I think within a certain distance of the student's address, all schools are "neighborhood"?

I don't find it unreasonable that some of the receiving schools have entrance requirements. I'm sure that some of the Homeland Security students are perfectly capable of meeting the requirements they have- it frustrates me that zoned schools are seen as a place for students who aren't bright enough for citywides. At my zone school, I teach students who missed transfer deadlines, students whose parents want them at the traditional family school, students who need to attend school with siblings, etc. who all could get into citywides if the conditions were right.

First off, I want to say that Mergenthaler is definitely NOT stable. If it were a stable place, Mergenthaler would not have people from North Ave. making weekly visits to, ineffectively, try to solve the problem of HUNDREDS of kids not going to class but hanging out in the hallways instead. These kids partake in gambling, fighting (bare-fisted or with weapons), smoking, vandalism, threatening teachers and each other, cursing out teachers and each other, conducting foot races, etc. All the while the principal just sits in her office and makes no attempt to make Mergenthaler's environment conducive to learning. Basically what I am trying to say is that Mergenthaler will probably not be that much better of a place for these kids than Homeland Security Academy was.

Second off, we should all know by now that entrance requirements are rarely met in most of the citywide schools. There are now many citywide schools, each with their own entrance requirements, but the pool of students is just not that deep. Entrance requirements are not requirements anymore but merely targets.