Most, if not all, of our elementary and middle schools do have "friendly" names, and as far as I'm aware all the high schools have and go by actual names. Exam

Most, if not all, of our elementary and middle schools do have "friendly" names, and as far as I'm aware all the high schools have and go by actual names. Examples: I went to PS 230 and 217, the names of which I never knew nor can remember now, then to Cunningham IS 234, and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. And, having gone through the public school system in NYC, I can tell you first hand that the right district can make all the difference, mostly because of the environment. A smart student will always be a smart student, but a smart student in a poor environment might well end up incredibly bored when he is unable to move beyond the level that the school teaches at. The largest problem facing the NYC school system has been, for years, the high student to teacher ratio. When I was in elementary, the number was something like 32:1, at one point I remember having 36 kids in my 4th or 5th grade class. The benefit that 'good' schools and districts have are that they usually don't have to abide by the same standards as the rest of the city in teaching and course material. So, while class size might still be rather large (it's gotten better I'm told), teachers are at least free to teach at a higher level and hopefully make a bigger impact.