By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — More students applied for and got into gifted and talented programs this year in Manhattan's District 2 — which stretches from Lower Manhattan to the Upper East Side — than in the entire city, Inside Schools reported.
The district, which does not include the Lower East Side and the East Village, saw 1,677 students sit down for the gifted and talented qualifying test — a 13 percent increase since last year. Of those who took the test, 44 percent of students qualified for the city-funded programs, a 14 percent increase from last year, and the highest percentage of eligible students in the city, Inside Schools reported.
That will likely mean more shuffling at schools in neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, where popular schools have already seen long waitlists for the fall.
District 3, which covers the Upper West Side and part of Harlem, came in second for number of applicants and the percentage of eligible students for district programs: 43 percent of 1,036 students. Its number of test takers increased by 8 percent, but its number of students eligible for district programs actually declined by a percent.
Both regions saw 23 percent of their test takers qualify for the more selective citywide programs.
East Harlem's District 4 saw the biggest increase in the percentage of eligible students — with 28 eligible students selected out of 111 test takers — or a 100 percent increase from last year. The area also saw a 23 percent increase in students taking the test.
District 5, covering Central Harlem, had 207 test takers, representing a 29 percent spike; its 64 eligible students signified a 33 percent increase.
These two regions, however, still had the fewest number of Manhattan students taking the test and lowest percentage of eligible students.
"Children in poor and low-performing districts continue to qualify at much lower rates for the city’s gifted and talented programs than those in middle class districts with high-performing students," noted Inside Schools.
Of the 4,027 kindergarteners who qualified for G & T programs, 3,149 submitted applications and 87 percent of them were offered seats — slightly less than last year's 88 percent, according to the website. Of the 1,363 first graders who applied, 82 percent received offers.
Parents of kids that were placed in the city's gifted and talented programs have until this Friday to register at the schools the Department of Education matched them with.
