"Lost in the recent political volley: New York City's gifted and talented system has already changed in recent years, with a meaningful increase in the number of Black and Latino students, children from low-income families, and students with disabilities. Those demographic shifts are the result of a move from a test-based admissions system to one based primarily on teacher recommendations, along with Mayor Eric Adams' administrat ion opening dozens of new gifted and talented programs starting in third grade in underserved areas."
"Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani reignited the debate over New York City's gifted and talented system earlier this month when he signaled his intention to shake up the program by eliminating admission for kindergartners. Both of Mamdani's opponents, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, quickly countered with proposals to preserve and expand gifted classes. And on Friday, four lawmakers from southern Brooklyn introduced state legislation that would require the city's Education Department to expand gifted programming."
A mayoral frontrunner proposed eliminating kindergarten admissions to New York City's gifted and talented program, prompting opponents to propose preserving and expanding gifted classes and lawmakers to seek state action. The gifted programs enroll nearly 18,000 elementary students across 140 schools, with roughly 2,500 students admitted in kindergarten who remain in separate classes through fifth grade. Recent changes shifted admissions from test-based screening to teacher recommendations and added third-grade programs in underserved areas, increasing Black, Latino, low-income, and special education representation. The expansion produced challenges, including some new third-grade classes struggling to attract applicants and schools backfilling seats.
Read at Chalkbeat
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