New York relaunches program of schools for the talented and gifted

After ending his first 100 days in office, which revealed a number of major challenges for Mayor Eric Adams — from the backlash against COVID-19 mandate decisions to homelessness and rising subway crime — the Democrat is making another change. NBC New York.

Adams and school chancellor David Banks jointly announced on Thursday, April 14, a planned expansion of the Gifted and Talented program, which will expand citywide for the first time and add places, especially for third graders.

Efforts to revive the long-standing program come months after former Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed to end it. The ex-mayor blamed the program's history of fueling systemic disparities due to the disproportionate enrollment of white and Asian students compared to their black and Hispanic competitors.

Under the plan, released Thursday, the city will add 100 kindergarten places and 1000 third-grade places to ensure a fairer selection process. Applications for both kindergarten and third grade programs open on May 31st.

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Adams made his intentions for the Gifted and Talented clear during the campaign. Then he said that it would be wrong to eliminate the program without replacing it. Adams' plan is to implement an accelerated learning model. According to him, she will expand and improve the program, covering more children. Especially from the vulnerable segments of the population.

“Expanding our gifted and talented program to every borough of New York is giving every child in every zip code a fair chance. And the opportunity to ensure that no child is left behind,” Adams said in a statement. “For the first time in history, every school district will have a gifted and talented program. This is how we give every young person the opportunity to grow, learn, develop their talents and imagination.”

What changes and how will your family benefit?

Historically, Kindergarten has been the starting point of entry into New York City's Gifted and Talented Schools program. For the 2022-2023 academic year, about 100 new places in kindergartens are added to the portfolio of gifted and talented people. This expands the program to all 32 districts and brings the total number of places to 2500.

To fill these spaces, each pre-K student will be assessed by their current teacher for potential nomination. Universal pre-screening removes the initial burden on families and provides access to more children with a more diverse range of suitable skills.

Introduced for the first time in the 2021-2022 school year, universal selection has resulted in a more diverse student body receiving invitations to apply for gifted and talented programs. Students enrolled in non-DOE programs and those who are not yet enrolled will participate in an interview with DOE staff to determine eligibility.

Families of nominated children will receive an invitation letter to apply before the process begins. The third grade level also receives special support. In addition, each district in the city must provide an additional entry point, which amounts to a basic program of one program in each district and a total of 1000 places.

Given scores in the four core subject areas, the top 10% of second graders in each school will be invited to apply for the third grade gifted and talented student program. Families will be considered for placement on all applications, and offers will be made based on district and sibling priorities and availability. Officials have said that 3rd grade programs will expand to 4th and 5th grades in the coming years.

Child development research shows that identifying gifted behaviors in later grades can provide a more accurate assessment of gifted abilities, city officials say.

“Today we are moving towards ending the era of scarcity. An era when families are fighting among themselves for limited places for gifted and talented children in remote schools, we read in a statement by Banks. “Through this expansion, we are providing a wide range of accelerated learning opportunities to more families while ensuring a fair process for identifying bright students.”

Why is a reboot necessary? Controversial backstory

New York has the largest school district in America with over 1 million students. Although the city is one of the most diverse in the country, its public education system has long been criticized as one of the most segregated, especially under the Gifted and Talented program.

About 75% of the program's 16 students are white or Asian. Although black and Hispanic students make up about two-thirds.

Banks had previously called for improvements to the program in his address earlier this year. He then announced that over 120 families had left the school system in the last five years. The staggering figure has surfaced before, but New York schools have not confirmed it.

While the decline began before the pandemic, the health crisis has accelerated it. When it comes to declining public school enrollment, Banks said the district has “eroded the trust of our families. We have to get that trust back.”