New York’s gifted and talented program to be eliminated, says de Blasio

Mayor Bill de Blasio is phasing out the Gifted and Talented program from New York City, he announced on Friday – bowing to critics who complain that the coveted model is racist.

Current students in the program will be able to stay in accelerated learning courses until completion. But the new cohorts will be completely wiped out by fall 2022, ending current testing for the city’s 4-year-old children.

“The era of judging four-year-olds on the basis of a single test is over,” de Blasio said on Friday.

It is being replaced by Brilliant NYC, a program that gives students ages 8 and over the chance to accelerate learning – while staying in their regular classes with other students.

De Blasio announced the major overhaul despite being in the final months of his tenure.

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Candidates to replace him, Democrat Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa, have both made it clear that they do not want to eliminate the program entirely, which critics have attacked by saying that a higher number of white students and Asians pass the tests.

“Brilliant NYC will provide accelerated education to tens of thousands of children, as opposed to the privileged few,” said de Blasio.

“Every child in New York City deserves to reach their full potential, and this new fair model gives them that chance.”

But critics quickly tore Hizzoner apart for making the decision so late in his administration after previous calls to leave it to his successor.

“Gifted and talented programs have been an integral option for generations of school children,” tweeted Sen. John Liu (D-Queens), who chairs a panel on schools in New York City.

“@BilldeBlasio has pledged intensive public engagement on this, but now wants a total elimination.

“It won’t help his dire record. On the contrary, his legacy will be the mayor’s revocation of control,” Liu said.

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Sam Pirozzolo, former chairman of the Staten Island Community Education Council which put two children on G&T programs, called the move “disheartening.”

“Tens of thousands of families are leaving public schools because the education taught sucks,” he said.

“The elimination of the gifted and talented program is another brick in the wall insulting parents.

“It’s the political thing that’s going on. It’s critical race theory.”

Mayor Adams’ leader believes that “clearly the Department of Education needs to improve outcomes for children in low income areas,” spokesman Evan Thies told The Post.

But “Eric will evaluate the plan and reserves the right to implement policies based on the needs of students and parents, should he become mayor,” said Thies.

G&T supporters have long praised him for giving academically advanced children the opportunity to learn at an appropriate pace and serve as an educational springboard.

However, critics counter that the intake model favors middle-class families who are better able to prepare for the test and that the exam serves as a poor marker of talent in young children.

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But the debate has also focused on claims that the racial makeup of classes reflects an unfair bias. Asian students make up 43 percent of G&T students while they are only 16.2 percent in the school system.

White students make up 36% of G&T classes, Hispanics 8%, and African Americans 6%.

The city’s education department says its new model will provide accelerated learning opportunities to 26 times as many students, from 2,500 to 65,000 preschoolers in the city.

The 4,000 kindergarten teachers will need additional training in preparation, and the city will hire additional teachers trained in accelerated learning in areas with historically little or no gifted and talented programs.

Seven teams of specialist experts will also be on hand to help implement the new large-scale proposals.

All students entering third grade will now be screened in different subjects to see if they would benefit from tailor-made accelerated instruction – but they will stay in regular classrooms, according to the plan.

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The accelerated model will also focus on real-world skills, with topics such as coding, robotics, and even community advocacy.

As a longtime educator, I know that every child in New York City has talents that go far beyond what a single test can capture and the Brilliant NYC plan will uncover their strengths for them. can succeed, ”said Chancellor of Schools Meisha Porter.

“I’m excited to go to neighborhoods across the city to hear first-hand from communities about the types of learning opportunities that pique students’ interest and make their talents shine. “

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