Guidelines for Kindergarten Admissions 2009-2010

1. Guidelines for Kindergarten Admissions2009-2010

2. PowerPoint Cover “Little Tiny Mouse” designed by: • Nyla Pesantes – Kindergarten • PS/IS 180, The Homewood School, Brooklyn • Andrea Shelfo - Teacher

3. OVERVIEW • Guidelines for Kindergarten admissions 2009-2010: • Schools continue to administer their own admissions for Kindergarten • Standard general education timeline for all schools • Clear priorities for admission based on school zone • No automatic list-notice from Pre-K to Kindergarten. All students must apply for Kindergarten • No first-come, first served enrollment

4. KEY DATES • January 12 to March 2 – Families submit intake information at each school in which they are interested. • March 16 – Schools notify families regarding assignment offers. • March 16 – April 13 – Assigned families inform schools as to whether they accept or reject offers. Pre-registration period at the schools for students who accept their offers. Students are entered in ATS. • Beginning April 20 – Schools may: • a) Pre-register students from their waiting lists, or • b) Pre-register students on a first come, first served basis.

5. OUTREACH • Schools should continue to send information home with students, host open houses and school fairs, conduct tours, send flyers to local UPK and CBO programs, run newspaper ads, place posters in stores, etc. and continue in all ways to reach out to parents as they have done in the past.

6. ELIGIBILITY for KINDERGARTEN • Children born between January 1 and December 31, 2004, and who reside in New York City, are eligible to participate in Kindergarten programs that are offered by the New York City Department of Education. • Alleligible students must submit intake information at each school for which they want to be considered. Families may apply to a zoned school, a sibling’s school, or a non-zoned school they are eligible to attend.

7. If we have pre-Kindergarten children who are on register with OSIS numbers, why are we required to register them again for Kindergarten? Normally they are just promoted or list-noticed to another school. • All students entering Kindergarten in 2009-2010 must apply directly to the school(s) they are interested in attending. This includes students currently attending a NYC Pre-Kindergarten program at a public school or a Community Based Organization. • Students in UPK programs will not be automatically list-noticed to their zoned school. • This is to insure that students do not simply default to zoned schools.

8. Is there a standard application that schools are to use for the six week intake period? Is this the same as the yellow ATS registration form? • There is no standard application per se that is being issued to schools. Schools will record the following information for each child seeking admission: • Name and date of birth • Address with two current proofs • Sibling’s name and OSIS number, if applicable • OSIS number, if applicable • Schools can create a spreadsheet to collect this data. An example is included on the next slide.

9. Example of Intake Interest Spreadsheet for 33Z001

10. We usually register Kindergarten students in March of each year. Why are we starting so early this year and why are we being given a 6 week window? • In past years, students were offered general education seats in the Spring on a first-come first-served basis, and seats were also held for UPK students in public schools or CBOs who would be list-noticed in May-June. • The guidelines encourage schools to offer available seats based on the Kindergarten enrollment priorities. The 6-week window allows for the creation of a pool of eligible candidates before any assignment offers are made.

11. If a prospective Kindergarten student comes in during January 12 – March 2 and is zoned for us (with proofs) why can’t we pre-register him /her at that time? Why must they come back during March 16 – April 13? • If you are equipped to do so, you can have parents complete the pre-registration paperwork during the 6-week intake period. • No placements should be made during the 6-week period because the school may receive more applications from high priority students than available seats.

12. Priorities for Kindergarten Admission – Zoned Schools - • Zoned Schools are to accept students in the following order of priority: • 1. Zoned students whose verified siblings will be enrolled in grades K-5 in the school as of September 2009. • 2. Zoned students without K-5 siblings in the school. • 3. Non-zoned students whose verified siblings will be enrolled in grades K-5 in the school as of September 2009: • a. Within District first, then • b. Out of District • 4. Non-zoned students without K-5 siblings in the school: • a. Within District first, then • b. Out of District

13. Priorities for Kindergarten Admission – Non-Zoned Schools • Based on enrollment projections, Non-Zoned Schools are to accept students in the following order or priority: • District students whose verified siblings will be enrolled in grades K-5 in the school as of September 2009. • Out of District students whose verified siblings will be enrolled in grades K-5 in the school as of September 2009. • District students without K-5 siblings in the school. • Out of District students without K-5 sibling in the school.

14. Siblings • Siblings are brothers or sisters (including half-brothers, half-sisters, step-brothers, step-sisters, foster brothers, and foster sisters) of applicants who live in the same household. • In an elementary school, a younger child receives sibling priority only if the older child will be enrolled in grade five or below in the same school at the start of the following school year. • It is the school’s responsibility to verify an applicant’s sibling eligibility.

15. IMPORTANT REMINDERS • All eligible students (including students currently enrolled in pre-Kindergarten programs) must submit intake materials at each school to which they want to be considered for Kindergarten. • Families may apply to more than one school by submitting intake materials at each school. This may include applying to a zoned school, a sibling’s school, or a non-zoned school they are eligible to attend. • If offered more than one school, families can accept only one offer. ATS will only allow one entry. • Pre-registration/registration becomes effective after all documentation requirements are met in beginning in April, not in January and February.

16. Required Documents for Pre-registration • In order for a student to register in a New York City public school, the parent and the child must both appear and must provide: • 2 verifiable proofs of residence; • Child’s birth certificate or passport; • Child’s immunization records; • Please refer to Chancellor’s Regulation A101 for details. • Please note: Children do not need to appear in January – February to be considered. They only need to appear at your school for pre-registration.

17. Questions We Have Already Received

18. How should we plan for our zoned students? How do we know how many acceptances to offer? What happens in September 2009 when new zoned Kindergarten students come to register and there are no seats because enrollment projections were low and non-zoned students were allowed to register. Should we hold seats for zoned students who show up in September?

19. What happens if we have more applicants then seats available? • What happens if some of my students receive multiple offers? • Are all students who receive a Kindergarten placement offered transportation?

20. IMPORTANT CONTACTS • If you have any questions or concerns please contact: • Marty Barr, Executive Director Elementary School Enrollment at mbarr2@schools.nyc.gov • or • Kim Cobb, Manager Elementary School Enrollment at kcobb@schools.nyc.gov • Information about Kindergarten admissions can be found online at http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/PreK.