Kindergarten offer letters for public schools have been sent out to families with children born in 2012. PS 8 has a waitlist of 22 kids for Kindergarten for school year 2017/2018. For next school year, there were 187 in-zone applications. 165 offers were made for 125 seats, there are currently 22 children on the waitlist. For the last three years, PS 8 has limited their Kindergarten classes to 5 sections with 25 students each due to overcrowding at the school.
Kindergarten admissions priorities for PS 8 are the following:
1. In-zone siblings (this includes younger siblings from the former school zone DUMBO and Vinegar Hill)
2. In-zone students
PS 8 does not take any out-of-zone students due to the overcrowding at the school. If your child was waitlisted, the Office of Kindergarten Admissions has assigned your child a position on this waitlist by lottery. You may obtain your child’s waitlist number from the Office of Kindergarten Admissions. Contact them at: (718) 935-2009 or via email: [email protected].
Here is the recent history of the PS 8 overcrowding, waitlisting and rezoning:
School year 2015/2016: All of the 50 students on the wait list were eventually offered a spot at PS 8. The wait list absorbed itself throughout the summer due to G&T placements, Charter School placements, private school offerings, people moving and for other reasons. PS 8’s school zone at that time included all of DUMBO and Vinegar Hill.
School year 2016/2017: No students were wait listed. 2016 was the first year when the school zone of PS 8 included Brooklyn Heights, Old Fulton Street, Concord Village and the new Pierhouse 1 only. DUMBO and Vinegar Hill got rezoned for PS 307 on York Street last school year. Only students from DUMBO and Vinegar Hill with older siblings at PS 8 could go to PS 8 at that time and moving forward.
School year 2017/2018: A new wait list has been created with 22 students. PS 8 expects movement for the wait list throughout spring and summer similar to the process in 2015. The school will fill 5 classes with 25 students next school year. At this time, it is not clear why there has been a significant jump in applications for this academic year. Students wait listed have been offered spots at PS 307 in Vinegar Hill. You will not loose your spot on the wait list of PS 8 if you register your child at the alternate school where you received a placement for. More information provided by PS 8 on their website.
About PS 307:
PS 307 in Vinegar Hill is slated to run 4 Kindergarten classes with up to 25 students per class next school year. At this time, the school has sent out 88 Kindergarten offer letters. If you are interested in touring PS 307, here are the upcoming school tour dates, all start at 9 am (no need to RSVP): March 14th, March 21st, April 4th, April 25th, May 9th, May 16th, May 23rd and June 6th.
PS 29 and PS 58 wait lists:
PS 29 in Cobble Hill has a wait list of 29 kids for the first time this year for Kindergarten, PS 58 in Carroll Gardens as well has a Kindergarten wait list with 16 kids this year similar to recent years.
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