NYC Mayor Scraps Gifted And Talented Education Program

New York City will Scrap its Exclusive Gifted and Talented Education Program, getting Rid of a Test given to 4-year-olds to determine who gets into the Special Classes, Term-Limited Mayor, Bill de Blasio (D) announced Friday.

The current group of Kids in Gifted and Talented classes, mostly White and Asian, in a mostly Black and Latino School System, will be the Last.

After that, Students will be Screened for Accelerated Instruction in particular Subjects but Stay in Regular Classrooms.

At least, that’s the Plan. But expect this One to be a Big Fight, because de Blasio will be Out-of-office in less than Three months.

The Mayoral Nnominee, Eric Adams (D), has advocated keeping Gifted Classes, while Expanding the Program to more Low-Income Neighborhoods.

His Campaign said this weekend, his Position has Not Changed, and says he “reserves his right to implement policies based on the needs of students and parents, should he become mayor.”

Nominee Curtis Sliwa (R) went further, holding a Campaign Event over the weekend, to blast Plans to get Rid of the Program. He called the Decision “pathetic and wrong.”

Parents are sharply Divided on the Changes, and Critics say getting Rid of the Separate Program, could lead Middle-Class Parents, to leave the Public School System altogether.

But de Blasio argues that on the Contrary, it’s “a reason to stay,” since more Children will have a Chance at some Accelerated Learning.

The fate of Gifted and Talented is part of a broader Battle over efforts to Desegregate City Schools, particularly the Highest-Performing ones.

The next Mayor will also inherit a Debate over the City’s Specialized High Schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science, where de Blasio tried and failed, to get Rid of an Admissions Process determined by a Single Test, while Adams wants to keep the Test but Create more Seats.

The Charter School Cap is the Statutory Limit on the Number of Charter Schools that can Open in New York State, which currently stands at 460, with a Smaller Sub-Cap for New York City.

For the 2019-20 School year, approximately 81,000 Applications were Submitted for approximately 33,000 available Seats in NYC Charter Schools.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker