543 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

I have to give 132 credit for getting themselves and our kids through the pandemic. Honestly, it is impressive that my kindergartner was able to progress on schedule with reading, math and communication skills given the extraordinary circumstances presented by the 2020-2021 school year. Even with the circumstances and challenges of remote learning, we were happy with the school up until Easter, when our child's teacher left on sudden long-term leave. The rest of the year with a sub in place the classroom was chaotic and stressful, even with teacher's aides there to help. We were disconcerted when our kiddo came home and told us she had been pushed by another student in class and that there was frequent name calling. When we approached the sub about this she assured us that our kiddo was going to be placed in G&T for first grade, where she would be more engaged and challenged and have a better classroom environment. So in my mind that was the solution. But we came to find out that for administrative reasons, no new students would be allowed into the G&T program unless they'd been placed on a waiting list the previous year. We were frustrated dealing with the administration and I felt more like a number than a person. We just could not get through to anyone "real" that could hear out our situation or concerns. In the end we decided to place our child in another school to avoid the extra stress of a classroom environment like the one she had for kindergarten at 132. Overall, they did a great job handling the pandemic but more effort to address the needs of students and place them according to their learning level would have kept us there. I can see why candidates campaigned to do away with G&T altogether. It feels like if you don't get in, your school experience can be a wildcard. Now that we have been through this I agree G&T should be done away with and the entire system fixed so that every classroom environment is a good one.