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Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio New York City to phase out controversial talent and talent program Watchdog: De Blasio abused security details for personal gain De Blasio said privately he plans to run for New York governor : PLUS report (D) announced on Friday that the city would phase out its controversial gifted and talented student programs for elementary school students.
The programs will be replaced with an initiative called “Brilliant NYC,” which will increase the number of students with access to accelerated learning, NBC News reported. The current gifted and talented programs are only available to new kindergarten children who do well on an exam that then puts them on the path to attending elite schools in the city. The exam is already on hold because the city’s school advisory board did not renew it last year and it would be permanently phased out as part of the Brilliant NYC program, according to the New York Times.
“Today we announced a plan to provide accelerated education to tens of thousands of children, as opposed to a few,” wrote on Twitter de Blasio, who is reportedly considering a gubernatorial candidacy. “Brilliant NYC pursues the work of fairness and excellence in ensuring that every student in our schools has the opportunity to succeed.”
Today we announced a plan to provide fast-track education to tens of thousands of children, as opposed to a few. Brilliant NYC pursues the work of fairness and excellence in ensuring that every student in our schools has the opportunity to succeed.
– Major Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 8, 2021
Students currently enrolled in the gifted and talented programs will stay there, but the programs will not be offered to future kindergartens next fall, according to NBC. Instead of the program entrance exam, the city will determine which students should be placed in crash courses based on their schoolwork and teacher input.
The current program has received backlash from educators for what many say discriminates against black and Latino students in the country’s largest school system. Even though about 70 percent of New York’s nearly one million public school students are black and Latino, about 75 percent of the gifted and talented students in the program are white or Asian American, according to the Times.
Some still criticized de Blasio’s decision to drop the program, including State Senator John Liu, a Democrat from Queens.
“Gifted and talented programs have been an integral option for generations of schoolchildren, ”Liu said in a tweet.@BilldeBlasio has promised intensive public engagement on this, but now wants total elimination. It will not help its abysmal record. If anything, his legacy will be the revocation of the mayor’s control. “
Gifted and talented programs have been an integral option for generations of school children. @BilldeBlasio has promised intensive public engagement on this, but now wants total elimination. It will not help its abysmal record. If anything, his legacy will be the revocation of the mayor’s control.
– John C. Liu (@LiuNewYork) October 8, 2021
A panel appointed by de Blasio in 2019 proposed to cut the program in a bid to desegregate the city’s school system.
De Blasio’s announcement comes as he nears the end of his last term as mayor. Eric Adams, the Democratic candidate for mayor who is likely to succeed him, said he was not in favor of eliminating the gifted and talented program, but rather wanted to extend it to low-income neighborhoods in the city .
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