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If OLSAT, BSRA, ERB, G&T and Stanford-Binet don’t ring a school bell for you then you’ve mostly likely not experienced the entrance exams for NYC private schools or the tests for the NYC public school gifted and talented programs.

Since our child (at the ripe age of four) took the 128-question OLSAT/BSRA test (yes, 128 questions!) in February and got accepted to a public school gifted and talented program, I’ve become quite familiar with the ins and outs of the G&T program from a parent’s perspective. Between the OLSAT testing, obsessing, waiting on the results, obsessing some more, receiving the test results, touring the the G&T schools, obsessing again, prioritizing the schools we wanted, receiving the school placement letter from DOE, going to parent orientation, and finally having the first day of school it’s been quite a ride! 

Now I want to share my expertise as I continue to learn more. On my blog I’ve chronicled (step-by-step) my experiences with the NYC gifted and talented program since we received our child’s OLSAT test results and acceptance letter in May. Going forward, I’ll post information like that both here and on my own blog. I am excited to open up a discussion about the city’s gifted and talented programs with GothamSchools readers, so please e-mail me with your questions, comments and experiences.

Although we’re just three weeks into the school year we’ve been very pleased with the results we’re seeing with PS 33’s first year of G&T. From the teachers to the parents to the principal there’s a real team approach to the success of our child’s education. We’ve been able to integrate what’s learned in the classroom into activities we can do at home with our child on nights and weekends. So far, so great!

P.S. — In case you’re not familiar with how stressful (and competitive!) this process can be, watch this short video that shows three New York City families who are “Getting in … Kindergarten.”