Bringing academically talented children who are not native English speakers into the city's gifted and talented programs is a long-touted goal of the DOE, last year's mixed-bag testing results notwithstanding.

Starting next week, the Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy is hosting informational workshops in all five boroughs -- in Arabic, Bengali, Urdu, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole and Korean. Look here for details; scroll down the page to Upcoming Events.

Gifted and talented handbooks and requests for testing will be available on line and at local schools starting October 29th, according to the DOE. Requests for testing are due back by November 19th. Tests will begin in early 2009.

Free Metrocards will be provided to OFEA workshop participants. Planners suggest arriving early, as space (and Metrocards) are limited.