Blueprint’s School Access and Quality (SAQ) Fellowship provides an opportunity for K-12 enrollment leaders to learn the latest research, discuss the challenges they face, and share best practices. In this post, Daniel Hildreth discusses his work at New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) and his time in the SAQ Fellowship
Over the last 12 years, Daniel Hildreth has worked in nearly every role on his team at the NYCPS Office of Student Enrollment, from entry-level through his current role. Now, as the Executive Director of Elementary Admissions, he uses this experience to guide an efficient, ever-improving elementary admissions process. Hildreth shared that playing so many roles over the years has allowed him to understand the work from many perspectives, from “a day-to-day maintenance perspective” to that of his current role, which involves “much longer-term planning and projecting priorities for the office.”
The Office of Student Enrollment manages all things admissions in New York City. They work with schools, families, and the administration to enroll students in schools across the city, building the website that families use to register for schools, communicating with schools about enrollment, supporting families as they apply, and conducting the assignment process. In New York City, this is a big task; NYCPS is the largest public school district in the country, enrolling over 900,000 students in the 2023–24 school year. Hildreth notes that “this is an aspect of schooling… that isn’t really about teaching and learning, but is absolutely necessary to get the child through the door.”
When Hildreth first joined NYCPS, the Kindergarten admissions process looked very different than it does now. At that time, each school controlled its own admissions. Consequently, if families wanted to apply to more than one school, they had to visit each in person and apply on a first-come, first-served basis. Hildreth notes, “That created a competition in New York City public schooling that really should not [exist].” Some families lined up at schools overnight to ensure their child earned a seat.
In Hildreth’s second year on the job, NYCPS adopted a centralized enrollment system for Kindergarten admissions. The Office of Student Enrollment took control of elementary admissions citywide, creating a unified process for families applying to multiple schools. In one year, Hildreth’s team was responsible for centralizing enrollment and clearly communicating the change. Hildreth says, “Year 1 was overwhelmingly successful, with lots of area to improve.”
In the decade since, Hildreth and his team have committed to implementing those improvements. Cycling through the same enrollment process year after year may start to feel repetitive, but Hildreth motivates himself and his team by focusing on the bigger picture. The focus of their work, he says, is “slowly improving, and ideally perfecting, a process over time.”
Hildreth has greatly enjoyed learning the intricacies of New York City’s elaborate admissions process. “With this type of work—with public service work in general—there’s a lot of opportunity to further explore something that might seem simple or pedestrian from the outside,” he states. Learning this system also gives him the opportunity to better understand New York City itself. “I love New York City,” Hildreth says. “This is a great way to learn the boroughs… [and] the unique dynamics of specific neighborhoods.”
Joining Blueprint’s School Access and Quality Fellowship in 2022 gave Hildreth a new perspective on his work. “I did not really understand that there were people who do what I do across the country,” Hildreth shares. “What I realized very quickly was that we all have the same challenges… [and] the same problems of varying degrees and scale.” Representing the largest public school district in the country, Hildreth felt that other Fellows often looked to NYCPS as an example. Holding this role in a collective, he says, “held me to a higher standard.”
If anything, he wishes he had known about the SAQ Fellowship sooner. “I was almost 10 years into my career when I had this opportunity,” he says. “I could have used this a lot earlier.” Since Hildreth participated in the Fellowship, several more NYCPS leaders have also joined. One member of Hildreth’s elementary admissions team—working in one of the roles Hildreth used to hold—is part of the current cohort. “It creates so much investment and ownership over the work,” Hildreth says. “It’s really good for keeping folks engaged.” Given the difficulty of facilitating a system that serves hundreds of thousands of students, opportunities for community and engagement are critical.
Interested in learning more about the SAQ Fellowship? Visit our website.