Continuing education is often necessary for professional advancement and it’s a great way to stay current with industry trends. It can also be useful for personal growth and development.
Pursuing new educational opportunities may be the key to getting that promotion you’ve been dreaming of. It can also open up doors that were previously closed and lead to a more fulfilling life.
Public Schools
New York City is home to one of the world’s largest school systems. Its public schools are managed by the City School District of New York (also known as the NYC Department of Education), which oversees more than 1,800 separate schools.
Educators are working hard to close the economic opportunity gap between people, and to better prepare students to enter the workforce with a skill set that can be applied in today’s economy. However, gaps in basic academic proficiencies start at an early age and persist throughout the lives of children.
Gaps in educational performance are strongly influenced by race, socioeconomic status and parental income, and have implications across life stages. To help narrow these gaps, The Partnership works to develop strong partnerships between business and educators by providing students with the skills they need to compete in a modern economy.
This is done by establishing career and technical education programs in high growth industries, engaging businesses to define sector-specific skills needed for each industry, and expanding work-based learning opportunities. We also support policies that ensure that all students have the opportunity to access a quality education regardless of their family’s economic circumstances.
Education in New York City is free for most residents from the time they are 4 years old, and children can be assigned to a neighborhood public school or pre-K center based on their home address. However, sought-after elementary schools are increasingly oversubscribed, and living close to a desired school is no longer a guarantee of getting a seat.
For high school, children can enroll in the local public school that covers their grade level or in a special program such as a magnet or gifted and talented school. Graduation rates vary by borough, but are generally higher in Manhattan than in the other boroughs.
To enroll in a public school, parents need to provide documentation such as immunization records, birth certificates or passports and copies of all transcripts from previous schools. In addition, the child’s legal residence must be in New York City. Proof of residency is normally provided by providing a utility bill or other official document showing the home address.
Private Schools
Whether it’s pursuing a degree to advance one’s career or taking liberal arts courses to indulge in a lifelong love of learning, continuing education is a way for adults to reinvent themselves. From the world-renowned programs at NYU’s School of Continuing Studies to local options, this city offers an array of opportunities for adult students to expand their knowledge and gain practical skills.
Parents who want to give their children the best possible education often look to NYC’s private schools for their next educational destination. These highly competitive schools promise state-of-the-art facilities, Ivy League-educated teachers, small class sizes and a full range of extracurricular activities. Many also boast an impressive track record of sending graduates on to the region’s and nation’s top 4-year colleges.
Many of these elite schools are located on the East Side and focus on all-girls or all-boys education. They are characterized by rigorous academics and an intimate, tight-knit community. Some of the most popular include Nightingale-Bamford, Horace Mann, and St. Ann’s. These schools are very popular, and they often have waiting lists for admission.
New York has a century-old law that requires all private schools to teach their students the same subjects as public schools, but the state has been slow to enforce the rule. The state recently announced new rules that will require private schools to teach English and ensure that their teachers are qualified in their subjects, among other things. The move sparked fierce criticism from yeshivas, or ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools. Parents like Beatrice Weber of Rockland County argue that their sons at a Brooklyn yeshiva receive an inadequate secular education, even though the state requires them to spend a certain amount of time in English and on core academic subjects each day.
Some of the most prominent schools in the area are incorporating the new rules. Those that do will be required to obtain a Commissioner’s Consent from the State Department of Education. That process can be lengthy, but the new rules should put pressure on the state to speed up its efforts. The issue is especially pressing for schools that serve a particular religious or ethnic group, such as yeshivas, which will be required to comply with the new rules by June 2022.
Parochial Schools
In the city, there are many highly ranked Catholic high schools that offer rigorous academic programs and opportunities for advanced study. Most of these schools require students to apply, usually through a process that includes teacher sponsorship or recommendations, past standardized test scores, entrance exams and interviews. Many of these schools also offer need-based scholarships.
These schools follow the Catholic faith, but their programming and ethos is broad and inclusive. For example, Loyola School on the Upper East Side is a co-educational Jesuit high school that offers an innovative leadership program as well as a strong emphasis on global citizenship. Meanwhile, Dominican Academy is an all-girls Catholic high school that integrates service experiences into its educational programs.
While these schools have strong academic programs, they can also be a source of stress for some students. Rigorous academic expectations and heavy workloads can lead to burnout and anxiety, especially for students who are balancing other responsibilities outside of school. It’s important to find a balance that allows students to thrive both academically and socially.
The city is also home to a number of nationally-important independent universities and colleges, including Barnard College, Columbia University, Cornell University, New York Institute of Technology, Pace University, Pratt Institute and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. Many of these institutions are nationally renowned and attract students from all over the world. They also offer a wide range of degrees and certificate programs.
The city’s public school system is the largest in the nation, serving 1.1 million students. It’s funded by three levels of government — the federal Department of Education, state-level departments and local school districts. The public school system in the city includes free, full-day Pre-K programs for all children, as well as specialized instruction for gifted and talented students. In addition, the city has a large number of charter schools, which are publicly-funded but privately-operated. Many of these schools are based on the Reggio Emilia approach, an alternative educational philosophy that encourages children to take the lead in their own learning.
Independent Universities & Colleges
A diverse array of private universities and colleges make a significant impact on New York City. The independent sector accounts for nearly a quarter of the state’s economic activity in terms of jobs—direct on-campus jobs, campus construction, and spillover jobs in allied industries—and provides a strong source of innovative ideas, research, development and start-up companies. In fact, the top 10 private colleges in New York accounted for over $7.1 billion in research and development (R&D) expenditures in 2019, with Columbia University leading the way.
The City University of New York (CUNY) system is a large, diversified and innovative academic community that serves 271,000 undergraduate and graduate students at 25 campuses across the five boroughs. CUNY is an integrated system of senior and community colleges, graduate schools and institutes, research centers, and professional schools. The University specializes in high-demand fields, including health, science and technology, the arts, education, teaching, and nursing.
In addition to offering rigorous academic training, the CUNY system has a strong focus on civic engagement and is one of the country’s most active in terms of public-private partnerships. It has a number of co-op programs, in which students work full time for six to eight months on projects that are related to their majors. This approach helps prepare graduates to excel in the workplace and become leaders in their fields.
Among the many outstanding private colleges in New York, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is known for its engineering and science programs, and the New School offers a unique curriculum that includes five autonomous college divisions, each with their own degrees, scholarships and standards of admission. The New School also encourages a student-directed learning approach, encouraging undergraduates to explore before settling on their majors.
The 2022-2023 academic year was a whirlwind of milestones, from student work and performances to campus news and alumni successes. New York is home to dozens of excellent colleges and universities, with tuition well below the national average. With more than 130 four-year institutions, New York is home to some of the nation’s best public colleges, midsize and small liberal arts colleges, a few federal military academies, and several private colleges and universities.
