In response to the New York City Board of Education’s decision to cancel New York City's Elite preschool program in school districts 25 and 26 in Queens as well as some other districts in New York City, Korean parents are so angry that they are considering filing a class action suit against the Board.
The Board is maintaining a strong position against the Elite program. They do not want it to open in the districts mentioned, and have no plans for opening the program this year, despite having promised parents in these districts to do so earlier this year. Both sides expect a major confrontation on the issue, especially since all of the school districts in Manhattan, and all but one district in Brooklyn were set to open the program. Areas with large concentrations of Koreans—such as the 25th and 26th districts in Queens—will not be able to open the program. Other areas affected are Staten Island and the Bronx, where 13 districts had hoped to institute the plan. These districts have only received notification from the City's Board about the cancellation very recently.
Korean parents, whose children took an entry exam for the program and expected it to begin this fall, are confused upon receiving the Board's letter. They say that there was no indication that the Board would decide this way. In fact, they feel a certain amount of ridicule and disdain in the Board's decision.
In addition to the parents, the children themselves are also upset. Those who passed the entry exams and looked forward to attending certain schools may not have the chance to do so. Children who have taken standardized tests and scored in the top 3rd percentile, have the chance to attend the Anderson, the Talented and Gifted (TAG), or the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST + m) schools, all of which offer intensive elite programs for talented and advanced children. But the parents of these children are worried since competition for placement in these schools is already high. If New York City’s public school system does not open its Elite program, applications for these other elite schools will only increase. Without the option to apply for schools in other districts, if these children in the top 3rd percentile in the two districts cannot get into the program, a question about where they should go arises.
According to the results of an analysis by the City's Board of Education, there are 29 children in the top 3rd percentile in districts 25, and 17 in district 26 in Queens. The total number in New York City is 978. However, Anderson plans to offer only two special classes, TAG also plans to offer two, and the NEST + m school five. The number is nowhere near enough to cover all of the children.
For the 2009 academic fiscal year, a total of 230,443 children have taken the test for the New York City Elite preschool program. The top 10 percent of the children number 2,320. In the top 3 percent, there are 978 and 411 children in preschool and elementary school respectively. Manhattan is the "best" school district with the highest scores, while Brooklyn's districts 15, 20, 21, 22 trailing closely behind. The Bronx's districts 7, 8, 9, 12, and Brooklyn's districts 23, and 32 received low scores, compared to the City standard. But in Queen's districts 25 and 26, there are a large percentage of children with top scores.
