Roosevelt Island Parents' Network Workshop Shares Information And Experience On Choosing A Kindergarten For Your Child

The Roosevelt Island Parents' Network (RIPN) hosted it's 3rd annual Choosing A Kindergarten Workshop on Sunday November 1.

Workshop panelists were parents who have recent experience with the process of choosing a Kindergarten for their child in NYC.  According to RIPN Coordinator Eva Bosbach:

Our panelists investigated different options, successfully placed their children in a variety of schools and programs including G&T and Charters, are active in parent advocacy and happy to share their knowledge....

Topics covered during the Kindergarten workshop included:

• public, charter and private schools, 
• Gifted & Talented Programs,
• prepping and testing, 
• special needs resources,
• commuting, 
• costs &
• more.

PS/IS 217 is the local Roosevelt Island elementary school. Roosevelt Island is located in the NYC Department Of Education's District 2. According to Inside Schools:

.... District 2 has some of the highest-performing and most popular schools in the city. The district covers the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city—the East Side south of 97th Street and the West Side south of 59th street (but not the Lower East Side).

Several new elementary schools have opened in recent years, easing overcrowding. Most parents are satisfied with their zoned neighborhood schools and look no further.

There are a number of schools that admit children according to the results of an entrance exam, including Hunter College Elementary School (open to children who live anywhere in Manhattan) and Lower Lab School (open only to children who live in District 2). Several neighborhood schools also have gifted programs that accept children from outside their attendance zone.

Other options: Ella Baker School is open to children citywide. Midtown West and PS 150 accept children from across District 2....

Inside Schools review of Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 is here.

Below is video of the RIPN Choosing A Kindergarten Workshop.

Part 1 - RIPN Coordinator Eva Bosbach introduces the panel and subject.



Part 2 - Success Academy NYC Charter School



Part 3 - Ella Baker NYC Progressive Public School.



Part 4 - NYC Gifted & Talented Programs (Application deadline to request testing is November 9)



Part 5 - Local Roosevelt Island NYC PS/IS 217 ("Mommy, I don't want to commute any more")



Part 6 - Private Schools



Part 7 -Special Needs & recommended Kindergarten Resources Information.



Ms Bosbach adds:

Thank you to all parents who participated in our annual Choosing a Kindergarten workshop. Thank you to the attendees and especially to all speakers for volunteering their time and for their willingness to share their knowledge and experience with the exciting but sometimes also overwhelming process of searching for a Kindergarten that is a good match for your child. Another thank you goes to our co-hosts: the Roosevelt Island Jewish Congregation and Main Street Sweets. Last but not least special thanks to Jen Reyes for designing our flyer again this year. Good luck to all in the process!

The 2016 NYC Department of Education Manhattan  Kindergarten Directory is here.

More info available at NYC DOE Kindergarten and Gifted & Talented web sites as well as Inside Schools.

You can contact the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network for more kindergarten info too as well as a general resource for Roosevelt Island parents.