My name is Amy Nicolas, and I am in the 8th grade. I have been studying for the SHSAT for the past two years. I sacrificed my entire summer and every fall and spring weekend throughout 6th and 7th grade just to study for the SHSAT.

I'm creating this Change.org to mandate Mayor De Blasio and the NYC Department of Education to set a test date for the SHSAT. This is a state-mandated exam, protected by State Law,  the Hecht-Calandra Act, and the mayor is violating the law by refusing to set a date for this test. It is extremely unfair to the students studying not even to have a test date yet. There are not even any NYC specialized high school tours scheduled yet. Nothing. As a student of color, I feel betrayed by the system that is supposed to educate me. 

My dream is to attend a specialized high school as my older sister did. My sister attended Bronx High School of Science and graduated in 2020. She now attends Yale University, an Ivy League, and hopes to become a psychologist.  My sister was accepted to YALE and 100% agrees that her acceptance and scholarship were directly connected to her incredible education at a specialized high school for four years.   

There are thousands of students trying to get into the same specialized and screened schools that Mayor De Blasio sent his own kids to. The mayor's kids attended Brooklyn Tech and Beacon for High School. His kids had a study plan months in advance and firm test dates, and they both attended excellent top-rated Ivy League universities and private colleges after graduating from these great schools. Dante De Blasio, the Mayor's son, recently graduated from Yale University after completing Brooklyn Tech.

Would you please sign this change.org petition? Black, Brown, Asian, Caucasian -all children- deserve a chance at being educated at specialized schools. We need to know exactly WHEN this test will happen so we can study and prepare. Would you please help spread the word and demand a date?