Brooklyn Families Adjust to Changes in Middle School Admissions Process

Middle schools drew very different tour crowds this admissions cycle in part of Brooklyn, following approval of a diversity plan that does away with admissions based on students’ grades, test scores, and attendance records.  

While students still can rank their preferred schools in School District 15—encompassing Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Sunset Park, and Red Hook—the plan approved in September sets aside a percentage of seats for students who are low-income, English language learners, or homeless. This means fewer seats available at the schools coveted by mostly white and more affluent families who, in turn, are paying more attention to schools with lower test scores and higher minority populations.

One of them, a white mom named Leesa Wytock, said she wanted an integrated middle school for her daughter.

"The fact that they're going to befriend people that they would maybe never run in the same social circle with, that's how you start to like not make things based on stereotypes so I think it's huge. I think it's great,” Wytock said, after touring the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies in Carroll Gardens.

One of the few parents of color attending the same tour ranked demographics lower than academic programs and other more practical factors. 

“For us, it's the commute,” Lashawn Marshall said about her family’s school preferences. “Just to make sure it's easy for her to get to.”

One part of the far-reaching diversity plan in District 15 that did not get approved by city officials was busing across the district for students accepted into schools far from home. Some advocates told WNYC they worried a lack of direct transportation would lead families to still prioritize neighborhood schools over other choices.

And some parents, especially those with less proficiency in English, told WNYC that they have not received enough information to make the best choices for their children.

A Department of Education spokesperson said it has worked “closely” with families throughout the process.

“We’ve prioritized communicating the range of high-quality options available to students and families in District 15,” said Doug Cohen, “including calling every fifth-grade family, hosting new admissions fairs for families in multiple languages, and distributing new fact sheets in multiple languages to all [district] elementary schools.”

Lynn Shon, a science teacher at M.S. 88 in Park Slope, said she has spoken to more white parents in the last several weeks than in nearly a decade at a school where most students are Latino or Asian. She said she wished many of them could see beyond the limited resources and focus instead on the culturally responsive, real-life diversity in her school.

"White progressive parents who are the first ones to advocate for diversity, they don't actually want to talk about the value of diversity that I've witnessed in my class over the last nine years,” she said. “They want to talk more about whether we have yoga and how many elective periods of art their child will get."

But building up an awareness of the new options, and shifting how people judge schools, won’t happen with one admissions cycle. Matt Gonzales of New York Appleseed, an integration advocacy group, said to give it a few years.

“To get to the goal of having proportional representation across every school, that's probably going to take some time,” he said, adding that he’s still hopeful to see some shifts next year.