While the neighborhood, part of Community Education Council District 3, enjoys some top-notch public schools, overcrowding and budget tightening are constantly threatening the balance.

The biggest concern in the district is the lack of middle school space for future classes. All last year, parents pushed to get the Department of Education to look at projections that show severe middle school overcrowding in just a few years, adding 1,500 names to a petition asking for a middle school in the district, but so far the DOE has no plans to create one.

“District 3 needs middle school space to meet the needs of the growing numbers of students entering middle school starting from the class of 2013, and the increased need for schools that have a curriculum to meet the growing needs of students who are scoring at proficient levels,” said Christine Annechino, president of the district’s CEC, which encompasses the Upper West Side as well as parts of West and Central Harlem.

Council Member Gale Brewer also said middle school space is the biggest concern for Upper West Side parents.

“There are so many kids that there’s going to be no place for them,” said Brewer. “The school at Riverside is not going to be able to handle all of them, and it’s not going to be ready in time. People worry.”

The new K-8 school will be P.S. 342, slated to be built over the next several years at the Extell Riverside Center development on West 61st Street and West End Avenue. It is expected to teach 600 elementary and middle school students when it reaches its full capacity, but that will also be accounting for the influx of children moving into the new development, and won’t necessarily solve in the overcrowding problem. Still, it will help, and advocates agree that a new school is a positive step.

“It was an incredible process that led to an incredibly valuable asset for the community,” said Mel Wymore, who was the chairperson of Community Board 7 when the board negotiated with Extell to agree to build the school. “From here, we as a community should continue to work with the DOE, the [School Construction Authority] and the developer to ensure that the school built best serves the community as a whole.”

But while the prospect of a new school is a bright spot for parents, there are still more immediate realities to contend with. Many Upper West Siders still feel they are pitted against charter schools in the district, and that the placement of charters within traditional school buildings is adding to overcrowding problems.

Charters are public schools that are privately run.

“When the DOE cheers for schools like Success Charter, don’t they see that they are not cheering for any public schools? Is this fair if they don’t work with the schools who are not charter schools and try to make them better?” said Annechino. “The disparity within the public, free school system is alarming, and District 3, which has been assaulted by this disparity, will continue to correct it. And it doesn’t mean that we are fighting against charters, we are fighting for all of these kids who are not getting the education they need in the schools they attend.”

Noah Gotbaum, an outspoken critic of charter school co-location and a member of the CEC, also said that it’s an increasingly severe problem for traditional public schools.

“Charters basically get the run of the building and the public schools are the stepchildren. It really is separate but unequal,” said Gotbaum. “It’s overtaxing not just the public school but the entire system.”

Gotbaum added that a lack of resources and budget cuts are making it more difficult for teachers and principals to do their jobs. “We’ve had 15 to 20 percent cuts to the classroom over the past five years, and our schools have had to make do with less, and they’re basically cut to the bone,” he said.

“The DOE is spending more and more on testing, assessment, charter schools, large scale tech projects, but parents don’t want that. We want our kids to have teachers in the classrooms, gym, special programs.”

One special program that was recently cut but quickly reinstated, giving parents a small victory, is the Wellness in the Schools program, which pairs professional chefs with public school cafeterias to create healthy, scratch-made menus for the kids. Earlier this week, DOE officials said that they would have to cut the program to ensure that all schools would be able to meet more stringent federal school lunch regulations or risk losing federal money.

Thanks to an immediate outcry from parents and elected officials, including Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Brewer, the DOE announced that it would keep the program and work with the schools and chefs on keeping the menus within guidelines.

For the Upper West Side community, all agree that despite some seemingly uphill battles between parents and the DOE, it’s a good thing to have such an involved community.

“The ray of light is that we have amazing parents in this district, involved and active parents, and we have phenomenal educators, principals and teachers who really, really care,” said Gotbaum. “They are making do and they’re picking up the slack where administrators are putting roadblocks in the way.”

New York Family has several wonderful resources to help city parents address their children’s educational needs as they grow up.

New York Family publishes the Ultimate Guide to Education in October; not only the season of transitions and adjustments in schools, it’s also the time for admissions applications. The Ultimate Guide covers all of it, helping parents understand local admissions in all of the sectors while offering stories about news and trends in learning and development and a parent’s role in their child’s education. You can find the digital edition of the latest Ultimate Guide to Education at newyorkfamily.com.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Nursery School and Pre-K

The Parents League of New York, parentsleague.org
The Independent School Admission Association of Greater New York, isaagny.org
The New York City Department of Education, schools.nyc.gov
Victoria Goldman’s The Manhattan Directory of Private Nursery Schools, victoriagoldman.net
Also note: Many “preschool alternative” programs are offered by neighborhood education and enrichment centers. See our classes directory.

Public School

Clara Hemphill’s various guides to New York City public schools, clarahemphill.net
Class Size Matters, classsizematters.org
The New York City Department of Education, schools.nyc.gov
Gotham Schools, gothamschools.org
Insideschools, insideschools.org
NYC Public School Parents, nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com

Private School (Independent)

The Independent School Admission Association of Greater New York, isaagny.org
NYC Private Schools Blog, nycprivateschoolsblog.com
The NYC Private School Admissions Handbook nypeas.com
The Parents League of New York, parentsleague.org
Victoria Goldman’s The Manhattan Family Guide to Private Schools and Selective Public Schools, victoriagoldman.net

Charter Schools

The New York City Department of Education, schools.nyc.gov
New York City Charter School Center, nyccharterschools.org

Parochial Schools

Archdiocese of New York, archny.org
Also note: For other faith-based schools in the New York City area, we recommend contacting local organizations affiliated with your religion. They should be able to direct you to schools of interest.

New Schools

For new public schools, check the DOE website and Inside Schools and call your local school district’s office, which you can find on the DOE website. For new charter schools, check with the New York City Charter School Center. Here are a few new (and new-ish) and noteworthy nursery and private schools.

Avenues, avenues.org
École Internationale de New York, einy.org
Fusion Academy, fusionacademy.com (search for New York City)
The Goddard School, goddardschool.com
Grace Church School, gcschool.org
The Lang School, thelangschool.org
The Learning Experience, thelearningexperience.com (search for Manhattan)
Léman Prep (formerly Claremont Prep), lemanmanhattan.org
Queens Paideia School, queenspaideiaschool.org
Upper West Side Playgroup, upperwestsideplaygroup.org
World Class Learning Academy, wclacademy.org

A lot has been said about the severity of the student loan debt crisis in the United States. Much of the discussion, however, has centered on the perils of overpriced private schools; schools like New York University, which jack up tuition rates when endowments don’t raise “enough” money and get cozy with big banks to dole out student loans to unsuspecting freshmen.

What hasn’t been focused on, and what is more unsettling, is the five-digit debt some students are accumulating at public schools. Public schools are supposed to be the economical way to go about getting a higher education. They receive government funding and can keep tuition low, but it’s the hidden fees and living expenses that are upping the amount of debt for students trying to make the money-friendly college choice.

Christina is a senior at CUNY’s John Jay College and is $58,497 in debt—over twice the amount the average student has after earning a four-year degree. Why so much debt? While John Jay only costs $5,500 a year, she paid $13,999 per year for three years to live in the dorms. The dorms, called The Towers, are a CUNY-wide residence not directly affiliated with John Jay, and she was essentially forced to live there because, while an apartment in Harlem would be cheaper, her student loans can’t be used toward rent.

The Towers were Christina’s only option if she wanted to go to John Jay—the best school for what she wants to do, which is work for the FBI. Commuting from Long Island would leave her little time for homework and her part-time job, and paying for an apartment out of pocket was out of the question. Christina now lives in an off-campus apartment with three other roommates, but her costs are still rising. Tuition increases every year, and she still has two more years of graduate work to complete.

Her situation is all too common in the CUNY and SUNY systems, state schools that are supposed to level the economic playing field but are having to increase their tuition because of budget cuts and the floundering economy.

In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said, “No one should go broke because they chose to go to college.” Well, they are, and it’s escalating into the largest financial crisis our country has ever seen.

The amount of student loan debt in the U.S. will top $1 trillion next year. According to the Department of Education, there are over 1.4 million students in student loan debt. Collectively, they owe $829 billion, a number that recently topped the amount of credit card debt in the nation for the first time ever.

Student debt is growing at a rate of $90 billion a year, according to Alan Nasser, professor of political economy at Evergreen State College and author of The Student Loan Swindle.

“The extraordinary growth of student debt paralleled the bubble years, from the beginnings of the dotcom bubble in the mid- 1990s to the housing bubble,” Nasser said. “In the build-up to the housing crisis, the major ratings agencies used by the biggest banks gave high ratings to mortgage-backed securities that were, in fact, toxic. A similar pattern is evident in student loans.” The default rate for student loans is 25 percent— the same as the mortgage default rate at the height of the housing crisis.

Only 40 percent of student loans are being repaid, while the other 35 percent are delinquent, meaning payments have been missed. According to the Department of Education, this is the lowest repayment rate the student loan industry has ever seen, and there aren’t many options for those in financial trouble.

A diploma can’t be repossessed and basic consumer protections don’t apply. Student loans can’t be discharged in bankruptcy (unlike, say, gambling debts), the statute of limitations for a collection agency to sue a borrower does not apply, student loans don’t need to adhere to state usury laws, which cap interest rates, and federal student loan debt collectors don’t need to adhere to the fair debt collection rules. They can call as much as they want, whenever they want and can garnish wages and withhold tax refunds. It’s gotten so out of control that students have resorted to lying on their loan application forms to get more federal aid or setting up websites to panhandle for money on the Internet.

Elizabeth Warren, the brain behind the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a current Massachusetts senate candidate, has spoken out about the toxicity of student loans. “Student loan debt collectors have a power that would make a mobster envious,” she recently told the Wall Street Journal. Because of the lack of regulation, borrowers default, lose their homes, have their wages garnished, tax returns confiscated— livelihoods are lost. And nothing substantial has been done to change this.

Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of CUNY students took to the streets to protest tuition hikes and were joined by members of the Occupy Wall Street movement. These students are afraid that the once-affordable place to earn a degree will soon be out of their reach unless they take out more and more loans. Experts predict that, eventually, there will be no more money to loan to those who want to go to college because loan providers keep losing money on the increasing defaults. This is particularly frightening for the federal government, which provides 10 times as much in student loans as private lenders do.

“If the government runs out of loan money it would be much worse than any burst mortgage bubble,” said Mark Katrowitz, a financial aid expert who runs finaid.org. “The entire economy would collapse.”

Christina has accepted the fact that she’ll be paying her loans back for a long, long time.

“I think I’ll be paying them back for the rest of my life,” she said. “Government jobs don’t pay very well, but I’ll retire with great benefits.”

In the more affluent neighborhoods of Manhattan, there are numerous very good schools, both public and private. Unlike some suburban areas and rural parts of America, where the local public school is the only choice, in Manhattan parents get to research and choose from a wide variety of educational settings to match the needs of their child.

That is why we support lifting the cap on charter schools in New York State, even though there is no conclusive evidence yet that charter schools nationally are better or worse than public schools. In New York, however, the evidence is compelling that charter schools
are succeeding.

What charter schools in New York have done in recent years is given many parents new options, particularly in poor neighborhoods in upper Manhattan and Brooklyn, and that is a good thing.

Yes, we agree with the United Federation of Teachers and a recently introduced State Senate bill that charter schools need to cater more to English Language Learners and special education students, a group that has traditionally been served poorly by public education. And strong oversight should continue to be a hallmark of charters in this state.

That said, it is urgent that the State Assembly, led by Speaker Sheldon Silver, join with their Senate colleagues in passing a bill that lifts the cap statewide and allows New York to compete for much needed “Race to the Top” funding for our school system.

Never before has there been such unanimity on both the federal and city level for charter schools. The Obama administration, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein, are big charter fans, and that will be a major factor in ensuring that those charter schools that currently exist—and those that will be created once the cap is lifted—will succeed.

New York’s charter schools, by and large, are more successful than those nationally for a variety of reasons. There is much philanthropic money from Wall Street flowing to many of them, and there are better school leaders starting and executing these new schools. One shining example is former East Side Council Member Eva Moskowitz’s Harlem Success network of schools, which each year attracts thousands of eager parents to its lottery and was recently the subject of a documentary film that debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The results on statewide reading and math tests at Moskowitz’s schools are stellar, and this is true of many charter schools in the city.

We don’t believe that charter schools are a panacea for public education, and we often wish that more philanthropic money went directly to our public school system. But it is hard to argue that, at least in places like Harlem, charters are offering hope right now for many deserving children and their parents.

Lifting the cap now will allow New York to compete for hundreds of millions in federal money that, in this tough economy, our state sorely needs.

The health curriculum set up by the New York City Department of Education, which includes comprehensive sex education, is only recommended. The only health curriculum city public schools are required to teach is set by the state, which emphasizes a strong understanding of healthy choices, but says nothing specifically about sexual health.

“Schools do not have to use our curriculum, they just have to meet the state standards. They are required to teach to the health education standards set up by the state,” said Marge Feinberg, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Education. “They can use their own curriculum as long as it meets those requirements.”

According to Planned Parenthood of New York City, this is a surprise to most New Yorkers, who polls say are in favor of comprehensive sex education. A study conducted by Hart Research Associates for Planned Parenthood found that 85 percent of registered voters in New York City are in favor of comprehensive sex education, and 77 percent believe that sex education is a required part of school curriculum.

The advocacy group wants to make sex education a requirement, and is asking parents for help with a grassroots effort, “We’re Going to the Principal’s Office.” The goal for the campaign, which started in September 2009, is to get parents to meet with the principal of their child’s school and request comprehensive sex education. The group has focused on reaching out to the city’s community boards for support.

And education is needed, Planned Parenthood argues. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygeiene, about one in three young people in grades 9 through 12 are currently sexually active, and nearly one in five report having had four or more sex partners in their lifetime. Yet only two-thirds of New York City’s sexually active youth report using condoms at all, and one in five girls did not use any birth control the last time they had sex.

“We have been meeting with the mayor’s office and the Department of Education for years in order to advocate for sex education to be a required part of New York City’s school curriculum,” said Dana Czuczka, who is in charge of government outreach for the organization. “We decided to get parents involved because we thought the message would be more effective coming from them.”

Planned Parenthood has also been working with Borough President Scott Stringer. In 2003, as a member of the New York State Assembly, Stringer issued a report revealing that the department’s “Family Living/Sex Education” curriculum was outdated and lacked proper oversight. He suggested that Planned Parenthood reach out to community boards.

“As they act as a voice for the people, we felt that this was the perfect place to recruit as many parents and community stakeholders as possible,” Czuczka said.

The organization has met with all of Manhattan’s community boards so far, and all have supported Planned Parenthood’s efforts. That includes Community Board 7 on the West Side and Community Board 8 on the East Side north of East 59th Street. Both passed a resolution in favor of comprehensive sex education in all public schools. Community Board 6’s youth and education committee passed a resolution in favor of the plan, which the full board will consider April 14. 

That’s where the recently un-deadlocked Senate is slated to take up the Assembly’s school governance bill, which passed June 17, leaving mayoral control of schools fairly intact.

Senate Dems have a few amendments they’re rumored to add, including a provision that would create some sort of parent training academy. At press time, though, it sounded like those tweaks would remain ideas only, as the Assembly is unlikely to reconvene and approve additional changes.

That’s all right by us.

Certainly the Department of Education could do a better job at communicating with parents, and letting them know that their voices are being heard down at Tweed. But spending government money on a facility to help parents become better education advocates is misguided, a recipe for waste and just plain ridiculous. How will these “disenfranchised” parents find time to attend class? What, exactly, will they learn? What if the department is still unresponsive? And, most importantly, how much will such an institution cost? Whatever the price, that money is better spent in classrooms, where it can directly impact students success. Teaching advocacy is not the job of government.

Parent advocacy does, however, fall under the purview of groups like Insideschools.org, the subject of this week’s cover story. This comprehensive, informative and well-researched website has been a lifeline for city parents looking for answers. Already a respected independent public school resource, Insideschools has talked about expanding its mission to foster connections between parent users. Parents could train each other to advocate with the department, improve PTAs, navigate issues like school choice and testing and generally become more informed. This website is the ideal nexus for such an effort.

Hit hard by the recent economic downturn, though, Insideschools is struggling to stay alive. That’s a shame. We encourage the website’s users to support its mission by making a donation to the fundraising drive, and we wish staffers luck in securing additional funding. This type of independent, grassroots organization is just the sort of force that can help parents feel more included in public education—and push the department to continue striving for a higher standard.

The report, “Powerless Parents,” focuses on Community Education Councils (CECs), as well as parent-teacher-student associations. The comptroller’s staff interviewed 24 of the city’s 32 district parent councils. The report found that the department rarely consults with the parent councils on recommendations for capital plans, or to make decisions about school openings and closings—the subject of a lawsuit filed against the Department of Education and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein by the Upper East Side’s District 2 council.

“CEC officers we spoke with believe their influence has steadily diminished ever since the first group was elected in 2004, and that CECs have essentially become irrelevant,” said Thompson in a statement. “This has all occurred as a direct result of DOE decision making.”

Thompson, Bloomberg’s chief rival for mayor, lists recommendations to increase parental control, including amending state law so that parent councils receive 45 days’ notice before major changes are made to schools, and that the department releases a “semi-annual” report on parent council performance.

David Cantor, a press secretary for the department, said in a statement that Thompson’s plans would take the public school system back to an “old era” where there was no accountability.

“We have also worked closely with CECs and other parent leaders across the city to rezone school districts, open new schools and develop policies that will help students and schools to thrive,” Cantor added.

Thompson’s full report can be found on comptroller.nyc.gov.