Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 Gifted & Talented Program Class Update - Good News, Will Continue Next Year But More Students Still Welcome

You Tube Video of PS/IS 217 Kindergarten Field Day

As previously reported, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) decided earlier this month to discontinue Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 Gifted & Talented Class program for the incoming 2010 -11 kindergarten class due to a lack of student enrollment. Following this announcement, the PS/IS 217 PTA, individual parents and local elected officials met with DOE officials to try and reverse this decision.

Here's the latest from PS/IS 217 PTA President Nikki Leopold on the Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 Gifted & Talented Class Program:

GOOD NEWS!

The Administration & PTA of PS/IS 217 has decided to go forward with the planned G&T Kindergarten class for the 2010/11 School Year – regardless of DOE’s stated minimum requirements. What does this mean? It means that there WILL BE a Kindergarten G&T class in place, and that you can still put your child’s name on the list to attend – regardless of whether you’ve already registered at another school.

IF YOU WANT TO ENROLL YOUR CHILD AT PS/IS 217:

1) Immediately contact Parent Coordinator Lauraine Rademaker at lrademaker@schools.nyc.gov (or call 347-563-5165) to express your intent and to fill out a ‘Placement Exception Request Form”, which is a required document in this process.

2) Email Kim Cobb (kcobb@schools.nyc.gov), and Michael Greenberg (mgreenberg5@schools.nyc.gov), in the Enrollment Office of the DOE expressing your intention (please cc: Nikki Leopold at nikkipta@gmail.com).

Per the DOE’s Elizabeth Rose, Director of Portfolio Planning: “Families will not give up their current seat unless and until we make a decision to open the class at 217.”

THEREFORE, FOR YOUR OWN PIECE OF MIND, WE WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO REGISTER TO THE SCHOOL YOU WERE MATCHED WITH (IF APPICABLE), UNTIL REGISTRATION AT PS/IS 217 OPENS. We anticipate this to happen sometime after Friday, June 24th.

DON’T DELAY! CONTACT PS/IS 217 & THE DOE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD’S NAME FOR THE G&T KINDERGARTEN CLASS!!

If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact Nikki Leopold, PS/IS 217 PTA President, at nikkipta@gmail.com

More on the Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 G & T Class Program controversy from Inside Schools, the Wall Street Journal Blog and Roosevelt Island Gifted & Talented Class Blog.

The NY Times reported yesterday on a new Gifted & Talented Class Program test:

The city will search for a new admissions test for its gifted and talented public school programs, a Department of Education official said on Monday, in part to address concerns that some families were “gaming” the test through extensive preparation....

UPDATE 7:40 PM - Received the following joint statement from Assembly Member Micah Kellner and NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin:

“It is with great joy that we are able to announce that the Roosevelt Island gifted and talented program has been saved. Two weeks ago, the Department of Education unilaterally announced that the program would not be accepting a class of kindergarteners for next year. This was the wrong decision and our offices immediately began working with parents and school officials to make it right. At a meeting with us and parents on June 11, the DOE committed to maintaining the program if at least 18 students could be found who were interested in attending. Our offices worked with parents from Manhattan, Queens, and Roosevelt Island to spread the word and recruit families for this program.

“We are pleased to say that as of today, there are 18 students enrolled in the program. There will definitely by a new G&T kindergarten class on Roosevelt Island next fall.

“This is a huge victory for parents who worked so hard and who refused to take no for an answer. More than that, this is a victory for the families who will now have a first-rate gifted and talented program for their children this fall.

“We’d especially like to commend PTA President Nikki Leopold, Principal Mandana Beckman, and Elizabeth Rose of the DOE for their efforts to preserve the G&T program on Roosevelt Island. This is excellent news and we look forward to continuing to watch the G&T program on the Island grow and thrive in the years to come.”

Assembly Member Kellner adds:

Now that next year’s kindergarten class has been secured, we will seek to expand the program to make it citywide — bringing some of New York City’s brightest students to Roosevelt Island and securing the Island’s gifted and talented program for the long term.

UPDATE 6/24 - PS/IS 217 PTA President Nikki Leopold adds:

WE DID IT

Hi everyone,

You might have already heard, but the DOE confirmed that there are 18 families who are ready to register for the PS/IS 217 G&T program. This is a monumental accomplishment given the time frame that we were working with and the obstacles that we had to overcome. The breakdown includes 7 Roosevelt Island, 5 Jackson Heights and 6 District Two families. The role of parent advocacy in this effort cannot be overstated. Thank you to those who worked tirelessly on outreach and recruitment. I will send out more information tomorrow, but wanted to let you know the good news.

One more tour tomorrow so we may see a further increase.

This email was received late last night so the tour referenced was to take place today.