The debate over gifted programs in New York City public schools spilled into the mayoral race this week after Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani said he\u2019d phase out those classes for kindergartners.<\/p>\n
About 2,500 children out of the school system\u2019s more than 60,000 kindergartners are in gifted programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI continue to believe that it is incredibly important for us to deliver excellent quality public education for each and every New Yorker, and that for kindergartners, we should not have a gifted and talented program that is separating them on the basis of that assessment,\u201d Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference on Friday.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he believed a test for third grade gifted programs should also be scrapped, Mamdani demurred. \u201c\u200aMy commitment is solely on the question of kindergartners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mamdani objects to a “singular assessment\u201d for rising kindergartners \u201cthat unfairly separates them right at the beginning\u201d of their schooling, his spokesperson Dora Pekec said.<\/p>\n
Mamdani, a Bronx Science alum, has said he would keep the test for specialized high schools.<\/a><\/p>\n His rival Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent in the mayoral race, immediately seized on the issue. He is promising to expand gifted and talented programs in every borough and double the number of specialized high schools from nine to 18.<\/p>\n Gifted programs have long been controversial. Some families see them as an essential pathway to rigorous academics and top-tier public schools, including the specialized high schools. Education experts say they exacerbate segregation in the school system: 70% of students in the city\u2019s gifted classes are white or Asian, even though those two groups of students only comprise 35% of total enrollment.<\/p>\n Former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at the tail end of his administration in 2021 he would eliminate and replace gifted classes<\/a> in an effort to tackle segregation in the school system. That plan and a failed effort to dismantle the test for specialized schools<\/a> sparked intense opposition, particularly from many members of the city\u2019s Asian community.<\/p>\n Mayor Eric Adams backed away from plans to phase out gifted programs, but tweaked admission for young children by replacing the test for rising kindergartners with preschool teachers recommending students. After that, the number of Black and Latino kindergartners in gifted programs more than doubled. Some critics call the teacher recommendation method subjective.<\/p>\n At an event in Chinatown on Friday morning, Cuomo repeatedly tied Mamdani to ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is supporting Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a very clear difference between me and my opponent,\u201d Cuomo said. \u201cMy opponent opposes the gifted and talented programs, which is just like Mayor de Blasio.\u201d<\/p>\n He later told reporters: \u201cMy opponent is a shorter de Blasio.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani said Cuomo was echoing President Donald Trump in seizing on his opponent\u2019s appearance. \u201c\u200aTo focus on the appearance of a politician is to do disservice to the people of the city who would prefer to actually have a substantive debate as to the policies that we are putting forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Cuomo was joined at his event by Yiatin Chu, co-founder of Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, which advocates for accelerated academic programs in the public schools.<\/p>\n Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa is also in favor of expanding gifted programs. He accused Cuomo of staying silent when de Blasio sought to eliminate the programs.<\/p>\n