Separate and unequal.

NYC school children are separate. And their schools are definitely not equal.

Take middle school, the point at which most families must apply to school, based on preference beginning with the following choices: public charter school or private parochial school or private independent school or home school or public school in the district where you live or public school in the district where your child attended elementary school?

The vast majority of NYC families opt for public school. But the decision-making doesn't end there. The complicated and overwhelming process of choosing a school continues. Because public schools are not equal or interchangeable –by design. Over the years, each school has emerged with unique features, offering different pedagogical approaches to meet changing community needs.

Even in a small community district on the Lower East Side, where there are only seven district middle schools to consider, the process is highly fraught and extremely time consuming.

Some offer dual-language Mandarin. Some require Spanish every year. Most do not. Some offer Regents algebra to prepare for high school, some do not. Some start in 6th grade and end in 12th. Some have 30 kids per class; some have 18. Some screen, but each screen is unique. Those with screens are not required to share their screening rubric. Some schools have a critical mass of above average test-takers. While some serve a disproportionate number of struggling learners.

The anxiety is fed by information asymmetries between the parents (consumers in this education “market”) and the school officials (suppliers in this “market”). Information that consumers want to know in order to compare options may be very difficult to access because of how school information is distributed and shared. Families bear the burden in filtering out what is relevant, valid, and even accurate. School (and DOE) websites are not always complete or up to date. They lack descriptions of extra-curricular or academic support programs. I’ve emailed principals with questions and received no reply. Parents also rely on generic school tours. School visits are by far the best way to get a true picture. But how many working parents are able to take time off from work or spend evenings visiting all of them?

Adding to the confusion over school choices, the rules and procedures that families are required to follow change, almost every year. There are deadlines, forms and applications. Some schools have their own unique screening process that includes more tests, essays and interviews.

So word of mouth continues to act as the default influencer that sways families towards or away from certain schools because seeking the opinion of others who we most identify with is usually the easiest.

Parents want two things: they want easier and more complete access to information about their school choices. Every school should be required to report on a standard set of characteristics including and especially, the academic resources they provide for learners at all levels.

Every school should offer academic interventions for struggling learners as well as opportunities that challenge all students, including those who excel. And every school should have appropriate staff to provide social and emotional counseling for their students. As a parent, these critical supports are what we consider as we are choosing schools. What school would best fit our child and meet their needs? Unfortunately, this critical information is rarely communicated clearly to all families. And yet, the schools know what they have to offer.

Academic offerings and schedules for each grade level must be posted, on all DOE and school websites, and on the walls of school entrances. And the school must update this information every year.

Parents also want assurance that, whichever school their child is assigned to, will provide them with a learning environment that is as good as, if not better, than the schools they don’t get assigned to. Unfortunately, parents are not confident that equal opportunities and high quality experiences exist in every school. Hence, the hysteria over school applications.

The bottom line is, we don't trust that the educational experiences offered by public schools are all equitable. The disparity that exists in our schools is a result of the cherry picking of the DOE as much as it is the families who invest whatever resources and authority they have to mold their school into one of the exceptions.