Passover fuels shift in HS entrance test
Alternate exam day offered after Jewish families protest
Hunter College High School announced Wednesday an alternate day for its entrance exam following backlash from Jewish families over a scheduling conflict with the Passover holiday.
The highly selective public school announced last week that the test will be held April 5, the day Passover begins at sundown. Families were told their children could not make up the exam on another date — forcing them to choose between the holiday or applying. School policy posted online confirmed no makeup dates were permitted.
But Hunter said Wednesday it would offer another testing date the day before the holiday, on April 4, upon request.
“We always knew we would need to make accommodations,” said Hunter spokesman Vince DiMiceli.
“That was not reflected on the Campus School website. It is so now.”
Although Passover begins at sundown, people often travel to celebrate with family.
“This could be one of those life-altering decisions,” said Erica Rahavy, who had flights booked to Florida that day to share the traditional Seder meal with family that lives there. “If my son were to get in, he would go. It would be a nonquestion.”
Rahavy added that she had yet to tell her son about the conflict. “I was hoping to come back with better news for him. It’s high on his list [of top schools],” she said.
Passover officially begins at sundown on a Wednesday this year. The holiday, which commemorates the Jewish people’s Exodus from Egypt, features the reading of the Haggadah and many traditional foods with symbolic meanings.
“Even though the holiday starts in the evening, for a Jewish family this is one of the busiest days of the year with numerous required preparations,” said Effi Zakry, a Queens parent representative to the Panel for Educational Policy, and, previously, a member of the Citywide Council on High Schools.
Schools are closed Thursday and Friday that week for one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.
Hunter hopefuls can qualify to apply based on their state test scores or grades from the fifth grade.
The Upper East Side school is publicly funded and operated by the City University of New York.
Students found eligible can sit for the school’s three-hour entrance exam, including two multiple-choice sections for reading and math, and an essay or creative writing assignment.
More than 3,000 candidates take the test each year, but only 180 are offered seats, officials said. Applicants typically only have one shot at the highly competitive admissions for the seventh grade. “The [Hunter College High School] Entrance Exam is administered once per year only, with no makeup or alternate dates,” reads the school’s website.
“We would also like to point out that April 5 is a full day of school for all Department of Education students,” said DiMiceli, the spokesman.
The recent controversy is not the first time the entrance exam has come under fire.
Some student advocates and dozens of elected officials have demanded that Hunter make permanent changes to its admissions process to increase diversity, citing “deep concern” about racial and economic segregation.
Applications open Friday and close next month on March 17.