Transferring high schools mid-Junior year -- help with difficult situation

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi, I am a rising high school junior in the class of 2015. I am posting this in the Parents Forum in hopes of receiving a helpful answer from a parent who has been in a similar situation with their DS/DD. </p>

<p>Right now I go to a medium-sized, magnet exam-based NYC public high school. It's not exactly a cut-throat pressure cooker school, but still very competitive. I'd say about 20% are accepted to an Ivy or similarly prestigious school. </p>

<p>This fall, I will be attending a semester school program. I have opted for this alternative junior year program mainly because of its impressive focus in environmental science. Environmental science is my passion, and I am positive I want to major in environmental science or environmental studies in college. Furthermore, many of my extracurriculars are focused in environmental science. Among others, I have participated in environmental sci competitions and have won numerous awards; successfully organized international youth conferences focusing in environmental sci and sustainability; led the inaugural Sustainability Week at my school; conducted research alongside college professors in environmental science and ecology; interned at an environmental education organization; and have volunteered in conservation work and studied environmental science in Ecuador, the Galapagos Is., and Brazil (for free on full scholarship).</p>

<p>I am also attending the semester school because of my strong desire to do something "off the beaten path" for once. At my school, everything is so disgustingly structured. There is little room for creativity; students are discouraged from customizing their own education. I think this is because this structure of taking certain courses at certain years has worked so well at my school, since it has yielded us some good press and excellent college matriculation. However, this basically does not allow students to structure their own high school experience and also does not cater to those students who want to accelerate. For instance, I skipped Chemistry at school because I had taken it at CTY, and even that required many meetings, angry assistant principals, and a lot of fighting on my family's part. </p>

<p>As I expected, my bureaucratic school is not on board with me attending the semester school. They are not prohibiting me from attending (because certain guidelines set by the Dept of Education say I am allowed to attend). But this required months and months of meetings, not only between me and the school, but it also involved my parents and my district's superintendent. Many teachers have advised me that this hesitance and oppression from the school administrators is because our school does not want programs like these to spread like wildfire. They do not want hoards of students to be taking these semesters away. I can see this, too, since when I appealed the school to let me skip Chem, they told me to keep it on the down-low. </p>

<p>But the problem now is this: when I return in the spring, my school is not letting me take any of the APs I was accepted into (AP Chem, English Language, Psychology, US) except US, only because we no longer have a non-AP US History course. They said that they can not reserve a vacant seat for me in the fall, because it would be unfair to the students on the waiting list (APs at my school are very competitive and there are long waiting lists for those that drop out). My parents and I are not happy with this because I have worked so hard during freshman and sophomore years to get my GPA and rank high enough to even be accepted to these courses, and now they are being taken away from me because I will be going to an academic enrichment program that is only further cultivating my passions. We have argued with the administration about this but they still refuse to place me in those spring APs. Guidance counselors and some assistant principals are also now fighting against me; they have become belligerent towards my parents at meetings.</p>

<p>Now I know that I no longer want to attend a school where individuality and creativity are shunned and oppressed. I feel that if I return in the spring, I will not have the support of guidance counselors and admins. My parents have been contacting all of their connections, and here are my options:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Apply straight to college as a junior, and skip senior year. I will make sure that the schools I apply to do not require a high school diploma. My numerical stats: expecting SAT to be about 2200 (based on lots of practice tests), and all my SAT-IIs are above 700. Recs and essays are very good. My main extracurriculars are listed above (environmental science stuff) but I have other ECs and leadership roles in politics and social sciences. Hooks are low-income and first generation. If anyone would be so kind and chance me for early admission, I can PM you my full list of numbers and ECs. </p></li>
<li><p>Transfer to private day school in January, after semester school. It's an excellent school, better than my current school. My parents have secured a meeting with the director of admissions at the end of this month. I have a decent chance at this, because my stats make me a good candidate for admission. Also this school has taken the daughter of my mom's friend a few years ago when she transferred in junior year (for academic reasons, not disciplinary).</p></li>
<li><p>Transfer to private boarding school in January. It's a GLADCHEMMS school, which is the CC acronym used for top-tier prep schools. They will consider me for January entry, but this school normally is very selective. However I think I have a decent chance also, because my parents know some people in Admissions there. </p></li>
<li><p>Stay at current high school. The only reason why I would like to stay at the school is that I have firmly established myself already and have a good reputation (among students). I already have leadership roles and a support group of teachers. The thing pushing me away from the school is the administration. I feel like if I return in the spring, I will be targeted at the school by admins and my guidance counselor. This could negatively affect my counselor rec. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I'm not sure what I should do. Right now I am leaning most towards the first option, going straight to college. I know that I am mature enough and emotionally prepared for college. I have always been very independent and have spent weeks abroad away from my parents. In recs, teachers always note that I am mature far beyond my years as a 16 year old. </p>

<p>Thank you so much. I understand that this thread has been extremely extremely lengthy and I really do appreciate everyone for reading this entire thing. Any type of advice or guidance is appreciated. This is certainly an abridged version of my story, so private messages are welcomed if you're interested in hearing more.</p>

2

<p>The problem with the “going straight to college” plan is that top colleges don’t seem to cut much slack for ECs that aren’t as complete as some older students would have or if you have not taken some higher level courses like Calc or Physics, or if you have limited foreign language study. My advice is to look into one of the other high school options you listed. The questions I would have are (1) can you afford options 2 or 3, and (2) will they allow you to move into the AP courses you want to take during 2nd semester?</p>

<p>Also… first gen can be helpful in college admissions, but don’t count on low income being any kind of hook.</p>

3

<p>How about:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Transfer to another local public school that doesn’t have such an oppressive administration, and where you would be able to open enroll into any AP classes you feel like. Look around at the other public options. Surely there are some.</p></li>
<li><p>Home-school status while you take dual-enrollment classes that interest you at a nearby community college. For ideas about this, check out the Home Schooling Forum.</p></li>
</ol>

4

<p>How do you plan on succeeding in courses when you come in at the halfway point? Year-long AP classes build heavily on each other. Are you going to be enrolled in these AP classes while in Brazil? Sorry, but I don’t think your school is really in the wrong here. </p>

<p>With that said, I think you should look in to one of the high school options.</p>

5

<p>Yes, we can afford the private schools because they generally give out good merit and need based aid. Although I will be coming in midway, they offer many scholarships that I am eligible for. </p>

<p>Should I attend one of the private high schools, I will be placed in the APs or highest level courses offered. In terms of beginning an AP class in the middle of the year, I am hoping to get this resolved shortly so I can take the first semester of whatever course online and then the second semester in school. Ideally, I would work with the school and the teacher of the course to make sure I am covering everything that is needed. This is less of an issue with courses like AP English Language and AP Psychology, which are easily self studied. See, I would have done this at my old high school but they are too strict with everything. Even though I had the firm support of the teachers from the AP classes I was accepted into, and they agreed to email me work and assignments so I could keep up and return in the spring smoothly, the school refused to place me in the spring APs. </p>

<p>Oh and I’m not spending the semester in Brazil, that was just one of my extracurricular activities this summer.</p>

6

<p>Thank you, happymomof1. I will look into them, though I am hesitant because the public schools in my area are terrible (the decent one I go to isn’t in my district; it’s a magnet school). I’m also wary of the public school system now because I don’t want to have to deal with the same oppressive rules again. The entire public school system is governed by the same administrative body and is under one set of guidelines. I am also mainly looking at privates because of the better effort and care they put into college guidance, the smaller class sizes, and the better facilities – all of which I now realize are important to me in a school.</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>However, you are talking about coming to school mid-year. These monies may not be available because they have already been allocated for students starting in the fall. Unless you are absolutely certain that your parents can pay out of pocket, I would not count on getting mid year merit or need based aid.</p>

<p>What regents have you taken and passed already? </p>

<p>If you stay in a school system public or private where you are getting a NYS regents/advanced regents diploma, junior year you would most likely be taking the regents in </p>

<p>US History, AL2 Trig, </p>

<p>If you are looking at an Ivy Caliber school, skipping Chem and the associated regents was not a good move. Keep in mind that because of the large number of students from top NYC specialized/magnet students who apply to those schools, there is not a selective college in the country that does not know the NYS public school graduation requirements. With the 3 new diplomas, I think the advanced regents diploma with mastery in math and science is going to be come the new norm for NYS public school students who are considering applying to selective colleges.</p>

<p>If your school is on a Living Environment, Chem, Physics science track? Your not having Chem/physics, especially if your school offers these is going to put you at a disadvantage. It may even prevent you from taking Physics at your current school </p>

<p>If you were looking to take Physics when you return to school, you will have a challenge as far as eligibility for the physics regents because you won’t have the lab requirements.</p>

<p>Some other things to consider:</p>

<p>The English & the Math regents are transitioning to the common core effective June 2014. If you come back the second half of junior year, the exams that you will most likely be scheduled for the Regents Comprehensive Exam in English and the new English regents based on the common core along with the US history and AL2/Trig regents.</p>

<p>If you are looking to get an advanced regents diploma, the AL2/trig regents along with 2 science regents (hopefully you already have living environment/earth science</p>

<p>There are also 3 new regents diplomas (effective June 2013) which is probably going to be a game changer for many students applying to selective colleges</p>

<p>Advanced Regents with mastery in math (same requirements as the advanced regents but you need an 85 on all 3 math regents)</p>

<p>Advanced Regents with mastery in science (same requirements as the advanced regents but you need an 85 on 3 science regents)</p>

<p>Advanced Regents with mastery in math and (same requirements as the advanced regents but you need an 85 on all 3 math regents and an 85 on 3 science regents)</p>

<p>Life is about choices and weighing the pros and cons of the choices that we make. While the semester program sounds amazing, you have to give consideration to the tradeoffs associated with this choice. </p>

<p>I think you are trying to have your cake and eat it too not realizing that while you are looking to win the battle, you could essentially lose the war. Think long and hard about what you want to do and have a plan to present your best self.</p>

8

<p>I would try to take the issues up the ladder at the DOE. Don’t stop with the school principal. See if you can get someone higher up to hear your case. Write a letter to Dennis Walcott if needed.</p>

9

<p>I think Sybbie is giving you some good advice. The truth is that AP English can be taken after a rigorous English course so there’s no reason to worry about that. AP Psych is not considered a very rigorous AP class. AP Chem has a lab component so I don’t see how you would do that online. Also, what math will you be taking? </p>

<p>If you are aiming for a top university or lac, I think you should look into postponing your semester school until after you graduate. Another alternative is to extend your semester school to a full year and then return to junior year at your school (thereby extending high school for a year). If you are considering transferring, look carefully at whether you’ll be able to graduate in another 3 semesters, at whether your unweighted courses will hurt your class rank (whether they officially rank or not) and at whether you will be on track in math/ science for the top classes. If you are interested in environmental science and that’s the way you are presenting yourself to colleges, you need to make sure you have the core science classes.</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>Keep your quarter, because you have just wasted a phone call. I can tell you exactly how this will play out; it is never going to get to Walcott as the call will be fielded to someone in his office (most of them from my experience in dealing with them know absolutely nothing about day HS). </p>

<p>If you are lucky, it will get pushed to your school’s network leader, who will contact your principal. Your principal will state the school’s policy. As long as the policy is consistent and applied to all student, the issue will die on the vine.</p>

<p>However, what most likely will happen, the rep from the chancellor’s office will e-mail your principal with the complaint requesting a response as to what the school has done. Any counselor or administration, worth their paycheck, will simply print out the I-log or refer the ilog to the chancellors office which will be the written documentation of meetings with students, parents, counselors, teachers, admin, etc and the outcome of those meetings. Again, as long as the administration applies the policy consistently to all students, the issue dies on the vine.</p>

<p>Should Op’s parents make a 311 complaint, the issue goes to the network parent coordinator, who again, contacts the parent coordinator at your hs. Repeat steps 1 or 2.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>What OP stated will be the answer given to the chancellor’s office. Student was given the opportunity to take AP courses. However, student has chosen to take a semester course where he will not be enrolled in school. If student is not in school, program gets dropped. When student returns, s/he will be programmed based on what is needed to graduate with the cohort.</p>