I believe you have mis-understood my post. I am not talking about private and/or charter schools. I am referring to the NYC public school system.
The NYC public school start tracking the students from kindergarten/first grade by academic aptitude. In elementary schools, there are gifted classes. In IS level, the gifted classes are generally called "Special Progress" (SP). Specialized High Schools (SHS) is the next logical step. Acceptance criterion into the SHS is based purely on a student's test score on the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT). There are no other factors in the acceptance criterion.
TBH, I pity the ones that get into the SHS any other way. Want to see a slow motion train wreck? A "C" student in a "A" school certainly will qualify as one.
BTW, the SHS are 70+ percent minority. 50+ percent come from families living below the poverty line. Many are from immigrant families. Many will take the subway/bus from all over the city for more than a hour (one way) to get to school. They are there because they wanted to be. For most of the SHS, literally 100 percent graduation rate and college acceptance. The whole system is purely merit based.
I do like the "connection" bit. For a kid from an immigrant family living below the poverty line. There are many priorities. Connection is pretty far down on the list.
For the rest of the high schools in the regular part of the public school system. Some high schools in good/decent neighbors are decent/acceptable. But the best and brightest are no longer there. I've done lots of work in NYC schools and jails. Let me tell you, in some neighborhoods, the high schools are rougher than jails.
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) for 1,100 sq ft plus a full unfinished but insulated basement, right across the street from Regina General Hospital. Her mortgage officer at the Royal Bank in Victoria, B.C. couldn't believe it as that kind of money doesn't even come close to getting you a vacant lot in Victoria.
