Score reports and applications for students who qualified for kindergarten and 1st grade gifted and talented programs are to be sent no later than today, April 16, according to the Department of Education.Letters will be mailed to eligible students who then must fill out an application for seats in district or citywide programs. Applications are due by April 30. 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 -- 98 or 99-- were accepted at the most sought-after Manhattan programs: Anderson and NEST+M.

No word yet from the DOE about how many children qualified for gifted programs this year. Last year 3,231 incoming kindergartners were eligible, 22% of those who sat for the tests. We have yet to see the 2010 district-by-district breakdown although we have heard unofficially from a few districts that have their results.<!--more-->

In District 10, which covers Riverdale and other Bronx neighborhoods, the number of children qualifying for district programs was down from last year, according to Marvin Shelton, a member of the District 10 parent council. He said 73 incoming kindergartners, and 47 entering 1st-graders, qualified. That's compared to 88 kindergartners who were eligible for district programs last year, according to the DOE"s spreadsheet.

In Brooklyn's District 20, we heard, unofficially, that close to 220 incoming kindergartners qualified for either a district or citywide program. That's higher than the 192 who qualified last year. More than 100 incoming 1st graders are eligible for a citywide or district seat.

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. Please comment below.