MMS Exmissions Portal

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

GOVERNOR SIGNS REDUCED CLASS SIZE BILL

I’m sitting in the waiting room of my first day of jury duty and finally had a chance to send out this email update about Governor Hochul signing a reduced class size bill that has been floating around the state legislature for years now. We will not see the impact of this bill on classrooms until 2023. The cap on kindergarten will now decrease from 25 to 20, and 1st-3rd grade will decrease from 32 to 20, 4th-8th from 32 to 23 and high school from 35 to 25. This is wonderful news in terms of students getting more teacher attention and quieter, more organized and less crowded classroom. However, It is not yet clear how this bill will impact the acceptance rate of kindergarten placements. While hopefully it will not impact zoned students because enrollment numbers remain down since the start of the pandemic, it may make it harder to get into schools your child is not zoned for, or gifted and talented programs. There are exceptions, and lack of space in a school building is one of them. For more information, please visit https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/8/23343774/nyc-class-size-bill-hochul-adams-budget-union.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022
HUNTER COLLEGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OPENS APPLICATION PROCESS ON SEPTEMBER 2ND AT 12 PM AND CLOSES ON NOVEMBER 4TH at 4 PM

Hunter College Elementary School (HCES) is a tuition-free school for gifted students that runs K-12th grade under the auspices of Hunter College and the CUNY system. Though HCES students do test again in 6th grade for the high school (HCHS) that starts in 7th grade, their scores do not count. However, the high school becomes significantly more rigorous, intense and competitive than the elementary school and a student or two each year may decide to look elsewhere during the upper school years.HCES has a two round process. For Round 1, you must submit an application and have your child tested within 3-4 weeks of application with one of the four-five Stanford-Binet IQ testers on a list that Hunter will share with you. (There are many more testers, but you will be randomly be given the name of four-five of them).For Round 2, about 300 students will advance based on IQ scores that are not released, but generally are in the 97% or above range. Applicants will find out if they advanced to the Second Round in December. If your child advances, parents and teachers will complete questionnaires in regards to your child’s gifted traits. Prior to Covid, Round II was a group session administered in person during two weekends in January, including Martin Luther King weekend. Since Covid, Hunter has used instead just these questionnaires. It is still to be determined what Round 2 will look like in 2023.The application is NOT first come first serve. Anyone who applies by the November 4th deadline will have their child tested by a Hunter approved psychologist with the Stanford-Binet IQ test. Thus, when considering when to submit an application, choose an end date by which you want your child tested, count back three-four weeks and then submit your application. Please note that children will only be compared to other children who are within two months of your child’s birthday. While there is a slight advantage to being tested on the older end of that two month spread, the best time to test is when you think your child will be happy, settled and focused for a test that will take anywhere from 45-75 minutes, one-one, in a psychologist’s office, with parents in the waiting room.There is NO advantage to waiting until the end, unless it works for your child’s birthday. At the end, while your child will be tested, testers get very backed up and there will be fewer testers available and much less options for getting a good testing time for your child. One also does not have to rush to get the application in the day it opens, as there is two months worth of testing.Please note that Hunter testers are on the lookout for children whom they believe have been exposed to the Stanford-Binet V IQ test. They are suspicious of children who may know the next question before asked, but will also follow up with you if the child does or says something that indicates they may have been prepped. In the past, it was possible to explain away any prep based on the DOE providing sample questions for its G&T evaluations, but as those evaluations don’t presently exist (we are still waiting to hear about DOE procedures for this year), that can no longer be used as a rationale. Please also note that if it takes a lot of time and finances to prep your child for the Hunter test, Hunter may not be the right place for your child.For more information, please carefully review https://www.hunterschools.org/elementary-school/admissions/procedures, https://www.hunterschools.org/elementary-school/admissions/testing and if you need a fee reduction on the application and testing https://www.hunterschools.org/elementary-school/admissions/reduced-fee.

DOE KINDERGARTEN APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR 2023: JANUARY 12, 2023: While the DOE Kindergarten Application website https://www.schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/enroll-grade-by-grade/kindergarten has not yet posted dates, the Special Music School just updated its website to indicate that the deadline will be January 12, 2023. SMS remains on the DOE application and will not have its own application. Generally, the application opens early to mid-December and closes mid-January, so that sounds about right. However, as you go through this process, you can be assured that the only thing that is sure is that the DOE will change some aspect of the process, including deadlines. Having this date may be helpful for those of you who are thinking about moving and need an appropriate address by January 12, 2023 to be in the first round of any kindergarten placements. The application is NOT first come first serve; everyone who applies by the deadline will have equal opportunity. Even if you can’t move by January 12, there will still be options for you, and I will talk more about this as we get closer to the application period.

SPECIAL MUSIC SCHOOL: According to the SMS website, they will be following the same procedure as last year: All families applying for kindergarten are required to apply through the NYC Department of Education’s kindergarten application (myschools.nyc). Kindergarten will be aligned with the admissions cycle of the Department of Education. Questions about the kindergarten application process should be directed to esenrollment@schools.nyc.gov or by calling 212 935 2009. All Kindergarten applicants will receive their assessment time and dates beginning early January 2023, with assessments beginning late January 2023 at Special Music School. Last year, after the DOE closed the kindergarten admission process in mid-January, SMS starting inviting all children to be assessed whose families had listed SMS as one of their 12 choices. Those parents of children assessed in the past have said that taking a Eurythymics Dalcroze class can be helpful. Feel free to google features of Dalcroze and activity books or take a look at this class offered by the Lucy Moses Center affiliated with SMS: https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/lms/program/dalcroze-for-children1/

SMS also has posted on its website: We look for many things, including accurate pitch, good rhythm, musical memory and engagement in music. The first round of assessment features two different activities which take place on the same day. In small groups, children take a 25-minute music "class" in which they are asked to sing, clap and move to music. In addition, each child is given a short, one-on-one individual assessment. Children who score above a certain level on these two tests are called back for a lengthier individual assessment, after which they will be either accepted or not accepted to the school, or placed on a "delayed decision" list. Children on the "delayed decision" list may be asked to re-test toward the end of the assessment process. Children scoring below a certain level on the first round of tests will not be asked to continue. While we recognize that there are many factors that may affect a child's performance on a given day, and that children who are not recommended for advancement to the next level may be deeply talented, it is our policy not to re-test children at any level except in truly exceptional circumstances.

Just remember, out of the hundreds of children who list SMS on their applications, only 13 will be in the kindergarten class. But if interested, might as well try!