Agenda Overview of the Middle School Admissions Process Student eligibility Student priorities Types of schools The matching process Application process timeline

Student Eligibility Eligibility to Middle School is based on Chancellor’s Regulation A-101: Students will be able to apply to schools in their district of attendance and/or district to which they are zoned for middle school. Students may apply to schools with multiple district eligibilities, borough-wide or city-wide programs To read Chancellor’s Regulation A-101, please visit:

Student Priorities Priority to continuing 5th grade students K-8 schools offer priority to continuing 5th graders Priority to zone Zoned middle school will continue to grant priority to students who reside in the zone 5th grade students who wish to attend a school for which they have priority must rank that school as one of their choices on the middle school application A zoned school or K-8 school option should be ranked AFTER any other programs for which the student wants to be considered

Types of Schools Screened/Audition – Academic or Performance assessment Schools rank students based on a range of academic criteria Screened – Language Dual Language & Newcomers programs Test based - Admission based on composite test score Limited Unscreened Priority to students who attend and sign in at an information session, school tour, open house event, or by visiting the school’s exhibit at the Middle School Fair. Unscreened – Random selection process Zoned - Open to students in the zoned area

Matching Process Middle School Match Student Choice Priorities Admissions Method Seat Availability

Application Process Timeline Month: September/October 2015Middle School Fair and Directories distributed to families October – December 2015Open house events at Middle Schools November 2015Middle School applications distributed to families. December 2015Deadline for families to return Middle School applications in all districts. December 2015 – February 2016Student interviews and testing at selected Middle Schools. May 2016Decision letters distributed to families. June 2016Appeal letter distributed to families (if necessary).

Application Process Timeline Fall 2015 Begin to reflect on your child’s interests, strengths, and weaknesses. This will help you choose what school is right for your child. Contact middle schools for tours and open houses. Keep location in mind as you decide what schools to tour. It is critical that parents and children be on their best behavior during middle school tours. Insideschools.org is a good place to start your research. It is an independent website with a lot of information, data, and reviews.

Application Process Timeline About the application process: Once the application arrives (usually in November), it will be personalized to your child. Each family will rank their choices and submit to Sarah. There are no letters of recommendation or other attachments allowed with the application. Several schools have tests/interviews. Each school will contact you directly about dates (usually in January). It is very important that we have your current address, because middle schools will use that address to contact you.

How can we help ? Julie and Sarah are your resources for middle school. It also helps to talk to other parents who have or have had a student in a school you are interested in. If you are interested in a particular school and do not know a parent there, please speak to Sarah or Julie to assist you. Your child’s teacher will have the role of helping you better understand your child as a student and what type of environments suit his/her needs.

Questions & Answers