Small Uptick in First Choice Matches for Kindergarten

Offer letters for families who applied to kindergarten by the February deadline were sent out Tuesday, New York City education officials said, and approximately 72 percent of applicants got their first choice.

About the same number of students — 1,239 — remain on waitlists for their zoned school this year compared to last year, but those students are concentrated in a smaller number of schools. Education officials said 51 schools had waitlists of zoned students, down from 63 schools last year.

Click here to see all of the schools with waiting lists.

Nearly 68,000 students applied for kindergarten through the city’s single application process of ranking up to 12 school choices. While the vast majority of applicants got at least one of their top schools, about 10 percent of applicants did not get a placement to any school on their list. In those cases, students received an offer to another school.

"We’ve seen an increase in the number of students who received one of their first choices and a decreased number of schools with waitlists," said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña in a statement. "This is a great step in the right direction and we’ll continue working to best serve all families."

Families have until May 6 to pre-register for kindergarten and should do so directly at the school. Even if families pre-register at one school, they can still be on a waitlist at another, education officials said.