East Side Schools Make the Grade

By [Dan Rivoli] The city recently released its list of grades for the city"s schools, and the Upper East Side passed. Of the 11 Upper East Side schools that the city graded's high school grades will be available in November's all but one pulled A"s and B"s. Life Sciences, a school on 320 E. 96th St. between First and Second avenues that caters to students interested in health science, received the only C grade. Last year, the school got a B. The Upper East Side fared better than other areas of the city, which saw several schools drop from an A to a C. But these seemingly poor grades are the result of changes to the city"s methodology. The Department of Education uses three criteria for judging schools: state test scores, attendance rate and a school environment survey given to parents, students and teachers. After last year"s report card gave 84 percent of city schools an A grade, the Department of Education decided to limit the top grade to only 25 percent of schools. The department also put in a floor so that schools with A grades last year could only drop as low as a C. This was due to the state raising the bar on its standardized tests, meaning that more students would have failed it and dragged down the school"s grade, according to a recent Daily News article. Genevieve Stanislaus, the principal at Life Sciences, wants parents to look at more than just the city"s grade when deciding on a school. We stand on our record of attendance and we stand on our record of how well our students do on standardized tests, Stanislaus said. Still, low grades come with real consequences, even if parents and school administrators believe their child"s school is at the top. Schools that received a D, F or C grade for three years in a row are at risk of closing or having the Department of Education change the leadership. â??If a school drops from an A to a C that should be a cause for concern, said Matt Mittenthal, a Department of Education spokesperson.