The due date for Gifted and Talented applications for qualifying elementary school students is Friday, April 30. Among the hundreds who submitted commentsto Insideschools on this topic, some raised questions and asked us to clarify. Thanks to all the posters who chimed in to answer one another!

Here are a few of the questions and what we've been able to find out:

  • Parents reported conflicting information on the applications about whether qualifying kindergartners and 1st graders are guaranteed a seat in a district program. Kindergarten and 1st graders are guaranteed a seat if they list all programs; 2nd and 3rd graders are only placed if there is space available. There is no guarantee of placement in a citywide program.
  • At least one parent reported that her district options on the online application were different than those on the paper application. The DOE did not confirm that this was a problem (although they said it might be if the parent had moved or had a different address.) Bottom line: to be safe, compare the options on the paper application with those online. If they are different, double-check with the enrollment office.
  • Do children scoring 99 fill all the citywide seats? It is true that while a child scoring at the 97% and above is eligible for a citywide program, there are many more children scoring 99 than there are seats available at the most popular citywide and district programs. When there are more eligible applicants within a percentile than available seats, slots are randomly assigned in that percentile. There is no such thing as a high or low 99%.
  • Parents asked about openings in the citywide programs, especially in the older grades. Here's what we found out: Anderson has 50 seats for kindergarten, but about 10 of them will be taken by siblings, leaving 39 or 40 seats for non-siblings. Anderson anticipates two seats open for 1st graders, one in grade 2, and none in grade 3. NEST+M only has openings for kindergarten. TAG has 50 openings for kindergarten and between 12-20 seats for grades 1-3. Last year the lowest score accepted at TAG was 97; however this year the school may accept students with scores lower than 97 as well, the parent coordinator said. TAG is the only G&T program in its district. STEM at PS 85 in Queens has only 13 students in its kindergarten class this year and will take up to two incoming kindergarten classes for next year (depending upon demand.) The Brooklyn School of Inquiry anticipates accepting two classes of 28 kindergartners and will have 3-5 openings in both grades 1 and 2.
  • Can you decline a seat offered at one school and be considered for a seat at another school if one opens up? According to the G&T office: "Offers are final and there is no wait list. Parents must either accept or decline the offer of placement."

We'll post further information if we get it. Keep us informed as you get news.