Look for the "Urban Assembly" schools. They are some of the best.

Avoid regular NYC public schools at all costs. They're a disaster. You'll get classes filled with the worst of the worst and they'll publish your failing test scores in the paper for all to see.

@Drgordy said:

Do you have teaching experience?

TA'd for 3 years. Tutored inner city students in buffalo. Visit a public school in chicago currently as a volunteer. i know what im getting into.

In nyc the exam schools are great. Charters are somtimes good. But traditional public schools are disasters. Apathetic kids and parents. Unions make it worse. Why not find a job in the burbs?

I have been a high school teacher in nyc for the past 10 years. I work at a Career & Tech (CTE) school that students have to apply to and it's a good school, I mean there are challenges but overall good. Lack of parent involvement is #1 and the ridiculous expectations that they have sometimes. For instance a student completely plagiarized a paper and received a 0 and the parent didn't understand why their child received a 0 because she did after all submit a paper (I did have in my course policies that plagiarism will result in a 0).

In NYC students are able to apply to high schools so must high schools are commuter schools. You may want to focus on specialized schools as students may be more motivated because they do get to major in a field of interest (Art, Business etc...) in addition to taking their academic classes. There may be some "unmotivated" students but they may actually have some serious shit going on in their lives where school takes the back seat (e.g. taking care of a mother that is bi-polar) or they have been pushed through elementary school & middle school without acquiring critical skills for high school. The top academic schools are Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech. You can generally tell if it is a specialized or CTE school by the name - Environmental Studies, Fashion High school, Economics & finance but there may be a few exceptions. There are challenges in any school but I personally think that it's not so much the students that make or break a school it is the administration & staff. I am fortunate enough to work with an administration that is supportive (but yes they do try to push their "agenda" . Over the years the city has closed down failing schools and have in turn opened 3 different "smaller" schools in the same building. I know some teachers that work in schools like this and it's tough - 3 different schedules for 3 different schools, lack of ownership of common areas (the lobby, cafeteria, gymnasium) are some issues they have discussed. You really just need to research and read up on the schools. You said your a Chem teacher so that's good, science teachers are always in need in the city - I know that there is still a hiring freeze in effect for some teaching positions but science, math, & special education are the exceptions. I hope this helps.

My buddy is a Chemistry Teacher in NYC - PM me and ill hook you 2 up

^^^
holy shit that is funny.

Good luck, @frump.