Four days into school year, registration centers still packed

Bronx registration center, Friday morning
Photo courtesy of the Public AdvocateAt the end of last week, GothamSchools checked out the situation at several registration centers in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. We saw a lot of tired, frustrated families, but in general the centers appeared to be working, albeit slowly.

But apparently not all of the registration centers have been getting the job done. Early this morning, on the fourth day of the school year, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum visited the Bronx Integrated Service Center — and found more than 150 people in line to receive school placements, according to her blog. Some of the families had returned every morning this week but still hadn’t been offered schools for their children, many of whom have special needs, she reported. To make matters worse, Gotbaum writes, she couldn’t find out what was inhibiting the ISC from helping the families, because employees told her they weren’t permitted to speak to her.