Questions from parents prompted us to reach out to the Department of Education for more information on 1st and 2nd grade citywide gifted and talented programs based in Manhattan.

First, prospective NESTparents of rising 1st and 2nd graders, what you've heard on the tours is correct: The news is not optimistic. At present, there are no seats available in 1st or 2nd grade at NEST, although some may open in late spring or summer, if families move or opt for different schools. The DOE needs to keep an orderly process in place, according to spokesperson Andy Jacob, so that students can be fairly assigned to the school if and when seats open up.

Anderson, which is moving seven blocks south, to the MS 44building, will open a new 1st grade class, with 27 seats, but has no open spots in 2nd grade. TAG has more room for new students: There are 30 1st grade seats and 12 2nd grade seats to be filled for this coming September.

Parents should note that there is no guarantee beyond kindergarten and 1st grade that children will be offered seats in either district or citywide G&T programs -- and the guarantee only holds if families list every district G&T option available to their child, as well as citywide schools of interest, on the application. Accordingly, Jacob said, there will be no waitlists; they won't be needed when all eligible kindergarten and 1st-grade children are seated. It's not clear why families of 2nd graders don't have a waitlist option, for midyear access if seats become available, but the current DOE policy does not include one.

As in general education enrollment, siblings take priority over non-siblings, a decision that makes sense for families, even as it seems to potentially limit access for first-born children. Basically, qualifying siblings who list their big-sib's school first on their application have priority over non-sibling applicants. Within the sibling group, enrollment priority is determined by test score, and if the number of seats is less than the number of qualifying students, children are randomly assigned to the school.

If seats are still open after siblings are placed, Jacob explained, the same process repeats for non-siblings, with enrollment priority determined by test score. If experience is any guide, non-siblings need to have higher scores than siblingsto earn an offer: Last year, siblings with scores in the 97th to 99th percentile were accepted at all three Manhattan citywide programs; no non-siblings with scores below 99 were accepted at NEST or Anderson, although some were placed at TAG.