Last Thursday I participated in the Bright Kids NYC parent information session about OLSAT test prep and general information about the NYC gifted and talented program. Bright Kids NYC is a program that prepares children in pre-K through second grade to take standardized tests.
I sat on the G&T panel and answered questions from prospective G&T parents. Along with three other parents, there were also two teachers on the panel — one who teaches gifted and talented students and another who actually proctored the OLSAT and BRSA tests for several years. Bige Doruk, founder of Bright Kids, gave a presentation beforehand.
About 40 parents attended the session scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. After it was all said and done we didn’t get out of session until after 9 p.m. due to the high interest and interaction amongst audience members! The participation levels were extremely high especially in the area of OLSAT and BRSA test prep. I was bombarded by questions from parents during and after the session due to my personal experience with gifted and talented program at PS 33 Chelsea Prep, which my child attends.
This session provided a true forum for parents to find out the “ins and outs” of the OLSAT and BRSA tests and how to navigate through the NYC gifted and talented program admissions process effectively. Due to the setting and content of the meeting I’d have to say this information session was far better than the DOE NYC gifted and talented information session I attended. I think the more intimate setting of this session provided the atmosphere prospective parents of G&T students needed to get their questions and concerns answered.
In previous postings I wrote about the top 10 things the DOE should do to improve gifted and talented information sessions and also my personal experience while attending the gifted and talented information session in Manhattan a couple of weeks ago.
I’d like to hear from Gothamschools readers about gifted and talented information sessions for parents. Are the sessions necessary or should content on the internet and the DOE web site suffice?
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