Colegio New City School

I still have conflicting feelings about this school. It is now my son’s second year at The New City School and as a concerned and responsible parent, all I can do is stay involved in my child’s education.
I will keep this in mind as I review New City and write about the school with the mindset that parents who are on the verge of making the decision to send their kids here will read it… and, I will try to be as objective as I can possibly be.
Positives
**Real sense of community amongst students. They seem to genuinely care for each other and are respectful amongst themselves.
***Art program. They have an art program and in the midst of so many public schools doing away with theirs due to budget cuts, this is a rarity.
***Good manners. My son has not picked up any bad habits since he started attending New City and there seems to be an overall accepting and nurturing environment for the kids.
***Small class sizes.
***Dual immersion. Children speak Spanish and English and receive instruction in both languages.
Negatives
***Real lack of academic structure and performance*****
And this is a big one for me.
Another parent said that there are «no report cards or grades» and went on to say that they have «student led conferences». This is all true, what he didn’t mention is that students also don’t have any homework, and because parents don’t get grades for their children, they often do not know how well or poorly their children are performing until you get the results of their standardized testing… the next year.
So, as a parent, you have to be dilligent in knowing where your child should be academically in order to pick-​up the slack for what the school doesn’t do. I have had to look for alternative methods for my son to cover this gap. Such as extended reading times, journal writing and online math lessons all at home. This has all resulted in New City now being considered a failing school with a very low AP score and classified as not meeting what the school district calls «Adequate Yearly Progress» or AYP. And, it’s safe to say that their charter is in danger
I recently attended one of their community counil meetings, and was suprised that, first, parent turn-​out was really low. Second, to hear that everyone felt that New City was doing the right thing by students academically. Unfortunate, because I feel that they have good intentions, and their overall idea is good. But their level of denial is so great, It is almost unbelievable.
Overall, I believe that a strong academic foundation is important for all children, or they may never be able to catch-​up. In addition, New City receives public funding, therefore, they must perform according to public needs. And be held accountable for their performance — or lack there-​of, by the public.
They should also not use children as the guinea pigs of their educational methods.