Queens officials slam mayor for ending gifted and talented program
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Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city would phase out the gifted and talented program in its schools as he transitions out of office. File photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By Jacob Kaye
Queens leaders are fuming after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would phase out its gifted and talented program in public schools in the coming years.
The mayor announced the end of the controversial program on Friday and said it would be replaced with an “accelerated learning” model, which is already being implemented in a handful of elementary schools throughout the city.
Beginning next fall, kindergarteners will no longer test for the gifted and talented program and in a few years, long after the mayor has left office, the program will be phased out entirely.
“The era of judging 4-year-olds based on a single test is over,” de Blasio said. “Every New York City child deserves to reach their full potential, and this new, equitable model gives them that chance.”
De Blasio’s actions are aimed at addressing a long understood issue within the city’s schools – the gifted and talented program is one of the most segregated aspects of an already segregated New York City school system. Around 75 percent of the approximately 16,000 students in the gifted and talented program are white or Asian. Black and Latino students make up the rest despite accounting for around 66 percent of the city’s entire school population.
Despite the disparities, many had lauded the program for offering an outlet to students in need of a more advanced curriculum. Those in support of the program, including a large group of elected officials in Queens, decried the mayor’s decision on Friday, saying the choice should have been made by the public and that instead of erasing the program in its entirety, it should have been amended.
State Sen. John Liu, who has long been in support of the gifted and talented program, called de Blasio’s roll out of the cancelation “utterly laughable.”
“De Blasio’s sudden fiat that G&T will be eliminated is disingenuous if not outright detestable, given that there is not nearly enough time left in his term to have any meaningful public engagement and for him to put any changes in place,” Liu said. “He leaves the next administration with yet another mess to clean up, and with public school parents and their children once again suffering the consequences.”
The senator added that due to the criticisms and controversies surrounding the program, “perhaps changes are in order.”
Some called on the incoming mayor – who is most likely to be Eric Adams – to reverse the change made by de Blasio with only a few months left in his term.
“It is my hope that the incoming administration reconsiders this decision and offers full parental and community engagement on this important issue," said Assemblymember Edward Braunstein. "The Mayor's decision to eliminate NYC's Gifted & Talented program instead of building upon its success is highly disappointing. For years, the G&T program has offered high-achieving students a challenging and rigorous learning environment where they could reach their greatest potential.”
A spokesperson for Adams’ campaign told The New York Times that Adams would assess the new program when he becomes mayor.
Rep. Grace Meng called the decision to end the program a “mistake,” and said the mayor avoided doing the hard work of reforming the program instead of just slashing it as he did.
“Reforming the process would be the harder choice, and instead of making any adjustments, the city is taking the easier way out by implementing a mass elimination of the program,” Meng said.
Instead, the congressmember said that the program should be expanded to all communities throughout the city and that the testing process “should be improved.”
“All students deserve to benefit from them,” she said. “They should be an option for every child, regardless of where students reside, and regardless of their family’s socioeconomic status.”
Tony Avella, the likely next councilmember in District 19, said that he would “not only fully support keeping the Gifted & Talented Program,” but he “would like to expand it into all school[s].”
The issue is personal for Assemblymember Ron Kim. His children are currently enrolled in a gifted and talented program inside the same Queens school he attended as an English Second Language student.
“If my kids, and thousands of others, are engaged [and] ready for more challenging curriculums, why should they be deprived?” Kim said. “Instead of having tough conversations about the root cause, once again, we are focusing on symptoms. Getting rid of G&T will not end systemic racism in our public education.”
The new accelerated learning program has been dubbed “BrilliantNYC,” and it will require the hiring of additional teachers, the mayor said.
“As a lifelong educator, I know 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 so they can succeed,” said Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter.
Public hearings on the Brilliant NYC program will be held in the coming months, the administration announced.
With reporting by the Associated Press.
