NYC middle school admissions period delayed amid issues with MySchools platform, officials say

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New York City middle school applications will open about a week later than anticipated, after technical issues with the city’s MySchools portal forced officials to push back the start date.

Thousands of fifth grade families were likely furiously checking their MySchools accounts on Wednesday afternoon, when applications were slated to open, only to be greeted by a message from the Education Department saying they were making updates to the platform and to check back soon. Eventually, officials updated the Education Department’s website and contacted applicants to announce that the admissions period will instead kick off next week.

Officials are expected to provide more details on the new timeline on Oct. 15, according to the Education Department’s website .

In a statement, Jenna Lyle, an Education Department spokesperson, said the “application close date will be adjusted accordingly.”

“Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties impacting the MySchools website, the opening of the Middle School Application Portal will be delayed until next week,” she said. “Families are reminded that applications are not first come, first served, and can be submitted at any time during the application window. Notifications have been sent to all prospective applicants via email, and we apologize to our families for the inconvenience.”

Education Department officials did not comment on what caused the technical difficulties.

The delay comes as this year’s batch of fifth graders will be able to apply widely to middle schools across the city for the first time, instead of largely being limited to their home zone or district. It also means families applying to middle school will likely have to wait another week before learning their randomly assigned number.

Often referred to as a “lottery” number , the string of 32 numbers and letters is used as a tiebreaker when there are more applicants in a particular priority group than seats available at a school. Families were expected to be able to view their random numbers after starting their applications in MySchools.

Many middle schools admit students based on their randomly assigned number, using it to allocate seats for students within similar priority groups, such as those who live within a specific zone or district.

Others, meanwhile, rank students based on specific criteria, like those that use auditions or academic screens. Academic screens were initially paused during the pandemic, then brought back in some districts at the discretion of each of the city’s 32 local school district superintendents.

The city kicked off its notoriously complex high school admissions process last week without a hitch. But in the past, the Education Department has experienced major technical difficulties, including a meltdown in February that shut students out of virtual classes during a remote snow day.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org .