Previous reports at insideschools.org and The New York Times highlighted the shortage of kindergarten seats at high-profile Manhattan schools. However, an informal Insideschools survey completed by principals across the city indicates that schools outside of Manhattan face similar challenges. Many popular schools in Brooklyn and Queens have waitlists for their kindergarten class, filled with children who live outside of the school zone.

Several of the three dozen principals we heard from said that the new kindergarten process, which allowed parents to apply to an unlimited number of schools, had caused "anxiety" and promised more school choice than it could deliver. (Many respondents elected to remain anonymous in their comments, even as they shared data and opinions with Insideschools.)

Although some schools have well-documented crunches, like PS 3, PS 41 and schools located on the Upper East Side, several other Manhattan schools we heard from, such as PS 63in the East Village, PS 199on the Upper West Side, and PS 112in East Harlem, reported no kindergarten waitlist.<!--more-->

Most schools in Queens and Brooklyn that responded said they've been able to accommodate all zoned children. Although a few schools have waitlists, ranging from 20 to 140 students, for families who live outside the school's zone. One principal, whose Park Slope school managed to offer seats to all zoned children and wait-listed 45 out-of-zone students, said that the new kindergarten choice process administered by the Department of Education gave parents the illusion of more options. This year, parents could apply to schools both in and out of their zone, however, preference was first given to families living within the school's zone. The principal added, she was "saddened" that she could not offer space to everyone who wanted to be part of her school, and that out-of-zone parents who applied appeared to be closed out.

"The process has caused great anxiety to parents who are zoned to the school," wrote one Brooklyn principal whose school has five kindergarten classes and a waitlist of 40 children. "The new process was really unnecessary and just created undue anxiety for families, and additional burdens for school staff and the principal."

Schools with more kindergarten classes appear to have fewer waitlists than schools with only two or three classes, but all still found the new process daunting. A principal at a Bergen Beach, Brooklyn school with seven kindergarten classes and no wait list spoke up on her secretary's behalf: the "secretary found the new process double work for herself as well as for parents." Additionally, the principal said, many parents who lived outside the school's zone "who filled out applications were extremely disappointed when there was no room to accommodate them."

Late registration in the Bronx

Late summer registration is a concern for some schools in the Bronx. AtPS 48, with eight kindergarten classes, the principal reported no waitlist at present - but she anticipated a rise in demand and possible wait list by August, because "most of our parents register late." According to the DOE, schools were told to reserve a portion of seats for local students who register in summer or early fall; the exact proportion is determined by the school.

Overcrowding in Queens

Crowding remains a persistent issue in Queens. "We will probably have to rely on a 'spillover' site to hold our excess students, just as we did this year," wrote one principal with four kindergarten classes and a growing waitlist.

Schools with strong reputations and a large kindergarten population face greater demand than they can meet: more than 110 children are on PS 261 's waitlist for five kindergarten classes. These students live out of the district but applied anyway because of the school's strong reputation, said the principal. Also in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn New Schoolhas 140-children on their waitlist, in hopes that space will become available in one of the school's four kindergarten classes.

No Staten Island schools responded to the survey. To date, the DOE has not released waitlist numbers for elementary schools citywide. Kindergarten enrollment numbers will most likely change as parents begin to choose gifted & talented programs, outside their zoned school -- and by the pending budget cutthat would add over 3,000 children to public school kindergarten classes if city-funded daycare centers eliminate their kindergarten programs.