G&T applications available for rising 4th and 5th graders
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It’s mid-June, and the gifted and talented universe is buzzing: Not only are kindergarten and 1st grade placements anticipated early next week, the Department of Education is accepting applications for 4th and 5th grade seats in citywide and district G&T programs; the deadline for submission, by mail, is June 26th — the last day of school. Students may apply for 4th grade in schools that encompass kindergarten through grade 5; applications for 5th grade are only permitted at K-6 or K-8 schools.
Students with “baseline scores of level 4” on their standardized state exams are eligible for consideration, according to the DOE, which has set cut scores for current 3rd and 4th grade students for district programs: Third graders need scores of at least 720 and 703 on their ELA and Math exams, respectively, and 4th graders need scores of 716 and 702 or higher, in ELA and Math. We’ve asked the DOE for similar cut scores for citywide schools; if they provide specifics, we’ll pass them along.
The application for families of students currently enrolled in the public schools is here; for families of kids in non-public schools, there’s a separate application, with a carefully-worded paragraph describing the kind of “objective data that demonstrates advanced performance” needed to support a child’s application. (Letters of recommendation, according to the DOE, are not accepted.)
A cautionary note, well-heeded: Seats in upper-grade programs can be very few, and not every program will have open seats this September. Meeting eligibility criteria does not, in any way, guarantee admission to a G&T program.
Look here for details on school tours and open houses. (Another caveat: The tour list that’s linked to the application shows tours at the new citywide schools, which will begin in September only with kindergarten and first grade. Unless the DOE changes the tour page, parents of older students should disregard the listing for the new citywides, although the three established citywide schools — NEST + m, Anderson, and TAG, span all the grades, and could, in theory, have seats for older students.)
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LOL!! You have GOT to be kidding me, right? The possibility of there being an open spot for any kid in G&T this year is slim to none.
Forget it. I’m leaving this drinkwater town, and I am taking my kid, and my tax dollars, with me.
Comment by parentinNYC — June 10, 2009 @ 7:06 pm
IN some districts/schools - lower grade GT (K-3) are capped at 24 kids. In the 4th Grade, it increase to 30 kids. Thus, 6 seats are available. This is how one of my kids made it into GT. That experience helped get her into a GREAT JHS. 3rd Grade Parents whose kids have 4/4 on the NYS exams should apply.
Comment by Anonymous — June 11, 2009 @ 5:56 am
parentinNYC: What’s your beef? There are spots open, maybe not at schools you are interested in but this is not all about you.
Comment by anonymous — June 11, 2009 @ 8:38 am