Score reports and applications for students who qualified for kindergarten and 1st grade gifted and talented programs were sent yesterday, April 26, by email and regular mail. There is no word yet on how many students tested and how many qualified this year.

Families of eligible students must submit an application for a district or citywide programs by May 10. Students won’t find out where they are offered a seat until early June — late in the game for many families who are weighing other options.

Incoming kindergartners and 1st graders who score at or above the 90th percentile are guaranteed a seat in a district program, providing they list every available G&T program on their application. Children who score at or above the 97th percentile are eligible for the five citywide programs but not guaranteed a seat. In the past, only children scoring at the highest percentile —  99– were accepted at most of the citywide programs.  Last year 1,000 students scored at the 99th percentile and for only 300 seats. When there are more qualified applicants than seats, there is a random selection process for placement.

Last year some, 3,542 incoming kindergartners were eligible for district or citywide programs as compared to 3,231 the previous year.

Already there is some buzz on neighborhood listservs with parents noting that some schools that offered programs this year will not offer seats for incoming kindergartners this year. PS 10 in Park Slope found out just this morning that there would be no G&T kindergarten class next year,  Parent Coordinator Madeline Seide said.

"The city made the decision -- not we -- that we would not have an incoming kindergarten class next fall," she said, citing the increasing popularity of the school which has grown from 410 students about five years ago to nearly 800 now.

Although the school did not have a waitlist for zoned kindergarten students at the end of March, Seide said there were 350 total kindergarten applicants -- including those from outside the neighborhood -- for only 150 kindergarten seats. PS 10 will be expected to take the overflow of students from other District 15 schools that do have a kindergarten waitlist, she said.

There are a few seats at PS 10 in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade G&T classes which will continue at the school, and, like other schools with G&T programs, the school will offer tours for prospective students before the May 10 application deadline.  Check schools' websites and the DOE's calendar and handbook for details.

We’ve asked the DOE for the statistics on how many students applied for G&T and how many qualified, as well as the district breakdown. We’ll post the information as soon as we get it.

For those of you awaiting a letter, let us know when you get it. And, if you hear about any open houses. post those as well. Please comment below.