When Mayor Bloomberg took control of the schools and did away with the Board of Education and local school boards in 2002, the newly-formed Department of Education created 10 large regions and implemented a series of changes, including parent coordinators, regional superintendents and the establishment of Community Education Councils.

Two years ago, the schools went through another big restructuring. The 10 regions have been dissolved, and the system is again divided into 32 local district offices, with a community superintendent in charge of each.

Here’s an overview of some of the changes parents can expect:

Registration Centers

The Bronx has three registration centers that are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Sept. 12 to help new students with enrollment. Staff at each center will meet with students and their parents to complete registration. The Bronx centers are at PS/IS 194, 1304 Zerega Ave.; South Bronx Campus, 701 St. Ann’s Ave.; and the Theodore Roosevelt H.S. campus, 500 E, Fordham Rd.

New elementary and middle school students who have a zoned school can register at their zoned school. Parents can find their child’s zoned school by calling 311 or visiting the DOE’s website at http://schools. nyc.gov/ FindASchool/default.htm.

Community Superintendents and High School Superintendents

In 2007, Chancellor Joel Klein appointed 32 community superintendents and nine high school superintendents. The superintendents appoint principals and act as rating officers for principals and will also serve as liaisons to Community Education Councils. Many of the appointed superintendents were already serving as community superintendents, including the woman selected to oversee District 10, Sonia Menendez. She is based at the 1 Fordham Plaza office that has historically served as the District 10 headquarters and then, for a time, served as the Region 1 office.

Office of Parent Engagement

In March of 2007, after parents expressed outrage over the reorganization of the bus routes and lack of parent input in the restructuring of the schools, Brooklyn parent activist Martine Guerrier was appointed Chief Family Engagement Officer.

Now, each district operates an Office of Parent Engagement, staffed by a district family advocate. To reach the family advocate for District 10, call (718) 741-5835. High School families should call the borough director’s office at (718) 828-2578.

Parent Coordinators

In 2002, the chancellor and mayor created the position of “Parent Coordinator” to make sure there was someone in each school directly responsible for supporting families. The parent coordinator is the first person families should contact when they have any questions or concerns about their children’s schools. This group works closely with school administration, staff, teams, associations and councils to bring parental and school relations to a better level. Parents who wish to contact their school’s coordinator should call 311 or visit the DOE’s website at http://schools.nyc.gov/ FindASchool/default.htm.

Assessment

Schools now have access to new periodic assessment tools that give teachers information about student progress, including a detailed analysis of each skill tested. This allows teachers to quickly adjust their instruction to match students’ strengths and weaknesses, according to the Department of Education. Students will be assessed five times a year in grades 3-8 and four times a year in high school in both English language arts and math.

ARIS (Assessment, Review, and Instruction System), a fairly new computer system adopted by the schools, allows parents and teachers to track each student’s progress. Both parents and schools now have the ability to access the ARIS system online. In addition, parents will receive progress reports from the participating schools, grading the schools from A-F based on the school environment, student performance and student progress.