After moving away from selective admissions policies for middle schools, one of New York City’s wealthiest school districts will now “screen” again — this time for students applying to four new honors programs that will operate within schools.
The new programs will launch this fall at MS 131, Sun Yat Sen Middle School; MS 167, Wagner Middle School; MS 297, 75 Morton Middle School; and MS 104, Baruch Middle School. All four will maintain general education programs along with the addition of the honors track.
District 2 Superintendent Kelly McGuire wrote in a letter to parents this week that students at four middle schools who apply for the programs will be evaluated by their final fourth grade report cards.
“Over the past several months we have spoken with District 2 parents and families about middle school admissions,” McGuire said in the letter. “While there is a wide diversity of perspectives across our district, we have developed a plan that offers pathways for accelerated learning through screened programs, maintained sibling priority, and ensured that all students have access to every District 2 middle school.”
District 2 covers a long swath of Manhattan that includes the Upper East Side and Tribeca.
“Families seeking to enroll their child in one of these four zoned schools will have the option of including the general program and/or the screened program on their child’s middle school application,” McGuire said.
The shift in District 2 middle school admissions is the latest in the ongoing debate around selective screens in the city’s public schools.
Many educators, students, parents and civil rights activists have zeroed in on admission screens as a driver of the deep segregation in city’s schools. Research shows schools that use selective admissions – like test scores, grades, and attendance – have far fewer Black and Latino students.
But some parents have lobbied fiercely for selective admissions saying their children yearn for…
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