Didn’t make it to our Spring Forum? Get the informational packet on all 5 Citywide G&T schools here. And, with the recent revelation by Pearson and the DOE that there are even more students who qualified for one of the 285 K seats at the Citywide G&T schools, there is greater need than ever for more of these schools! Please take a minute to read and sign our petition to the DOE asking for more Citywide G&T seats.
NYC DOE: Add More Citywide Gifted and Talented Programs
http://www.change.org/petitions/nyc-doe-add-more-citywide-gifted-and-talented-programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
PACE: Parents’ Alliance for Citywide Education
http://www.Citywideschools.org
PACE Hosts NYC Citywide Schools Forum –
“The Parent’s Perspective on Citywide G&T Education”
New York, NY, March 18, 2013 — PACE (the Parents’ Alliance for Citywide Education) announces it will hold its 2nd Annual Spring Parents’ Forum providing information about New York City’s Citywide gifted & talented (G & T) elementary schools, to be titled “The Parents’ Perspective on Citywide G&T Education.” The event will take place on Monday, April 15, from 6:30 to 8 pm, at PS 20 (166 Essex St. at Houston) in Manhattan.
The evening will be moderated by Robin Aronow, Ph.D, an independent consultant and founder of School Search NYC. Admission is free and open to the public.
There will be parent representatives from each of the five Citywide G & T elementary schools at the forum. Current parents of Citywide G & T elementary students will share the unique aspects and challenges of their schools in the format of a panel discussion followed by a question and answer session.
This event is created solely by parents of children at Citywide G &T elementary schools. It is not officially sponsored by any of the Citywide schools nor by the DOE.
PACE is an organization founded by parent volunteers who represent each of New York City’s five Citywide G&T schools: Brooklyn School of Inquiry, NEST +m, STEM Academy at PS 85Q , TAG, and The Anderson School. PACE seeks to advance Citywide gifted and talented education through advocacy, outreach, and coalition building. PACE’s activities include:
- Monitoring relevant education policy and issues,
- Educating elected officials and other community leaders about Citywide gifted and talented programs,
- Advocating for existing and new Citywide gifted and talented schools and programs, and
- Sharing experience, learning, and practices among parents at Citywide gifted and talented schools and programs.
Citywide schools are gifted & talented schools which accept applicants from any of NYC’s five boroughs based on results of Department of Education gifted and talented testing. There are currently five Citywide schools, three located in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens.
For additional information Contact: Katie Sperling, kel4@columbia.edu
The 2nd Annual Spring Parent’s Forum on Citywide Gifted & Talented Education is free and open to the public, and will be held on Monday, April 15, at PS 20 in Manhattan, at 6:30 pm. Want to submit a question to the panelists? Click here.
Please download the panelist presentation here.
We are grateful that the DOE has reconsidered its change in the sibling policy for the 2012 – 2013 admissions season. Please see this note from the Chancellor dated December 19, 2012. PACE’s continued goal is for adequate Citywide and G&T seats for all children who qualify.
Dear Families,
As you prepare for your child to take the Gifted & Talented (G&T) test in 2013, I wanted to share an update about how eligible students’ applications will be processed. In October, we proposed changes to the placement process and sibling priority for G&T admissions. The proposed changes were included in the 2012-13 G&T Handbooks. Based on feedback that we received from schools and families, we are not implementing the proposed changes this year.
For 2013 admission, we will use the same process and policy used for 2012 admission. Below you will find a description of the placement process and sibling priority policy for 2013 admission:
- Eligible siblings of students currently enrolled at a school (in grades K-5 for the following September) will be placed first.
- For Citywide programs, siblings scoring at or above the 97th percentile will be placed first, by percentile rank. For district programs, siblings scoring at or above the 90th percentile will be placed first, by percentile rank. After all eligible siblings have been placed, non-sibling applicants will be placed by percentile rank.
- In any case where there are multiple students with the same sibling priority and score, and not enough seats for all of them, offers will be made based upon a random assignment process.
We will update our online handbooks to reflect the changes described above. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Student Enrollment at ES_Enrollment@schools.nyc.gov or 718-935-2009.
We wish your child all the best.
Sincerely,
Dennis M. Walcott
A recent letter to Chancellor Walcott was followed by over 600 letters from families protesting the proposed elimination of the sibling policy for Gifted and Talented programs. Read the letter…
A letter from CEC district 3 to Chancellor Walcott
A letter from Brad Lander to Chancellor Walcott, supporting our efforts.
A letter from Lewis A. Fidler to Chancellor Walcott, supporting our efforts.
A letter from Vincent Gentile to Chancellor Walcott, supporting our efforts.
A letter from Gale Brewer to Chancellor Walcott, supporting our efforts.
The NYC Department of Education is pushing through an amendment to the Chancellor’s Regulations making it almost impossible for siblings to stay together in Gifted & Talented programs, even if they are equally qualified. The hearing is on December 20th. We need to act fast to fight it!
We believe that the proposed changes would hurt families because:
1. The proposed change would push middle class, low-income, and minority families out of G&T programs by creating expensive logistical problems.
2. This change is unfair because it only applies to G&T programs; sibling policy is maintained elsewhere.
3. This change imposes inequity on middle class and minority families instead of addressing the real problem: not enough citywide G&T programs to educate all qualified kids at the level they are eligible for.
4. The change would purport to rank all NYC 4 year olds in numerical order, according to ability, using a test that testing experts say cannot be used in that way.
*Please include your NYC public school affiliation, if any, when signing this letter.
Thank You!
Fact sheet that will be available at the Spring Forum. Click here to download:
Basic 2012 Facts about Each Citywide G & T School
