We are writing to object to the proposal put forth by the NYC DOE Office of Enrollment to address the shortage of middle school District 30 G&T seats. The Office of Enrollment has proposed that all G&T elementary school students in District 30 would have to apply to G&T middle school programs starting with current 3rd graders. To accommodate those who do not test into the limited number of middle school G&T seats, the DOE plans to open an "academically enriched" program at P.S. 126 starting in 2013. Teachers at I.S. 126 will not be required to have G&T training or follow a G&T curriculum.
According to the current District 30 G&T application process, students in the G&T programs at PS150 and PS122 automatically continue into the middle school G&T ‘Academy’ at PS122 starting in grade 6. Families enrolled children into PS150 and PS122 with the explicit understanding that it was a K-8 program, not a K-5 program.
The proposal by the Office of Enrollment is a well-meaning attempt to address this problem, but it ignores the fact that it breaks an agreement made with families who have chosen to send their children to PS122 & PS150 on the basis that they were selecting an established K-8 program with guaranteed admission specifically to PS 122 for middle school. The Office of Enrollment fails to recognize the impact it will have on all District 30 families that have bought homes, subjected themselves and children to long commutes, and who have rejected other K-8 and city-wide school options based on this agreement
Parents and guardians of current District 30 G&T students therefore request that the DOE recognize the long-term need for more middle school G&T seats for District 30 at IS 126. Parents signing this petition welcome the expansion of middle school programs into IS 126 and ask that the new school provide G&T classes with appropriately trained G &T teachers and curriculum and with admission criteria identical to PS122. A G&T IS126 program would also allow more opportunities for general education students to enter into an academically vigorous program. We respectfully request that the DOE fulfill its obligations and keep their promises to the gifted children in the District 30.
The District 30 G&T community is prepared to assist in any way we can with this endeavor. In essence, we have depended on the long-standing history of living in a District that has a reputation of providing a superb G&T middle school home for its gifted students and request its expansion, not its contraction. With an expansion of its G&T middle school and greater educational, familial, and community stability, District 30s successes in education should be a model for the rest of the city. We would appreciate a chance for a group of parents to meet with you or a designee to discuss this further. Thank you in advance for your consideration.