District 3 parents got official word late last week regarding the admissions policy for PS 452, slated to open in the PS 44building in September to alleviate overcrowding in a few Upper West Side schools. In a March 26 letter to the Community District Education Council, Elizabeth Rose of the Department of Education's Office of Portfolio and Planning announced that the new school will admit 55 students from the PS 87waitlist and 10 students from PS 199'swaitlist. Another 10 seats will be allotted to special needs students for placement in a Collaborative Team Teaching class.

Insideschools.org reported in January that District 3 parents were upset over the DOE's initial plans, complaining that the three kindergarten classes (roughly 75 students) opening at PS 452 would not be enough to handle the current overflow. According to the latest waitlist data, PS 87 has the longest waitlist for kindergarten in the city with 110 zoned students waitlisted (125 including non-zoned siblings). PS 199 ranked 11th citywide with 47 waitlisted zoned students (49 including unzoned).

The DOE chose not to adopt the CEC's preferred option to enroll PS 87 and PS 199 students on a proportionate basis, accepting roughly the same percentage of students from each school's waitlist. Instead, the DOE's plan offers seats to nearly half of PS 87's waitlisted students while only accommodating 20 percent of PS 199's waitlist. PS 87 families also get priority when a family declines a seat at PS 452.<!--more-->

According to the new policy, "should any family not accept their seat, or later receive a seat at their zoned school, G&T program or other choice school they prefer, available seats will be filled by the next student on the P.S. 87 waitlist."

Regarding the uneven allotment of seats in favor of PS 87 families, Rose noted in her letter,"we must recognize the large size of the P.S. 87 waitlist -- currently 110 zoned students -- and the number of seats available at P.S. 191, which is adjacent to the P.S. 199 zone and currently has enough seats available to accomodate almost all the P.S. 199 waitlist."

Waitlisted PS 199 families feel short-shrifted by the plan that may place many of them at PS 191, a school nine blocks south of 199 that hasn't produced the same levels of achievement as PS 87 and 199.

Robin Aronow of School Search NYC, has heard from many of the waitlisted parents at both PS 87 and PS 199. "While it was understood that the DOE would have final discretion on the policy, many PS 199 families now feel disgruntled and even panicked. " Aronow, who counsels parents on public and private school options, is encouraging parents to attend PS 191's open house on April 20 "to learn more about this up and coming school."

According to the DOE's admissions policy, families not offered spots at PS 452 will be offered seats at alternate schools during the week of May 17th. "All families receiving alternate offers may remain on their their zoned school waitlist," according to Rose's letter.

A public hearing to address the Environment Impact Study of placing PS 452 in the MS 44 building is scheduled for April 13 at 6 p.m. at MS 44, located at 100 West 77th Street.

The Panel for Educational Policy will vote on opening PS 452 at its meeting on April 20.