Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Me, my husband and 3 kids will be moving from North Yorkshire to Brooklyn in the Summer of 2020. This will be a massive change from a beautiful, rural place, but we've been given an amazing opportunity for my husband to do a part-time funded masters whilst also being salaried and have decided it's too good to turn down. We will only be going for three years initially and anticipate that we will move elsewhere in the US with the company after that depending on visas. Although others we know who have been through this programme have ended up settling in NYC I can't really see that happening as we're not big city types. We had a 'reccy' trip last summer without the kids and visited a couple of schools and neighbourhoods just to get a bit of a feel. We're really excited but it's the school bit that scares me most. We're seriously considering homeschooling our eldest to keep her on the GCSE/A level system. She's very hard working and motivated and is positive about the idea. We've looked into private schools but don't think it will be affordable for us.

Which are the best areas for elementary /middle schools. Our middle child will be joining 5th grade when we move. Would people recommend a k-8 school? Would this avoid the upheaval of him having to move again after just one year?

We almost certainly need to be based in Brooklyn itself. We're interested in the Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights areas. Any suggestions or advice welcome!


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Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

What visa will you be coming on?

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

R1/R2. My husband works for a Christian organisation so he'll be training to be a minister. I am told its easier to get a green card following an R1 as opposed to a student visa.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

NYC School Help

Most of the people who come on here especially with NY are looking at nice areas etc because they can afford the very high costs.

What is you eldest looking to do, you have the funds for a US Uni?

R is the visa with the highest Fraud category, has the organisation done this before?

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Yes I have noticed. We are certainly not in the category of people moving from the UK to NYC to work for the UN or some such. We will get a partial housing allowance, moving costs and comfortable salary. We're looking for a family friendly neighbourhood in Brooklyn with good schools as opposed to top dollar Manhattan.

We are part of a well established Christian organisation whose HQ happens to be in NYC and is affiliated to a major mainstream denomination and Theological seminary. They have centres all over the world and regularly move people between countries.
Sorry if I sound naive but I have to start somewhere!

We have thought ahead and really feel it would be best for our eldest to come back to the UK for university. We are aware of the horrendous costs involved in US study.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Possible that the eldest will be categorised as an International Student in the UK, something to think about.

I do not know if there is a good answer to your question of where, the link I provided may help. Could the Organisation provide help. Sounds like you are not alone.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

https://www.zillow.com/bay-ridge-bro...ny/apartments/

https://www.zillow.com/dyker-heights...ny/apartments/

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

I live in Brooklyn and my daughter is a 4th grader, so I *should* be able to give you advice about schools, but honestly it's so complicated in NYC that I and many other struggle. Rules change from year to year and it's extremely confusing to most people. For example, the school district I live in is district 15 and considered the best in Brooklyn. You are zoned by address for elementary school (although the zones change without notice) and they tend to be segregated (yes - school segregation is alive and kicking in liberal Brooklyn). Last year, middle schools in our district were competitive and you had to have good grades and attendance to get into the good ones that were really highly sought after. However this year the rules have changed in an attempt to desegregate the schools and entrance is by lottery only meaning a kid could end up in a failing school several miles away from their home. People are not happy.

Another option for public schools are charter schools, one of which my daughter attends. The problem is that they are lottery only, but once you're in and they have a middle school and high school option, you never have to apply for another school again. Success Academy is an excellent chain of charters.

The website https://insideschools.org/ is helpful and many people do use school consultants. One was mentioned above, another is Secrets of NYC Schools, but they ain't cheap.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Over here charter 'schools' have a very poor reputation as cherry picking money machines.

When you see some of their teacher vacancies...'No certification required'...sorta gives you a clue.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Thank you so much kateinbrooklyn. When we visited last year we had a long chat with the parent liaison worker at one of the schools we visited and we too found it rather complicated and difficult to understand. From what I can tell charters are better and a little bit more like the UK schools in terms of the school day and uniform etc. But i don't think we'll have much of a choice as our visa will only allow us to move a maximum of 1 month before my husband's new job starts. As i understand it you have to be living in the district and apply for the school place a year in advance?? I imagine this will also rule out charter schools which are highly sought after? That's why we are focusing on finding an area to live in with good schools generally, as we may just be placed in whichever is our nearest school. So a few suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
At least that's what I think was explained to us at the meeting.

In response to the previous post it is a comfortable salary by NY standards - nearly double our current income.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

How much? A comfortable getting by, $120+?

And you think charters are better? Highly sought after?
Why on earth would you think that?
Charters are businesses. They want your $$$. Education is the least of their concerns.

(Admittedly, perhaps they're different over there. I'd like to know.)

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

I think the reputation of charter schools must vary by area. Here in State College, PA, I know of two which are very good. One is the local Quaker school and the other one is a Gulen school. They both run until the end of grade 8 and then feed into the local high school with no apparent issues.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

Same here, an option to bad state schools.

Re: Brooklyn public schools and Brooklyn generally
 

I do appreciate that.
Here in the LA basin they have a very poor reputation.
So, I guess, YMMV.
I'd certainly want credentialed teachers.:lol: