patrick.net

De Blasio Panel Wants To Eliminate 'Racist' Gifted Programs In New York Schools.

A panel appointed by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to combat desegregation has recommended getting rid of public school programs for gifted and talented kids, as they are filled "mostly with white and Asian children," according to the New York Times.

If de Blasio adopts some or all of the proposals, "He risks alienating tens of thousands of mostly white and Asian families whose children are enrolled in the gifted programs and selective schools," the Times' Eliza Shapiro notes.

That said, the plan "may also face opposition from some middle-class black and Hispanic families that have called for more gifted programs in mostly minority neighborhoods as a way to offer students of color more access to high-quality schools."

The panel’s report, obtained by The New York Times, amounts to a repudiation of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s education agenda, which reoriented the system toward school choice for families, including more gifted and screened schools, to combat decades of low performance.

Some of those policies deepened inequality even as student achievement rose. Mr. de Blasio has been sharply critical of his predecessor’s philosophy on education, but must now decide whether to dismantle some of the structures that Mr. Bloomberg helped to build. -New York Times

According to the panel "made up of several dozen education experts," gifted programs and screened schools have "become proxies for separating students who can and should have opportunities to learn together." They have recommended replacing gifted schools with new magnet schools, "which have been used in other cities to attract a diverse group of students interested in a particular subject matter — along with enrichment programs that are open to students with varying academic abilities."

If the mayor adopts the recommendations, elementary and middle schools would no longer be able to admit students based solely or largely on standardized exams or other academic prerequisites, and high schools would have diversity requirements.

Alternative means of admission should be decided by the Department of Education and individual districts, the panel found.

Last year there were approximately 16,000 students enrolled in gifted classes - 75% of which were White and Asian, while Black and Hispanic enrollment in the same programs has fallen off a cliff over the past decade.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-26/de-blasio-panel-wants-eliminate-racist-gifted-programs-new-york-schools