NYC Department Of Education Plans To Discontinue Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 Gifted & Talented Program For Next School Year - Meeting On Friday
PS/IS 217 G & T Class Singing The Turkey Song At Thanksgiving Celebration
It began in the spring of 2008 with a Parent's Plea for a Roosevelt Island Gifted & Talented (G & T) class program to be established at our local PS/IS 217.
There is an effort underway here on Roosevelt Island to garner support for a Gifted and Talented program here at PS 217...In 2009 the Parent's Plea was answered with the start of a Roosevelt Island G & T Kindergarten program.
Unfortunately, I've recently learned that the NYC Department of Education is planning on discontinuing the PS/IS 217 Gifted & Talented Program, at least for the upcoming school year. I asked NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin, who was instrumental in getting the program initiated, if this was true and received this response from her office:
We’ve been on the phone with various DOE representatives throughout the morning getting the definitive word on what’s happening. ...only 12 students ranked the Roosevelt Island program as a choice on their G&T applications – 10 from the Island and 2 from Jackson Heights in Queens. Of that group, 8 ranked the program among their top three choices. However, 5 students received placement at a program that they ranked higher than the Roosevelt Island program (such as Anderson and Lower Lab) and so likely wouldn’t be attending. That left seven students (2 of whom would need to arrange their own transportation from Queens twice a day) for the program. The DOE decided that was not enough to offer the class for this year. However, they have promised us that they remain committed to the program and will include it among the choices next year. They will also work to devise strategies to increase enrollment at the program. This year’s kindergarten class will be able to continue in the G&T program in first grade next year (and, in fact, is expected to grow by three students). There just won’t be a class immediately below them.Ms Lappin added:
I am disappointed that the DOE will not be offering a kindergarten section for the gifted and talented program at PS/IS 217 this year. Given that the DOE did not listen to my repeated requests to provide transportation for off-Island students to get to the school, I’m not entirely surprised. I wish that they had listened to me months ago and set up a plan for busing. The DOE has assured me that they remain committed to this program, that the first grade class will continue, and that they will be working on ways to boost enrollment in this program in future years. I’m going to continue to work with parents and the school’s principal to make sure that the DOE stays true to their word.PS/IS 217 PTA President Nikki Leopold commented:
Unfortunately, the DOE has decided, without any prior notice to PS/IS 217, to discontinue expansion of the G&T program at 217 based on "lack of enrollment". This is a disturbing development, given that the G&T program has been an overwhelming success and a welcome part of our school community. While the creation of a G&T program was visionary, in many ways, the obstacles were not taken into consideration. Despite the good intention in providing a G&T program to Roosevelt Island families, the reality is that the success of the program relies heavily on the commitment of Manhattan's District 2 families, where transportation remains a major deterrent. In addition, the enthusiastic participation of families in Jackson Heights, Queens, who have been such an integral part of the success of the program this school year, was hampered by the DOE's decision NOT to list 217 as a G&T option for those families this year.and added:As Council Member Lappin was instrumental in the implementation of this program, we are counting on her help to rectify the situation. To that end we are encouraging all parents interested in seeing the program remain in the school to contact both her & Micah Kellner to tell them as much. We would also hope that those Roosevelt Island parents, who were forceful advocates for the placement of the G&T program in our community, will view their advocacy as a commitment beyond their fight to simply get the program in the school. We hope we can count on them to partner with us, with an enthusiasm equal to their prior interests, as we fight to keep this much needed resource in place. The role of parent advocacy cannot be overstated, as these decisions are completely beyond the control of the school's Administration. Only vocal protest to both the DOE and our local elected politicians can reverse this decision.
To clarify, the current Kindergarten will move on to a first grade G&T and so forth. As of now, there will be no additional Kindergarten G&T programs implemented.
G&T Program Emergency Meeting this Friday, June 11th @9:00 am in the Roosevelt Island School (P.S./I.S. 217) Auditorium (2nd Floor). Everyone, interested in the future of the G&T Program on the island, is invited. Offices of Council Member Lappin and Assembly Member Kellner confirmed they will be there. Please make every effort to attend!More on the Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 G & T program here.
Below is Ms. Lappin's request to the DOE to provide transportation for off Island G & T students to PS/IS 217 and the DOE's response.
Lappin G&T Roosevelt Island Letter
DOE G&T Roosevelt Island Response
UPDATE 6/10 - The Wall Street Journal reports on the discontinuance of Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 G & T Program:
A Roosevelt Island public school won't offer its gifted-and-talented program for incoming kindergartners, prompting parental gripes and threats to move to the suburbs.Families point to the Department of Education's discontinuation of the class at P.S./I.S. 217 as ironic amid overcrowding and a scramble for kindergarten seats.
"I'm devastated," said Cari Bak, a mother of two who moved to Roosevelt Island recently...
14 comments :
I think I predicted this outcome a year or two ago when the G&T at 217 idea came up.
The DOE is correct in stating that RI is well-served by public transportation. What they do not take into account, though, is that a parent or other care giver has to bring the kid all the way out to RI. The yellow bus, on the other hand, only requires the kid to be at some street corner a few block away from home at most. The bus driver takes care of her from there on.
All in all, I think PS 217 has to come to terms that a G&T program is not viable. The logistics are a hurdle that cannot be overcome. Do you really want to run a bus for a handful of kids? Those kids rather go to a G&T that is easier to get to. With the current budget crisis it is impossible to offer something "special" for a very few children.
I think it is much easier for RI parents to choose an off-island G&T than it is for other district 2 families to choose 217.
Well, the problem is other district 2 schools are overcrowded to the point where they cannot accept any more students. 288 students in district 2 qualified for G&T kindergarten this year, but there were only 88 seats. So I don't think it's necessarily "easier for RI parents to send their kids off-island" to one of these over-crowded schools.
As long as your child's score qualifies for a district G&T you are guaranteed to get a Kindergarten spot. Overcrowding or not. Not sure where you get your numbers from, though. There are more than 88 K seats in district 2. PS 77 alone has 50. Then there is 11, 33, 217, and the two schools in Chinatown. The problem is, again, the location of the schools and I assume 77 (Lower Lab), 11, and maybe 33 were the most popular schools.
Roosevelt Island is the worst location to have a district-wide program. It is, of course, much more convenient for us here and the few kids over in Queens but it is just not enough. Another reason why rents are less than across the river.
Oh, and please don't take my sentence out of context. I said "I think it is much easier for RI parents to choose an off-island G&T than it is for other district 2 families to choose 217.". I did not say that it is necessarily easy for us here on RI. People who move to RI don't really expect things to be easy, do they?
The number is from the WSJ article linked in this blog posting. I assumed the journalist verified the data, guess that was not the case.
I still do not see why anyone living on the island would have any objections to having a G&T program here. As long as there are parents here who are willing to work on keeping the program here, why label it "not viable"?
I am sorry but those numbers really don't make any sense. According to the DOE 653 children in district 2 qualified for a seat in a district G&T program (http://insideschools.org/blog/2010/04/30/gt-fewer-students-apply-but-more-qualify/). Maybe the WSJ is talking about non-siblings? I haven't read the article.
All that said, no matter how much I love Roosevelt Island and like PS217 we have to be realistic. Just from the logistics a G&T here will never really attract enough kids to make it viable. And within the current economic situation it is impossible to do something special just for us RIers.
I agree that current economic situation does not make it easier, but if transportation is the only issue deterring many parents from this program, there should be a way to solve this problem. We just need to find it.
It would surprise me if transportation is the only issue. Even if the kids get a yellow bus very few parents are willing to put a Kindergartner on a bus. In addition it is a brand new program in a not so awesome school (for many at least) and that is not helping either.
It would make much more sense to move the G&T to some other Manhattan school instead. Maybe somewhere close to the tram/63rd Lex station for us RIer to get to easily. PS 59, for example, would do nicely if they had the space. Or maybe somewhere over in Queens.
If it were easier to open G&T in any other district 2 school, I'm sure that's what DOE would have done. The problem is that all these school are extremely overcrowded. There is no way for them to provide 5 extra classrooms needed for the G&T program classes. The physical plant would not allow for this. PS 217 on the other hand is currently underutilized. Once the transportation problem is solved, it is a great strategy for DOE to "unload" some of the most overcrowded district 2 schools.
The parents, though, have the last say in this and it will take more than just having a yellow bus at their disposal.
Agreed.
After this morning's meeting the DOE agreed to open 2nd round of enrollment to district 30 families. If we get to a regular size class, it will open this fall. And for the following year, they'll thinking of making it a city-wide program, which will attract more Manhattan and (of course) Queens families, who are currently hard-pressed to get into 3 Manhattan schools. Hopefully, this will help!
Thanks for the update - Good News!
1) The pessimistic anonymous commenter does make decent points but I think that next year's 1st grade class (which is expected to be full-sized) demonstrates that G&T at 217 can be viable. The problem this year lies mainly in the fact that 217 was not listed as an option in D30, together with the opening of 198, plus some plain old bad luck. I also disagree about the yellow bus--it would definitely make a difference. (We're talking about small numbers of kids here.) And the fact is that the schools close to RI will never have enough space for a g&t class.
2) Personally, I think that introducing city-wide at 217 *without* bus support is a horrible horrible idea. I think that most non-RI parents would rightly think of it as a slap in the face. But city-wide at 217 *with* bus support is a reasonable proposition: A lot of parents in D2 would prefer a bus commute to a city-wide than no city-wide at all, and the plain fact is that the opening of a new city-wide anywhere else in D2 ain't gonna happen. However, the way busing works in this city is that the students must materialize before the buses do. Period.
3) Just to be absolutely clear, while the *idea* of a city-wide at 217 was bandied about, I would absolutely not think of this as something that people are seriously thinking about--just an idea that might possibly be explored. (If word of this got to urbanbaby, all hell would break lose.)
The numbers are really off in that WSJ article. It also didn't mention that every child who scores a 90 and above on the admissions test is guaranteed to get a seat in a district G&T program. The only "problem" is that a family cannot choose which G&T they get. They have to rank the different choices and hope for the best. In the end many families don't rank schools they would never consider and thus will end up with no seat at all because all their other choices are full already.
All that said, is this enough reason to leave the island? Over a G&T? Quite a knee-jerk reaction from Ms. Bak. They would never ever send their second child to a general ed class at PS217? The G&T program is good enough for her but not the "normal" classrooms?
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