How the NYC School Placement Process Works
Basic Idea
Families get to rank up to 12 top-choice public schools; they can also concurrently apply to charter schools.
Children will end up being matched with the highest-ranking school they chose that gave them an offer.
Schools first offer seats to students who are in the first priority group before moving onto the next priority group — priority is given to students who live in a specific zone or have a sibling who is already attending the school. (Screened schools will prioritize children with high grades). If there are more applicants in a specific priority group than the school can accomodate, the school will do a randomized lottery.
Basic Terminology
District – New York City is divided into 32 districts.
Zone – each district is divided into many more zones.
Zoned school – a school that accepts children who live in that specific zone. Your child is guaranteed a seat at one of your zoned schools.
Unzoned schools (i.e., choice school) - NYC students can attend regardless of the zone they live in
Priority: there are some factors that will give your child priority in placement, including:
Living in the zone
Having a sibling in the school system
Screened schools – will accept children who have good grades and test scores. Additionally, essays are often required for admission.
Specialized high schools – require the SHSAT for acceptance.
Charter school - Charter schools are independent public schools that operate under a contract (or "charter"). Charter schools are New York City public schools, and they are open to all New York City students. However, many charter schools have unique educational approaches that may include longer school days, a longer school year, or themed programs.
Who should be ranking schools
All NYC children apply for schools at several points in their educational journey.
Application points are:
Why should parents rank schools
No school is perfect for every child. This is an individual process to find a school that fits your child’s needs.
There are over 1,700 schools in NYC. All of them have different strengths and weaknesses. Now is the time to learn about what each school would offer your child!
Factors to consider
Location and accessibility
Extracurricular activities
Teachers, guidance counselors, and leadership – degree of support and nurturance
Parent feedback about the schools
Student sense of safety
Graduation rate/ college matriculation rate/ college readiness rate
School environment
Student-teacher ratio
Size of school
Special education programming:
All NYC DOE schools are legally required to provide special education. However, some of the schools provide more than others. Ask specific questions about your child and their unique needs and how their needs would be best served. Try to speak with the IEP coordinator and/or special ed teachers about your child.
How to obtain more information
Guidance counselor at your current school
DOE Family Welcome Center
Set up an appointment and go in person. A DOE representative will help guide you with the school search process.
The following site is the closest to ABC: Morningside Family Welcome Center, 123 Morningside Drive, Room 235, New York, NY 10027 (Email: MorningsideFWC@schools.nyc.gov | Phone: 332-228-0312 | Director: Nyeema Byrnes James)
Find out more information by clicking here.
Consult families who have gone through and understand the process. (There are Facebook groups you can join!)
School tours – Sign up in advance for school tours and open houses (Look online/ call for specific information).
Go and visit a class.
Speak with school staff.
Ask specific questions.
You can use MySchools.nyc to research DOE public schools and submit your rankings. Please note that no charter schools will show up on MySchools.nyc.
First, create an account using your child’s student ID (which you can find on your child’s report card) and registration code (which you will be receiving from the school)
After you create an account, you can see the schools your child is eligible to attend. Use filters to look at schools based on its size, extracurricular offerings, and interest areas.
After you create an account, you can see the schools your child is eligible to attend. Use filters to search for schools based on its size, extracurricular offerings, and interest areas.
Click on each school to find out more information. You should be able to see 4-year graduation rate, college matriculation rate, student sense of safety, and student satisfaction with school programming.
Scroll all the way down and click on the school name again to expand, where you will be able to find admissions related information, including how many applicants applied per each available seat last year.
You can use Inside Schools to research both DOE public schools and charter schools. However, you can’t submit your school rankings from here.
Similarly to My Schools, you can use it to find the schools in your area. Use the icons to identify if the school is public or charter.
Click on each school to find more information about its academics and environment.
NOTE: You should take survey results (ex: How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?) with a grain of salt. Since people who have had a negative experience are more likely to write a review, your results may be skewed. Do not rule out a school simply based on the survey results - ultimately, nothing will give you a better indication of how the school is run than seeing it in person.
Steps for Admissions
For DOE public schools:
Create a www.myschools.nyc account
Start doing research – we recommend you get a notebook so you can keep track of the pros and cons of each school
Use My Schools and Inside Schools
School Tours: Visit a class, Speak with school staff, Ask specific questions.
Rank your top 12 choices
For charter schools:
Many of them are on this website (https://charternyc.org/apply-online/) so this is a good place to get started
However, many charter schools have their own application system, so you want to check the school website
Charter schools often prioritize children living in specific zip codes & children with siblings in the school
You can apply to as many charter schools as you want!
Tips for ranking schools
Rank them in your true order of preference – this is the best strategy.
Do not rank schools that your child does not qualify for
Do not only rank high demand programs. A school is considered to be average demand if it has 3 or fewer applicants per seat.
Make sure you have 3 schools where your child is in the highest priority group (meaning they live in the right zone or have a sibling in the school)
Timeline for school placement
DOE High School:
High School Application & Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) Registration Opens - October 3, 2023
Friday, October 27, 2023: SHSAT Registration Closes
Wednesday, November 8, 2023: SHSAT School Day Testing
Friday, December 1, 2023: High School Application Closes
Thursday, March 7, 2024: High School Offer Release
DOE Middle School:
Wednesday, October 11, 2023: Middle School Application Opens
Friday, November 10, 2023: Deadline to register to test for Mark Twain I.S. 239 (21K239) and District 21 Talent Tests
Friday, December 8, 2023: Middle School Application Closes
Wednesday, April 3, 2024: Middle School Offer Release
Charter School:
From October to April, you should be researching schools and applying. You will find out your results in April.
Some schools have rolling admissions, so apply early.
Make sure to check the school you are interested in for specific information!
Specialized High Schools
There are 8 schools in NYC you can only get into by taking the SHSAT and scoring high. They are highly competitive.
Find more info here: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/enroll-grade-by-grade/specialized-high-schools