Stuyvesant hosted its first orientation program for parents of incoming freshmen on Wednesday, August 29, a day after students attended the annual Camp Stuy.
Assistant Principal Guidance Eleanor Archie organized the event. “I really thought the parents needed to know what Stuyvesant was all about. Just as the child is transitioning, so is the parent,” she said. “I thought it would be really nice to help them with the transition to Stuy.”
The turnout was “much bigger than we expected,” said Parents’ Association Co-President Paola de Kock.
“If the parents are involved from the very beginning, the students have an easier time,” she said. “They’re more likely to stay on target, stay on task, get through the four years in the best possible way.”
The orientation program consisted of two sessions. Parents with children in homerooms 1A to 1L met in the morning session from 7:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the rest of the parents met in the afternoon session from 12:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. Breakfast and lunch were provided.
Each session included two parts. During Part One, parents listened to presentations in the Murray Kahn Theatre. Principal Stanley Teitel greeted parents. Assistant principals then gave overviews of their respective departments.
The other speakers were Parent Coordinator Harvey Blumm, Parents’ Association Co-Presidents Paolo de Kock and Leo Yu Wan Lee, Big Sib Chairs, Student Union representatives, Department of Education Director of Mental Health Scott Bloom, Health Coordinator for the Integrated Service Center of Manhattan Fred Kaesar, parent of former student Sue Schneider, Youth Counsel League Director Janet Johnson, Individualized Educational Plan specialist Jeanne Schultz, Princeton Review representative David Carroll and Alec Klein (’85).
Some Big Sibs said the theatre presentation was exhausting for parents. “The adolescent support session, according to many parents, wasn’t as useful and insightful,” said senior and Big Sib Michelle Lee. “It was too long.”
After each session, Klein held a book signing in the school library for his book, “Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America’s Best High Schools.”
During Part Two, parents visited homerooms to meet their child’s Big Sibs, their guidance counselors, parents of current students and SPARK counselor Angel Colon.
Kock said that it would be beneficial for parents with children in the same homeroom to meet each other. “You can find out things from other parents more readily than navigating all the literature,” she said.
Big Sibs answered parents’ questions. According to Lee, question topics ranged from academics to school safety, including questions like, “Do you guys have a social life?”
Senior and Big Sib Arianna Demas said, “The parents asked a lot of questions that the kids wouldn’t have, like about the technical things.”
Kock said, “Lots of parents really have no idea what the requirements are for various things like Advance Placement courses or what tests you should be taking and when.” Guidance counselors visited their homerooms to discuss academics, course requirements, tests, grading and report cards.
Some parents were surprised by Stuyvesant’s grading policy, which increases in increments of fives up to 88. Parent Ieya Levin said, “I think the points should just go one by one.”
A discussion was also held about the recent restructuring of the guidance department.
In every homeroom, a raffle was held for a copy of Princeton Review’s “The Best 361 Colleges.” All parents received an “I’m a Proud Stuyvesant High School Parent” keychain.
Most parents said that they found the program informative. “I hear from the rumors [that] Stuy is very formal and that they care only about the academics,” said Levin. “We learned that the school actually cares of the psychological condition of the children.”