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NYC’s plan to scrap Gifted & Talented program is ‘outrageous,’ say some Staten Island officials

October 13, 2021

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Several Staten Island elected officials and parents gathered outside PS 8 in Great Kills on Tuesday to express their opposition to New York City’s plan to scrap the Gifted & Talented (G&T) program in elementary schools, instead urging the expansion of the program into more public schools citywide.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter announced the city’s plans to get rid of the G&T program as part of an effort to provide accelerated learning for all elementary schools. The pair announced Brilliant NYC, a blueprint for all elementary students in city schools and a 32-district engagement plan to solicit community feedback.

“The era of judging 4-year-olds based on a single test is over. Brilliant NYC will deliver accelerated instruction for tens of thousands of children, as opposed to a select few,” de Blasio said at a press conference last week. “Every New York City child deserves to reach their full potential, and this new, equitable model gives them that chance.”

But the feedback so far from some on Staten Island hasn’t been positive.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn) said the decision to phase out the G&T program will lead to a “mass exodus, where parents will be taking their kids out of the public school system and placing them in charter schools and in private schools around the city.”

“The decision made by this city government is outrageous, short-sighted, and absolutely ridiculous,” he said, adding that the announcement was made near the end of de Blasio’s administration.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) noted that many New York City students who qualify for G&T don’t get a seat, which she said is due to a lack of programs. Instead of expanding the program and adding more seats to challenge those students, she explained, de Blasio wants to eliminate the program.

“We are here to say not so fast,” she said. “We want the next mayor, whoever that may be, who’s coming in in January, to scrap this ridiculous plan by our mayor and let’s look instead at expanding the Gifted & Talented program, making sure all students who qualify have seats and can learn at the aptitude where they are challenged, not bored.”

The new plan is slated to start in September 2022, offering accelerated learning to 65,000 kindergarteners, compared to 2,500 kindergarteners who are currently served under the G&T model, the city said.

Beginning next fall, under the Brilliant NYC blueprint, all 800 elementary schools in New York City will offer an instructional model that promotes project-based learning, group work, enrichment opportunities and theme-based instruction. The framework will ensure that students are taught in the same classroom at different instructional levels and that teachers tap into their interests and build on them.

De Blasio announced the change with just three months left in his administration — leaving implementation in the hands of New York City’s next mayor.

Over the last several years, the mayor’s administration has made it clear that the use of a single measure — such as the G&T exam administered to kindergarten students — creates barriers for students, especially those in underserved communities.

The announcement marks the total end to the single test and what the DOE calls the “segregation of students if they’re labeled as ‘gifted.’”

Demographics of gifted seats in the 2019-2020 school year show that just 6% of G&T students were Black, despite representing 17% of the kindergarten population and only 8% were Hispanic, despite representing 40% of the kindergarten population.

The majority of G&T students were Asian and white, according to the DOE’s demographic data. In 2019-2020, 43% of gifted students were Asian, despite making up 20% of the kindergarten population; 36% of gifted students were white, despite representing 20% of the kindergarten population.

Earlier this year, the city planned to administer the G&T exam for the last time this spring — citing a more equitable and long-term path for the program. The exam is offered to students as young as 4 years old and decides entry into programs in elementary schools.

However, the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) rejected the testing contract, forcing the city to create a new admissions process for students for the 2021-2022 school year. The plan involved families and educators identifying students for accelerated learning without using the exam. Eligible students were then entered into a randomized lottery for a G&T seat.

That new method of administering students is something that parents and electeds said can continue if the program is expanded, instead of opting for the high-stakes exam.

“We have a program that has led to successful outcomes for so many students,” said Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore). “Instead of expanding opportunities, instead of putting a Gifted & Talented program in every neighborhood because they are not. Instead of putting a Gifted & Talented program in every school district which they are not — they’re making it harder and harder and more competitive, and if they don’t like the outcomes of who’s getting in, they should be doing a better job encouraging people and opening seats for those who want to be there and earn the spot to be there and will succeed.”

Others spoke during the press conference, including: Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore); Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island); David Carr, candidate for Mid-Island councilman; Vito Fossella, candidate for borough president, and Vito LaBella, co-treasurer for PLACE NYC, a parent-led organization that advocates for programs like G&T and specialized high schools.

Despite the opposition from several Staten Island officials, de Blasio said on Tuesday during his press conference that he’s seen “a lot of support come out already from parents, from elected officials, from education advocates saying this is a better way.”

“The previous approach was not only too dependent on a single standardized test, was not only exclusive and exclusionary, because it only reached 2,500 kids out of 65,000,” he said. “Unfortunately, along with that went very, very serious racial segregation that just doesn’t fit what we believe in in this city. So, Brilliant NYC is a path forward that answers those deep problems and concerns and provides, literally, a polar opposite approach. So many kids have talents, gifts — maybe it’s in one subject matter, maybe it’s in all. But we’re only going to know if we reach everyone, give them the chance, evaluate them work with them, draw them out.”

During October and November, the city plans to hold community conversations in all 32 community districts — including Staten Island’s District 31 — to solicit feedback on the Brilliant NYC blueprint, and bring families into the planning and rollout process.

An expert panel will offer a citywide opportunity to discuss what accelerated instruction looks like in the classroom, according to the city Department of Education (DOE). Through November, senior DOE leaders will convene district-based forums to provide information on Brilliant NYC and how it can be implemented in their neighborhood schools.