Parents Cry Foul Over High School Placements

By: Taunia Hottman

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Thousands of Manhattan parents are up in arms after being told last week that their kids won't get to go to the high schools of their choice.

The students were told that despite their good grades and extracurricular activities, they were not admitted into one of their top five picks.

A total of 7,500 students are now looking for alternate schools.

Parents attended an information fair Tuesday at Martin Luther King High School to help them search for a new school.

While the Department of Education says a majority of students throughout the city were matched with their top picks, parents say the system is failing their kids.

"As of now, our children are in limbo. It's ridiculous. This should not be happening. The chancellor has to do a better job than this," said one parent.

"I don't think there's a problem with the system. The system is matching over 90 percent of the kids. So, you know, there are people that are not getting matched, and we are providing this opportunity to get them matched," said Lenny Trerotola, Executive Director of High School Enrollment.

The DOE says students will be able to choose from more than a hundred schools in the second round of the admissions process. The agency says every student will be assigned a high school by the end of April.