NYC Schools Gifted And Talented Program To Expand Citywide, Mayor Says

NEW YORK, NY — The once-threatened Gifted and Talented program in New York City schools will not only stick around, but will expand to all districts citywide, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

The mayor announced Thursday that the program — which former Mayor Bill de Blasio had tried to phase out — will add more than 1,000 new seats and open to third graders for the first time.

“We are giving every child in every ZIP Code the chance that has been denied to them,” Adams said Thursday, adding that the expansion will be the first time there will be a gifted and talented program in every city school district.

The expansion will add 1,000 new seats for third-graders and 100 seats at the kindergarten level, which has historically been the entry point for the program, officials said.

For the kindergarten spots, kids will be nominated by their pre-K teachers instead of taking a test to get in the program, a screening that had been criticized for favoring families with resources to do well on the exam.

The screening by teachers was first added in the 2021-22 school year and has led to a more diverse pool of students being invited to the program, Adams said.

“We are making sure that no child is left behind,” he said.

Some were not convinced the changes would be enough to prevent disparities. Advocates have long argued the gifted and talented program perpetuates segregation in public schools.

“Scaling up a program which separates students, often along lines of class and race, is a retrograde approach that does nothing to improve quality education for the overwhelming majority of our students," Comptroller Brad Lander said Thursday. "Segregating learning environments for elementary students, based on a teacher’s or test’s assessment of how smart they are, is not sound education policy."

Other lawmakers supported the expansion, saying allowing students to test in at later ages "proves that we can have equity and educational excellence at the same time," according to Queens Council Member Linda Lee, who sits on the education committee.

For the third-grade seats, the top 10 percent of second graders in each school will be invited to apply to the program. Their performance will focus on four core subject areas, officials said.

Applications to both programs will open on May 31.

Families of eligible children will receive a letter inviting them to apply before applications open, officials said.