Albany Looks to Diversify Stuy
Last May, the West Side Spirit partnered with the Amsterdam News for a special investigation of the Discovery Program, an initiative that had fallen by the wayside of the education system but was intended to increase the substantially low diversity levels at the city’s specialized high schools. Now, citing that investigation as part of his reasoning, Brooklyn Assembly Member Karim Camara will introduce new legislation to address the schools’ admissions criteria, which he says are unfairly biased and don’t account for students who may not be good test takers but are otherwise up to the rigorous academic standards the schools require. Read more
Who Gets In?
District 3, which encompasses the Upper West Side and most of Harlem, currently has no high school that gives special consideration to area students—and the local parent council doesn’t like it.
On June 17, the district’s Community Education Council and Presidents’ Council approved a request asking the Department of Education to give local students priority at Beacon High School, considered one of city’s the most prestigious schools. There are 12 high schools in the district, and all of them have a citywide admissions policy. By contrast, District 2, which covers the East Side and parts of downtown, has several priority high schools for local students. Read more
