This fall, kindergarten gifted andtalented programs opened in 27 of the city's 32 districts. That's in addition to five programs which are open to students citywide.

Students who score at the 97th percentile or above are eligible for citywide programs, but last year, because of the large number of students qualifying, only children scoring in the 99th percentile or above were admitted to NEST +M and the Anderson School. To gain admission to the new Brooklyn School of Inquiry, a score in the 98th percentile was needed. Only at TAG and the new STEM Academy at PS 85, in Queens, was a score at the 97th percentile sufficient.

The DOE said last year they planned to open additional citywide programs in the Bronx and Staten Islandfor the fall of 2010. No decision yet as to whether these programs will actually materialize for next fall. According to DOE spokesperson Andy Jacob they are still looking at that question.<!--more-->

"Our goal is to keep expanding the citywide programs," he said. Starting new programs would depend on "being able to find a site near enough to public transportation and be[ing] confident that we have enough demand." He did not rule out the possibility of opening a second site in Brooklyn or Queens. (Last spring a citywide program was planned for PS 20 in Fort Greene but thatprogram was canceled after the principal was accused of assaulting a teacher and not enough families applied for it.)

As for the district programs, overcrowding may have attributed to some popular schools not taking an incoming G&T kindergarten class this year. Those include Manhattan's PS 116, and in Brooklyn, PS 217 and PS 195 in District 22 and PS 185 in District 20. Neither PS 153in Maspeth, Queens, nor PS 153 in Coop City, which are both long-standing G&T sites, took in a new class this year.

Meanwhile, there are some rather surprising additions to the list of new G&T programs: PS/IS 217 on Roosevelt Island and PS 33 in Chelsea. A few schools once again accepted a new G&T kindergarten class, after not doing so for a year, such as PS 3in Bedford Stuyvesant.

Certain districtslag far behind in the number of children testing and qualifying for G&T programs. Five districts did not have enough students registered to open new G&T kindergarten classes this year: Districts 7 and 9 in the Bronx, and Districts 16, 19, and 23in Brooklyn. Data about how many students qualified in each district was released by the DOE last spring, and analyzed on GothamSchools.

"We have to have a minimum number to actually open a program," Jacob said. "If we can't open a class in a particular district, students are given a placement in another district." Kindergartners and 1st graders who test at or above the 90th percentile are guaranteed a seat somewhere.

We asked the DOE where children in those districts ended up. Students from Districts 7 and 9 in the Bronx were assigned to Manhattan schools, including the district program at TAG, PS 98 in Inwood, or PS 153 in Morningside Washington Heights. Those who stayed in the Bronx went to either PS 182 in District 8 or PS 214 in District 12.

In Brooklyn, District 16 and District 23 students went to PS 376in Bushwick; District 19 students went to PS 115in Canarsie.

Students who arrive in New York City too late to apply for G&T may test for in the summer. According to the DOE, only 25 students tested for kindergarten and 1st grade seats over the summer - and 14 of those qualified and were offered seats.

We've heard about overcrowding in some G&T programs, including the kindergarten class at PS 132 in Williamsburg. That school added a para-professional to help teach a class of 29 students. Other programs may be under-enrolled.

We'll keep you posted as we get updates. Let us know what's happening in your school.