Parents ‘flying blind’ in Gifted-class entry
Mayor Adams is sticking to his promise to keep the city’s Gifted & Talented program alive, but vague entry standards and shifting rules have left some parents of soon-to-be kindergartners frustrated, The Post has found.
“I’m concerned that the rules keep changing,” said Sumayya Ahmad of the Upper East Side, who hopes to enroll her pre-K son in a G&T classroom next year. “They have to go through an interview process. There’s no information on what that would mean.”
For more than a decade, the G&T entry routine was clear-cut. Parents of 4-year-olds would request a standardized intelligence test to be given to their children. Kids who scored above the 90th percentile were eligible to apply for seats in district G&T classrooms — if available.
Last year, the city Department of Education dropped the test, mainly to end racial inequities. The city’s Independent Budget Office found that Asian and white kids made up more than threequarters of G&T students in 2018-19, but only one-third of all kindergartners.
Instead, teachers had to nominate pre-K students they thought the brightest. Those students were entered into a lottery for 2,400 G&T seats citywide.
This year, every student in public or private pre-K can apply to G&T programs in their district or a citywide program — with the teacher’s evaluation of whether a child is eligible coming afterward.
“Now you’re flying blind,” said Alina Adams, author of “Getting Into NYC Kindergarten,” who added that puzzled parents have asked her for help navigating the new system. Applications opened Dec. 7 and are due Jan. 20.
In another change, parents can apply to just 12 kindergarten programs — down from 24 — in order of preference, including G&T, dual-language and magnet schools.
“Families will need to rank G&T schools before they know whether their child even qualifies,” Adams explained. “If not, all of the G&T programs listed on their application will be wasted slots.”
The DOE has added 100 kindergarten G&T seats for a total of 2,500 in 85 schools, but they may fall short. That’s 3.5% of 70,552 children who attended kindergarten in 2020-2021.
“Every student in the system can apply. It’s great that they’re giving families an opportunity to apply without a test,” said Bentley Kapten, a kindergarten consultant at NYC Admission Solutions. But, he added, “they don’t have enough seats to meet the demand.”
The standards teachers used last year were broad and subjective, Adams said, including factors like a child’s curiosity and creativity.
“I have never met any human child who does not meet the criteria,” Adams said.
Standards for 2023-24 have not yet been announced.