Why 2 Crises May Finally Force N.Y.C. Schools to Integrate - The New York Times

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When New York City became the national epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, its once-sacrosanct practice of sorting thousands of children into selective public schools suddenly collapsed: The metrics that dictate admissions evaporated as schools shuttered.

Then, the city erupted in protest over the killing of George Floyd, and the fact that the proudly progressive city is home to one of the nation’s most racially divided school districts took on fresh urgency.

New York is now inadvertently running an experiment in how to operate without high-stakes admissions screens. Some hope that a looming decision on how schools will admit students into top schools this fall could lead to integration long after the pandemic ends and the protests ebb.

The city has “an opportunity to zoom back out to 40,000 feet and think about whether this system we’ve created over the last few decades serves the system and its students well,” said Stefan Lallinger, a fellow at the left-leaning Century Foundation and the grandson of the civil rights leader Louis L. Redding. “I would argue that it doesn’t.”

An admissions system that was built up over the last 20 years fell apart in a matter of weeks.

Even before schools closed their doors in March, some parents kept their children home as the virus began spreading, and the mayor nixed attendance as a measure of student achievement for the current admissions cycle. Shortly after, state standardized tests were canceled and letter grades were put on hold for most students.

That sudden shift has stirred fear and frustration among some parents who have warned of calamity if screened admissions are overhauled long term.

But other families and even Department of Education staffers say change is long overdue, even if it was prompted by two tragedies.

Over 400 department employees, most of them people of color, signed a letter calling on Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza to scrap most admissions screens and exams, along with other major changes.

“This is the moment to dissociate ourselves from institutional racism and to affirm that Black Lives Matter,” reads the letter, which was written as protests against police brutality swelled in New York.

Mr. Carranza has said he believes screened admissions are contrary to the spirit of public education, and drew ire from his many critics after his recent remarks that the city should “never waste a good crisis to transform a system” were reported by the New York Post.

The admissions process has endured despite the fact that elite public schools have enrolled dwindling numbers of black and Hispanic students, prompting mounting frustration from educators and parents.

And the process has remained largely unchanged even during the tenure of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who promised to vanquish inequality in city life but has not made school desegregation a priority.

New York City screens more children for admissions than any school district in the country; about a third of the city’s roughly 900 middle and high schools use some kind of requirement for admissions, typically including attendance, grades, test scores, school work and sometimes interviews and recommendations. A small number of schools use demographic requirements aimed at creating diverse student populations.

Tens of thousands of rising sixth and ninth graders spend months and sometimes years touring schools, pulling together applications and studying for exams in the hope of securing a coveted seat. Manhattan’s Beacon High School, for example, received over 5,800 applicants for 360 ninth-grade slots last year.

Critics say that the process is inherently unfair, because it privileges children whose families have the time and money to navigate the complex system and pay for test preparation or consultants, and that it discriminates against qualified but low-income black and Hispanic students.

Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza has expressed skepticism about screened admissions but has not yet made major changes to the system. Credit...Sarah Blesener for The New York Times

The screening system produces selective schools that are largely attended by white and Asian-American students, though the city’s school system is mostly black and Hispanic.

In recent weeks, a debate over how to restructure admissions for the fall — and far beyond — has reached a fever pitch.

Brad Lander, a City Councilman from Brooklyn, said the city should announce a temporary admissions system for this fall and work to create permanent changes over the next year. “But it would also be foolish to double down and recommit to a set of systems that we already knew weren’t working well,” he said.

Mr. Lander helped lead an effort to eliminate selective admissions for middle schools in his district, which now uses a ranked lottery system. He and others said that other districts should stop sorting young children by academic ability.

“Trying to decide a 9-year-old’s worth completely makes no sense,” said Emma Rehac, a high school senior who is part of the group IntegrateNYC.

Screening for the city’s gifted and talented programs starts even earlier: Children can take a test for those highly competitive programs when they are just 4.

Critics of the admissions process have argued that attendance for young children in particular is more a reflection of parents’ ability to get their children to school than of students’ credentials.

And some elementary school principals have said students come to school sick in an effort to maintain perfect attendance records — which would be a public health violation in the wake of a global pandemic.

“I don’t think attendance should ever come back” as an admissions screen, said Laura Zingmond, the editor of Insideschools.org.

Some of the most selective schools have long held in-person tours, drawing thousands of parents who start lining up on sidewalks early in the afternoon — making it difficult for low-income and working families to attend. The virus may render those events obsolete, and the city may use virtual open houses to address both safety and equity concerns.

Ms. Zingmond said the city should also delay its usual admissions cycle, which typically begins at the start of the school year. “The last thing anyone needs to think about in September is admissions. Schools will have traumatized kids and teachers.”

But Elissa Stein, a local schools consultant, said her inbox is flooded with parents who believe disruptions to the usual admissions process could damage their children’s academic prospects.

“In this very stressful time when we are all undergoing new levels of anxiety, to have this whole system ripping apart in front of our eyes, and not having an answer or even some direction is causing an outrageous amount of stress,” she said.

The city’s admissions system has spawned a cottage industry of tutors and consultants; Ms. Stein charges $240 an hour for meetings.

Thousands of mostly white parents waited for an open house at Beacon High School in Manhattan last fall.Credit...Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

In a statement, Mr. Carranza said the city is currently holding virtual town halls to solicit feedback from parents, and promised that the city’s ultimate decision will “properly account for the unprecedented disruption this pandemic has had in the lives of our children.”

The Coronavirus Outbreak

• Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

  Updated June 5, 2020

  • Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?

    So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

  • How does blood type influence coronavirus?

    A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

  • How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

    The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

  • Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?

    Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

  • How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?

    Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

  • My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

    States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

  • What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

    Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

  • What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

    Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

  • How can I protect myself while flying?

    If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

  • How do I take my temperature?

    Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.

  • Should I wear a mask?

    The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

  • What should I do if I feel sick?

    If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

  • How do I get tested?

    If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.

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The loudest opposition to admissions changes has come from families in one of the city’s wealthiest and highest-performing school districts, Manhattan’s District 2.

Jude Listanowsky, a seventh grade student who lives in the district, created a Change.org petition calling on the mayor to restore the previous grading system for the upcoming high school admissions season.

During remote learning, middle schoolers either pass classes or receive remedial help for incomplete courses, rather than receiving letter grades.

“We will have no motivation to perform to our best during this time of Covid,” his petition, which has garnered over 1,800 signatures, reads.

Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, a group that supports gifted and talented schools and screened admissions, has been encouraging families to write to the mayor and chancellor to register their concerns.

A form letter on the group’s website accuses the city of “deliberately and cynically using the deadly Covid-19 crisis to enact an agenda that I oppose and about which my voice has not been heard.”

“In this environment that’s been created, achievement is a dirty word,” said Lucas Liu, a PLACE founder.

There is legitimate debate about the value of screening, said Sean Corcoran, a professor at Vanderbilt University who has studied New York’s idiosyncratic admissions. “What is the instructional reason we have these screens?” he asked.

Mr. Corcoran said the city should consider eliminating all screens for the coming admissions cycle, and then create a more standardized system under which all schools have to use similar, publicly available requirements, more of which should be aimed at boosting integration. He warned of a counterproductive scenario in which individual schools create their own admissions screens if the city does not act soon.

Many educators and parents believe the city can do much more than merely skirt a worst-case option.

Eric Goldberg, an elected parent leader in Manhattan, said the mayor should “send a message to the families and students who have fought and waited for reform, and to those marching in the streets, that our schools must reflect our values.”

And Mr. Lallinger said that transforming admissions should no longer be seen as an unwinnable political fight.

“There’s a lot of fear-mongering and falling into historical ways of thinking about the potential consequences of changing the demographics of a school,” Mr. Lallinger said. “This is 2020, not 1953. That’s where I’d start.”

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