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Parents in New York City tear up “extremely disappointing” and “abominable” comments from Mayor Bill de Blasio“ plans to remove the Gifted and Talented program from the public school system during his final months in office.
Parents in public schools in the five boroughs told The Post that the lame mayor’s proposal, announced on Friday, to phase out the coveted exclusive education model by next fall – after leaving Gracie Mansion in the end. of 2021 – is a bad call for students in the Ministry of Education system.
Charleen Ang, mother of a gifted and talented third-year program student on the Upper West Side, tried to bring her first-year son into it unsuccessfully and lamented that he might not have. not be the occasion.
“Now there is no way for our son to join his sister,” she fumed. “It is appalling that de Blasio, in his last few months in office, dismantled one of the few successful education programs in New York City, which is having a negative impact on a large number of children.”
“I am really angry that the mayor who has been in charge of our education for the past eight years is using his last days as mayor to bring about this very radical change to our public education,” said Yiatin Chu, co-founder of the PLACE NYC education advocacy group. , whose eldest has followed a gifted and talented program.
“I think it’s ridiculous that the mayor is making such a change at the eleventh hour.”
The current gifted and talented program for elementary schools in New York City was instituted by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It offers crash courses and a specialized advanced program for qualifying students.
The program controversially required children to be tested at age 4 for admission – and those who passed were disproportionately white and Asian and from wealthy parts of the city. But some local black and Latino politicians also supported the program, as it offered many families they represent an alternative to the often struggling district schools.
According to de Blasio’s plan, released Friday morning, current students in G&T accelerated learning classes will be able to stay there until the end. But the new cohorts will be completely wiped out by fall 2022, ending the current system in which the city’s 4-year-olds are tested.
Lisa Marks, a parent and teacher at a Manhattan public school, told The Post she has an older child in an accelerated program in District 2 and plans to have a younger brother apply. there too.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” said Marks, who teaches at a high school in the Bronx. “We had planned to apply, but now I have to tell my daughter that she will not have the same opportunity. This is not true. “
Max Dickstein, a Forest Hills resident, is the father of a Gifted and Talented program child and was preparing for his brother to apply for the same school next year.
While Dickstein acknowledged that the existing single-test admission system was outdated and in need of an overhaul, he said removing the programs entirely was not the appropriate solution.
“I think there had to be a change,” he said. “There isn’t a diversity of kids in the classroom, but it’s disappointing that someone is having fun throwing everything away.”
Craig Slutzkin, a parent from Manhattan, also planned for his child to apply for a gifted and talented freshman spot next year. He said his child was already bored in his classes this year and predicted that eliminating accelerated learning opportunities would cause some families to seek alternatives in the city’s public schools.
“One of the advantages of the New York City school system is that it has always taken accelerated learners and worked with them to make sure they are performing at an appropriate level. It’s important to have these opportunities early on, because the early years are important, ”he said. “You want these kids to be challenged and engaged. “
The much-delayed talent and talent overhaul, which town hall has been criticized for not hiring parents, can still be changed in response to comments, city officials insisted on Friday.
“We want to hear from parents, community leaders, educators and students. Brilliant NYC is a vision. This is our vision for New York City, ”Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter told WNYC on Friday morning. “This is a template for the plan we intend to implement. Commitment is an essential element in moving this plan forward.
“We will present this plan to the communities,” added the mayor during his weekly appearance “The Brian Lehrer Show”. “The Chancellor is going to be there personally, many other key DOE officials will come out, meet with parents, meet with parent leaders, community education councils, hear their feedback, and then adjust a plan based on that. what we hear, and then that’s what we ultimately implement.
De Blasio and Porter stunned the city with Friday’s announcement – which came a day after the Investigations Department revealed the mayor had abused his police contact details and despite repeated promises from the DOE of significant community engagement .
Ultimately, the fate of the Gifted and Talented program will be in the hands of the next mayor – who, in early 2021, will take over as head of city government. The next mayor will likely be Eric Adams, the Democratic candidate for the November 2 race.
A representative for Adams, currently the Brooklyn Borough president, said he “will assess the plan and reserve the right to implement policies based on the needs of students and parents, should he become mayor. “.
Deborah Alexander – a parent leader at Community District Council 30 in West Queens – called the G&T program’s ugly fate “confusing.”
” No one really knows. Is it something that is set in stone? Is this something that they’re going to have meetings on, or is it something that they just throw at the next mayor? She wondered.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer was also puzzled.
“I couldn’t understand exactly what is on offer,” she told The Post on Friday afternoon.
Brewer, like other elected officials, responded to the wave of outrage after the surprise announcement by again promising that they would modify the program to incorporate input from advocates, teachers and parents.
“The education ministry must be able to meet the needs of academically gifted children, but it should include black and Latino families and it should be an integrated program,” she said.
“It just won’t happen,” she added of teachers who are required to provide accelerated instruction alongside grade-level lesson plans. “They are already overwhelmed.”
Some existing G&T parents have supported the new model. “I am extremely supportive of this new plan which will bring greater equity to all of the city’s classrooms,” said Idehsa Fraser of Brooklyn. “Every child in New York City deserves a level playing field and a level playing field. ”
MP Ron Kim – a Democrat representing parts of Queens and a father of two in gifted and talented programs – said the G&T ban was an “attack” on working-class immigrant families and Asian.
“They are not privileged and rich parents! These are working parents who want to challenge their children, ”the left-wing lawmaker told The Post. “How is putting kids out of gifted and talented programs going to solve racial segregation?” Punishing children who want to excel is wrong.
He lamented that the preferences of working-class immigrants “were absent from” discussions of school policy “during de Blasio’s tenure.
“It is not true.”
Kai Mao, who wanted to enroll his 3-year-old son Samuel to learn in a gifted and talented degree program, raised the possibility of leaving the five wards or placing his young son in a private school.
“It would be difficult, but we had to do it,” he said. “The mayor of Blasio wants all uneducated children to be equally. “
“It’s a good program,” added Moa, a Gramercy Park resident. “We need smart student programs.
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