Applications Surge At Kindergartens

April 9, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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2,406 Kids on Waitlist

By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

NEW YORK — A surge in kindergarten applications across the city has led to roughly 2,406 kids on the waitlist for admission in September.

Schools have received approximately 62,287 kindergarten applications for the 2012-2013 school year citywide, about 600 more than last year. One-hundred-and-twenty-five schools currently have a waitlist for children within their zones, and 12 of these have more than 50 students on the list.

Brooklyn’s P.S. 169 in Sunset Park (District 15) heads the list, with 113 waitlisted kindergartners. Another large Brooklyn school, P.S. 94 (also District 15), has 111 students on its waitlist. P.S. 105 in District 20 has 80 kids on the waitlist, and P.S. 160 and P.S. 69 (District 20) both have 50 kids on their lists.

Other Brooklyn schools with waitlists include P.S. 200, P.S. 119, P.S. 177, P.S. 101, P.S. 163 and P.S. 127.

“We know that this can be an anxious time for parents, but we can expect these lists to shrink and disappear by the first day of school in September, as they have every year,” said Frank Thomas, city Department of Education (DOE) spokesperson.

“We will continue to work with all of our schools to help them reduce waitlists and ensure that every student has access to a great kindergarten.”

Last year around this time, there were 2,642 more zoned applicants than available seats at 125 schools. Typically, many school waitlists shrink as children are accepted to private, parochial and charter schools.
In addition, gifted and talented placements take place in May, three weeks earlier than last year, and special education placements take place through June.

The expanding Success Academy Charter School network said yesterday that its number of applicants increased this spring, with applications pushing past the 12,000 mark. An admissions lottery was held yesterday.
The city is making a number of moves to reduce waitlists, including making sure that schools fill class sections completely and fill empty seats with waitlisted children as soon as they become available. The city is also working to add kindergarten sections where space permits.

Families without a placement should receive an alternate offer by the end of June, as opposed to the end of April, as occurred last year. Those families may continue to remain on their zoned school waitlist as well.