Your independent guide to NYC public schools

A whopping 1,603 incoming kindergartners scored in the 99th percentile on this year's gifted and talented assessments. Out of 14,239 test-takers, 11 percent scored in the top one percent. You'd think this was Lake Wobegon!

The tests are supposedly designed so that one out of every hundred test-takers nationwide scores in the the 99th percentile. So either New Yorkers are 11-times smarter than people elsewhere (or only smart kids are taking the tests) or there is something wrong with the tests.

For the last two years, just over 1,000 kindergartners scored in the 99th percentile. Scoring between the 97th-99th percentile on the G&T assessments means a child is eligible for one of five citywide programs. But there are fewer than 400 seats for incoming kindergartners. And qualifying siblings of current students get first dibs at those seats. At The Anderson School, 16 of the 50 kindergarten seats will go to siblings. At NEST+M, siblings will get about 15 of the 100 seats; at Brooklyn School of Inquiry, there are 12 qualifying siblings and four at STEM in Queens.

District 20 leaders are bracing for a flood of parents at Wednesday's Community Education Council meeting who want the city to exempt IS 187 Christa McAuliffe from next year's special education requirements, which will force the school to admit more kids with special needs.

Other parents say allowing more special ed kids into the school isn't the problem. These parents want the city to re-open the application process to special needs students at the all-gifted Brooklyn middle school, since so few knew it was an option.

Many parents of special education students – including those with kids at IS 187 - say they had no idea that their beloved school was a possibility. While a small number of special education students do attend the school, it has not enrolled students who require special classes and more intensive services.

Gifted and talented results letters were sent to families last week, and since then our inbox has been full of G&T queries from parents of prospective kindergartners who must apply by April 20. Here are four questions that we answered.

• My 4-year-old is a smart guy. His teacher says he is ahead of the other kids in his pre-kindergarten class, but he got a really low score on the G&T test. He took it on a very cold day and he is rather shy. Can he retake the test? .

The short answer: not this year. There are no re-dos. If your child was ill on the test date, or if there was a problem with the administration of the exam, you had 48 hours to report the problem. He can test again next year when he is in kindergarten. Note, next year it will be it will be a different test mix. The OLSAT will be kept but the Bracken will be replaced by the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test [NNAT].

The good news for this year's gifted and talented kindergarten test-takers? More kids scored high enough to qualify for a citywide G&T program. The bad news? Eligible students have about a 1 in 7 chance of scoring one of those citywide seats.

Of the 14,249 children who tested for the city's gifted and talented programs, 2,656 -- 18% --  qualified for one of five citywide programs. But there are only about 381 citywide seats.  The number of eligible students continues to rise -- about 1000 students scored in the 99th percentile in the last two years. But the number of citywide seats has not risen to meet the demand.

To qualify for the more selective citywide program, children must score between the 97th and 99th percentile on two assessments; for district programs they must score between the 90 to 96th percentile. Fifteen percent of this year's kindergarten test-takers - 2,256 - qualified for district programs.

Some 35% of the kindergarten test-takers -- 4,912 -- are eligible for a G&T program. In 2010 and 2011, 28% qualified.

Parents have started receiving the results of the 2012 tests for entrance to elementary school gifted and talented programs.  Score reports were sent by email and regular mail on April 10, according to the Department of Education.

Along with the results, families receive an application listing programs for which child is eligible. Incoming kindergarten and 1st graders are guaranteed admission for programs in their district as long as they list all of them on their application. Students who score at the 97 to 99th percentile are eligible for five citywide programs. However, given the high number of children who score in the 99th percentile - nearly a quarter of all eligible students last year -  most citywide seats are taken up by those top scorers.

Applications are due on April 20.

Information about the number of qualifying students will be coming soon, according to the DOE. We'll post it when we get it.

Did you get your notice yet?

When I first learned that some parents at IS 187/Christa McAuliffe were gathering signatures to fight an increased percentage of special education students enrolling at their school, I was reminded of an event from my childhood.

When I was 9 or 10 -- about the same age as my son Brooks is now -- neighbors came around with a petition to stop the construction of an apartment development for people with physical disabilities. I have a distinct memory of my dad's immediate disdain for the folks at the door who were far more concerned with their property values than with anyone else's hardships. That was way before he became the grandfather of an autistic child, or for that matter, had any personal relationship with anyone who might benefit from the new housing. It was simply a human knee-jerk reaction—he knew right from wrong, and this was wrong.

I'm having the same reaction to the campaigning Christa McAuliffe parents.

And it's not just me—if you read the 46-and-counting comments on Meredith Kolodner's post, you'll find similar outrage. But you'll also find that these parents are being defended for reasons that make a lot of sense.

Some parents at a top middle school are fighting to stop special education students from “taking seats” from students whose test scores may be higher.

The parents at Brooklyn’s IS 187/Christa McAuliffe, where students must ace standardized exams to be admitted, fear that combining special and general education students in the same classrooms will reduce the level of education. “No parent is going to want their kid in those classes,” said IS 187 PTA co-vice president Virginia Cantone. “The truth of the matter is that the wide spectrum of challenges is too great for any of the children to learn, it’s too great of a difference.”

The parents have been petitioning, emailing elected officials and plan to leaflet elementary schools in southern Brooklyn’s District 20 to convince other parents to join their drive to get Christa McAuliffe exempted from the new special education requirements.

The city’s planned special education reforms mean that nearly all city schools--including most selective programs--must admit the same proportion of special education students, ending a practice in which some schools got huge numbers of special needs children and others got almost none. The specialized high schools and the five city-wide gifted and talented schools are exempt, and some Christa McAuliffe parents think they should be too. IS 187 is the most sought-after school in District 20. Students are admitted based on their state reading and math scores and their scores on a separate test known as OLSAT.

Christa McAuliffe parents don't object to special needs children who meet the school's entrance requirements--as 19 current students have done. These children are high achieving but may have other special needs such as Attention Deficit Disorder or Asperger's syndrone. Neither do the parents object to the 30 very disabled children who attend the school but who are segregated in what are called "self-contained" classrooms. The parents say they would not mind having more of these students since they “don’t mix in the same classrooms.” Rather, the parents are objecting to setting aside seats for special needs children who may not have scored as high on the exams as the rest of the students in the school.  

At most of the selective high schools, seats are being held for special education students who must meet the same criteria as the general education students (mostly by scoring a Level 3 or Level 4 on state exams). In McAuliffe’s case, there will be two pools of students created-–one for students with disabilities and one for general education students. The highest scorers in each pool will be admitted. The school has been told they need to admit about 25 special education students into next year’s 6th grade class.

“There will be children who will be crushed who could have gotten into Christa McAuliffe who will have to be in a regular general education class at another school instead,” said Cantone.

Advocates noted that many students with disabilities were also gifted.

“There is a broad spectrum with children with disabilities and many more of them should have access to quality programs,” said Maggie Moroff of Advocates for Children.  “With the appropriate support and services, there’s no reason those children shouldn’t be able to achieve at the same level as their more typically developing peers.” She expressed concern, however, that the DOE may not have made adequate plans to give disabled children the support they need in classes for the gifted.

A handful of schools, such at NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies, have successfully integrated high-achieving special needs children in mainstream classes. These schools have spent years planning and refining their practice so, for example, a math whiz who is also dyslexic gets the help he needs in reading while taking advanced math classes.

The upset parents at IS 187 have gone on an email campaign, delivered petitions to local politicians and are hoping to bring like-minded parents to the next month’s Community Education Council. The District 20 CEC has not taken a position on the issue.

Education Department officials said they were working with the principal and the school community to help them understand the changes but do not plan on exempting the school.

Advocates who support the reforms said they were disturbed but not surprised by the parent response.

“This is a warning sign for us all,” said Jean Mizutani, program director at Resources for Children with Special Needs. “There will be a backlash. I think it’s going to be a challenge for everyone.”

It's not just elite high schools that are being told to increase the number of special education students. The Education Department is also directing selective middle schools to take more students with special needs.

At a meeting on Tuesday, staffers from several top-performing middle schools in southern Brooklyn were told to prepare for a significant increase in next year's sixth grade class. The schools must enroll a similar number of special education students as other schools in their districts.

Among the schools that need to make a dramatic shift is the Christa McAuliffe School in Bensonhurst, where 3% of the students have special needs compared with an average of 13% at all middle schools in the district. Also included are Bay Academy in Sheepshead Bay and Mark Twain in Coney Island, where fewer than 4% of the students have special needs, compared with 16% at middle schools districtwide.

If you missed our forum on "How to apply to public elementary school," you can watch it below. (Please bear with us for the 30 second ad before the video starts).

If you'd like to see more events like this, please email our co-sponsor, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

If you prefer words to video, here's a summary of my talk from the event:

Starting kindergarten is an exciting time for you and your child. But it can be a scary time as well. We're here to try to help you relax. There are a lot of lovely kindergartens out there and we'll help you find one for your child. We'll tell you about different kinds of schools available to you. But first, let's look at a video that will give you an idea of what to look for in a school:

Now I'm going to tell you about the different kinds of schools.

You can apply to as many schools as you like, your zoned neighborhood school, or another neighborhood school that might have space, or a special program such as a dual language program or a charter school.

One thing I want to make clear: Your child is entitled to a seat in kindergarten the year he turns 5. You are not required to send him until he is 6, but he is entitled to a spot in kindergarten if you want it. If you wait too long—if you just show up in August—your neighborhood school may not have any room and your child will be sent to another school. But they have to find a place for your child someplace.

Neighborhood schools:

Most kids in the city go to their zoned neighborhood schools. The advantages: it's close to home. It can build a sense of community. Kids get tired travelling. If you are considering a good school close to home or a great school miles away, I'd choose the good school close to home. Tours are going on now. Not all schools offer them. If you can't go on a tour, go to a PTA meeting or talk to parents at drop off in the morning.

No school is perfect. Think about "What can you fix, and what's impossible to fix?" My kids' school only had phys ed once a week, but we signed them up for West Side Soccer League on the weekends. Other things are harder to fix: if the principal is really unfriendly to parents, for example.

Most neighborhood schools have room for all their zoned kids. There are pockets of overcrowding: PS 41, PS 234 in Manhattan, District 24 (Elmhurst, Maspeth) in Queens and possibly District 20 (Sunset Park and Bay Ridge).

It used to be that parents just registered their children at their neighborhood school, but now there is a 2-step process. You "apply" between now and March 2. Don't bring your child, just your documents. Then you hear where you child has been "accepted" and you "register" –bring your child—sometime after March 26.

Now is the time to consider other options as well.

Unzoned schools:

Some schools are open to children from across a whole district or even across the city. These schools don't require an exam. Some of these were set up as alternatives to traditional neighborhood schools. Some are progressive schools, where children learn by doing, with lots of blocks, no text books, and fun-to-read picture books. Your child may call teachers by first name. Here are some unzoned schools: Ella Baker, Central Park East and the Neighborhood School in Manhattan, Bronx New School, Brooklyn New School.

The deadline to apply to these schools is March 2.

Dual language programs:

Dual language immersion programs have classes in which half the students are native speakers of English, and half speak another language (Spanish, Chinese or French, for example). Classes are taught in each language on alternative days or weeks, and the children are expected to become fluent in both. These programs shouldn't be confused with bilingual or English as a Second Language classes, designed to teach English to non-English speakers. Some dual language programs are PS 75, PS 87, PS 20, and PS 84 in Manhattan and PS 84 in Brooklyn.

The deadline to apply to these schools is March 2.

Magnet programs:

Magnet programs are designed to foster racial integration. They receive federal or state funding for special programs (such as art, drama or law) to make the school attractive to children of different races who might not otherwise attend, and they admit children from outside their immediate neighborhood. PS 145 on the Upper West Side and PS 201 in Queens are two magnet schools.

The deadline to apply to these schools is April 20. Lainie Leber from will tell us more about magnet programs on the Upper West Side and Queens. 

Charter schools:

Charter schools are public schools, but they are not run by the Department of Education. Admission is by lottery. Each school has its own deadline, but all are by April 1.

They are mostly in low-income neighborhoods where parents were fed up with their other options. Now there are a few in middle class neighborhoods as well. Honestly, charter schools are a mixed bag. Some are great, some are a mess. It used to be they had to find their own space, now Mayor Bloomberg gives them space in ordinary public schools. There's a lot of resentment over shared space.

There are two kinds of charter schools, what we call "mom and pops," versus the networks. The "mom and pops" are individual schools, mostly organized by community groups. For example, the Hellenic Charter School in Park Slope teaches Greek. The networks are a group of charters all managed by the same organization and all with the same philosophy. For example, Harlem Success Academy has a number of schools in the Bronx and Manhattan and they are opening some in Brooklyn as well.

Charter schools can have very different approaches to education. Some are very traditional, like the Achievement First schools, with lots of rules, uniforms, teachers who are given very precise instruction about how and what to teach. Others are more progressive, like Renaissance Charter School in Queens or Community Roots in Brooklyn.

There are 30 new charter schools opening next fall, if they are approved and can find space.

Later, we'll be hearing from Sonya Hooks from the City's charter school office. 

Gifted programs:

The deadline for gifted programs for fall 2012 has already passed. I'm going to let Robin Aronow talk to you more about gifted programs. But let me give you my thoughts. In most cases, I don't think gifted programs are necessary for very young children. A lot of what you need to learn in elementary school is social rather than cognitive. What you want is a teacher who can challenge different abilities in one class: If you see one child is reading an easy book like "Frog and Toad", while another is reading a chapter book like "Charlotte's Web", that's a good sign. By middle school (or even the upper elementary grades), it is very hard to teach different levels in same class: gifted programs make sense here. Also, gifted programs make sense if your neighborhood school is really not very good.

Special education:

We are lucky to have Randi Levine from Advocates for Children here to answer your questions about special education. But let me give you some general outlines and tips. I advise everyone to look at special education services in a school, whether or not you think your child needs them. That's because it will give you a clue about how the school will treat your child if he ever hits a bump—if he has trouble learning to read, or if there's a family crisis and he needs counseling. You want a school that includes special needs children in the regular activities of the school, not one that segregates them in the basement.

About 17,000 kindergartners will be getting special education services this fall, everything from speech therapy, to counseling, to a placement in an extra-small class with a specially trained teacher. If your child is one of them, you are entitled to apply to schools just like anyone else, and you'll find out what school he is assigned to just like everyone else.

In the past, some schools offered particular services--like help for deaf kids-- and some did not, and if your child needed the services he had to go to another school. Now, the Department of Education wants to make sure that every school can serve every child. This is one of those ideas that is good in theory but is causing lots of problems in practice.

If your child needs a small class (self-contained) or a class with two teachers (CTT or ICT), you used to apply through a central office and now you are applying at your neighborhood school. Some of the schools are prepared for this, some aren't. Basically, you are expected to apply for school before you know what your child needs and before you know what the school offers.

The Department of Education is holding workshops at the end of the month. If your child has special needs, it's a good idea to go.

In the midst of the kindergarten application season, the Department of Education has posted its first-ever directory of all public elementary schools in the city. The listing indicates which are zoned schools, which are unzoned, and which have gifted and talented, dual language or magnet programs.

The 80-page 2012-2013 directory [PDF] should be an especially helpful tool for parents of five-year-olds seeking alternatives to their neighborhood schools. It explains the kindergarten application process, defines the priorities for admission to each program, and how the waitlist works for schools with more applicants than available space. All parents of incoming kindergartners may apply individually to as many schools as they wish -- but the best odds of admission to a school you aren't zoned for is at a school with special programs.