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Learn All About Your Local Schools at LIC Symposium This Weekend

 Kids and parents outside P.S./I.S. 78 in Long Island City on the first day of school on September 7, 2016.
Kids and parents outside P.S./I.S. 78 in Long Island City on the first day of school on September 7, 2016.
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DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

QUEENS — When Kadie Black was looking at Long Island City kindergarten choices for her son last year, she felt overwhelmed by options including district and charter schools and Gifted & Talented programs.

"When I went through this process, I had no idea what any of that meant," said Black, who now heads the Gantry Parent Association (GPA), a group that formed last year to advocate for more local school seats.

With applications for the city's kindergarten programs due next month, the group is hoping to make the process simpler for other local parents by hosting the first-ever LIC School Symposium this weekend.

The event, which will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Anable Basin Sailing Bar Grill in Hunters Point, will feature representatives from about 20 schools, from early childhood to middle school, and include forums that will offer advice to those applying for pre-k, kindergarten or G&T programs.

Participating schools include the District 30 Pre-K Center, P.S. 122, Growing Up Green Charter School, Our World Neighborhood Charter School, Queens Paideia School, The Garden School, Lolly’s Early Childhood Center & Preschool and more.

"To [help them] understand what the educational landscape in Long Island City looks like, and also what options are available to them," Black explained.

"If you're trying to piece together all this information, you can spend hours trying to navigate it."

The event is modeled after a similar event, the Astoria School Symposium, which has been running every year since 2012, Black said.

In Long Island City, the biggest hurdle for parents in the last several years has been a lack of public school seats as parents compete to land their child a pre-k or kindergarten spot at P.S. 78, the only public elementary school in the growing Hunters Point area.

Though the city recently added dozens of new school seats in the neighborhood, Black said the lack of options in previous years led some families to move out of the Hunters Point area once their children hit school-age. 

That's why GPA wants to make more parents aware that there are additional options out there, including private and charter schools as well as G&T and Dual Language programs in neighboring areas within Queens School District 30.

"I think that was surprising to me as a parent — how many really great quality options there are," said Black, whose own son landed at Growing Up Green Charter School in Dutch Kills, which she said she chose because it best fit his learning style.

"This is why we really want to get the message out," she said.

"We plan to stay here for a very long time and I want my children to have friends who stay here for a very long time."

LIC School Symposium will take place Dec. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Anable Basin Sailing Bar & Grill at 4-40 44th Dr. in Long Island City. The forum for applying to pre-k will be held at 11 a.m., kindergarten at 12 p.m. and G&T at 1 p.m. The event is free. Click here for more info and for a list of participating schools.