G&T “citywide” may actually, finally, mean citywide
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Parents of preschoolers will soon be aware, if they’re not already, of the application and testing process for gifted and talented programs. Last year, the newly centralized process was plagued with logistical problems — misread applications, missed deadlines, and general confusion about which programs would be offered, which schools would host them, and when students would begin, in kindergarten or first grade.
This year, it seems that DOE planners have taken some of last year’s hard knocks to heart. Now, all g+t programs will commence in kindergarten — last year, some families whose children tested above the g+t threshold were surprised (that’s the polite word) to learn the program wouldn’t begin until first grade, although the children were guaranteed seats. The calendar has been moved up; see this article for details on the process and borough parent workshops which begin next week.
Another major evolution, after significant, vigorous parent demand, is the creation of ‘citywide’ g+t programs in two of NYC’s outer boroughs, Brooklyn and Queens. For years, “citywide” schools meant that kids across the city could apply — but all three schools were sited in Manhattan, and long commutes limited access for many outer-borough families. Elissa Gootman reports, in a City Room article , that the actual new sites have not yet been chosen — so it’s not 100% that the schools will open in September, although that’s the current plan. And, DOE planners assert, citywide schools in the Bronx and Staten Island are in the works for 2010.
The wheels of change may grind slowly, but grind they do.
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Comment by Anonymous — October 24, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
I for one dread this. It will mean overcrowding for the schools that foolishly offer G&T programs, and brain drain out of successful, solid neighborhood schools.
PS24 in Riverdale, for example, is way overcrowded. 3rd grade classes are packing 30 kids per classroom, and there’s not enough money for permanent paras, and all of this is the result of the extra class to accommodate G&T program, which is taught by underqualified teachers. There are unprecedented 6 kindergarden classes that would probably get reduced to 5 1st grade classes next year, but then it would add an extra one for G&T. The principal at that school is an inept apparatchik, who is equally despised by his staff and parent body (check his staff approval ratings, and don’t be fooled that the school got an A, it’s not his effort that should be credited, but the teachers, kids, and parents). He is someone who is cutting art and theater production in favor of more test prep, he is someone whose main focus is tests tests tests. And he will be the one responsible for your G&T kids. Ugh.
The curriculum in those G&T classes is not anything special, nor something you can’t do at home with your kids. I’m not sure why people are so hyped up about it? Just so that your kid can proudly wear an official G&T label? It is not Hunter, nor even Anderson or NEST. It’s something many principals do to raise profiles of their schools.
Comment by Anonymous — October 26, 2008 @ 1:55 pm
Anonymous at 1:55 makes valid points. Notably, there is NO citywide G+T curriculum established by the DOE; the G+T office there says it supports schools in developing programs but doesn’t direct content or mandate mastery, etc. So G+T at one school will likely differ from another school’s classes, and G+T programs are very much under the direction of the elementary school principals.
Comment by Helen — October 27, 2008 @ 12:07 pm