[Ed Note: New details from DOE added in Update at end of post.]

The Department of Education has gathered and analyzed kindergarten waitlist data for Manhattan districts 2 and 3, according to a message sent by DOE spokesperson Andy Jacob at 5 p.m. today. Data on other districts are not yet complete, Jacob wrote, but will be available "within the next two weeks."

There are fewer children waitlisted than has been reported, according to the DOE's count, which shows a total of 273 students waitlisted at seven schools in districts 2 and 3 combined. For the numbers-hungry: 31 students are waitlisted at PS 166; 90 students are on a combined waitlist for PS 3 and PS 41 (which share a zone); and 152 students are waitlisted on the Upper East Side (25 at PS 6, 40 at PS 59, 30 at PS 183, and 57 at PS 290).

"Waitlists will disappear or be greatly reduced," Jacob wrote, as gifted and talented program enrollment siphons off students, and as families choose "non-public school options for children zoned in schools with waitlists."

At PS 166, "we expect the wait list...to disappear after students accept gifted placements in June," he writes. In the West Village, 26 students zoned for PS 3 and PS 41 qualified for G&T programs (but it's not known whether they will accept). There's no official mention of the impending cut to pre-K at both schools -- just an allusion to "details within the next few days."

On the Upper East Side, "almost all students on a waitlist at these four schools [PS 6, PS 59, PS 183, and PS 290] will receive a placement in their zoned school by the end of next month," according to the statement. As 182 students zoned for those four schools qualified for G&T, "waitlists at these schools will shrink or even disappear," Jacob anticipates.<!--more-->

Children who head into summer still on a waitlist, "are guaranteed placement at schools near their homes, but will likely receive a placement at their zoned school before September," according to the DOE.

Families zoned for Tribeca's PS 89 and PS 234 will either receive seats at one of those schools, or at one of the new schools that will be housed at Tweed. (We've asked how that decision will be made, and will report details when they're available.)

Finally, on the Upper East Side, "there is no wait list at PS 151," Jacob writes, which is no surprise, as there is no actual, physical PS 151 just yet. We've asked when the DOE will select and finalize a site for the school and will report their response when it arrives.

May 6 Update: David Cantor of the DOE's press office has sent additional details on wait-list issues at PS 3/41 (among other schools) and on the Upper East Side's to-be-reconstituted PS 151.

He confirms that DOE is "considering" a plan "to temporarily move some combination of pre-K classes for just the 2009-2010 school year to other site(s)" from PS 3 and PS 41 -- despite assurances we've had from school personnel that the plan is underway, not under consideration. Cantor says possible alternate sites include PS 33, PS 11, The American Sign Language School  "and other potential nearby schools," adding, "more work is needed on the ground."

The middle school housed at PS 3, Greenwich Village Middle School, will move to a new site in September 2010, "to create long-term space in the West Village" and "to allow the pre-K classes to return to the elementary schools at that time." (Parent advocates suggested this strategy more than a year ago.)

The search for site for a new 151 continues, with no deadline in sight. The school will open in September (this September!) with three classes per grade; a range of locations are under review, including Our Lady of Good Counsel,the Julia Richman Education Complex, and MS 167/The Robert Wagner School, as we reportedearlier.