Also, I think you're just past the gifted & talented program deadline for next year, but you should be able to apply to that for 3rd grade.


Re: G&T I would consider going to the DOE family office for whatever school district you end up living in, if that is an option you prefer. There are also several Catholic schools in Manhattan that would take a student at any point.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 15:17     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Having done this recently: it's incredibly hard to do non-entry in elementary school. Very few spaces and most of them go to people with connections.

The good news is there are some really excellent zoned neighborhood public elementary schools, and your son will be in great shape to apply to a competitive middle school for 6th grade. Check Niche or InsideSchools and also the official NYC MySchools site for the neighborhoods you're considering. Also, I think you're just past the gifted & talented program deadline for next year, but you should be able to apply to that for 3rd grade.
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2025 14:56     Subject: Moving to NYC during "non-entry" year
Hi - We are moving to NY for a job opportunity. We're not moving until next fall and are looking to apply to private schools for our son this fall. The only problem is he'd be in 2nd grade, which doesn't appear to be an entry year for any of the schools. Are we out of luck? Has anyone successfully navigated this or have any advice? Thank you in advance!