Will Zohran Mamdani Bring Change to New York's Gifted-and-Talented Program?

"For months, the New York Post warned its readers that the city's next mayor was coming for the schools. "Zohran Mamdani just escalated his war on excellence in NYC public schools," the Post's editorial board declared in October, as the mayoral race was entering its final weeks. Three days later, another Post headline: "Zohran Mamdani's callous school plan steals hope from NYC's brightest kids.""

"Despite the Post's tone of sweeping condemnation, each of these editorials was tunnelling in on a tentative and arguably rather niche item on Mamdani's campaign agenda: ending gifted-and-talented admissions for rising kindergarten students. Mamdani appeared to affirm his campaign stance on G. & T. with his choice for schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels. As a superintendent in Brooklyn, Samuels phased out some gifted tracking in the district he oversaw,"

""This administration does not believe in G. & T. evaluation for kindergartners," a spokesperson for Mamdani told me. "But that's not the same as eliminating advanced opportunities across all grades." The other main entry point into G. & T. is in third grade, and Mamdani has no plans to end that option. Nor has he said when he would actually close the lid on G.& T. for kindergartners;"

The New York Post ran editorials warning that the incoming mayor would target public schools and framed proposals as threats to excellence. The mayoral campaign included a proposal to end gifted-and-talented admissions for rising kindergarten students. The mayor nominated Kamar Samuels, who reduced some gifted tracking in a Brooklyn district because G. & T. placements skewed toward affluent white and Asian students while Black and brown students were overrepresented in general education. The administration states it does not support G. & T. evaluation for kindergartners but intends to preserve advanced opportunities in other grades, including third grade.

Read at The New Yorker