Parents Jie Liu, of Bayside (l.) and Amy Tse, of Fresh Meadows, are calling on the city to reform and expand the Gifted and Talented program in New York City public
schools. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
Queens lawmakers and parents protest the
elimination of Gifted and Talented program
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Several Queens lawmakers
were joined by a group of
concerned parents outside of
P.S. 203 The Oakland Gardens
School on Friday, Oct. 15, to protest
the elimination of the Gifted
and Talented program, which
has been widely criticized for
exacerbating segregation in the
nation’s largest public school
system.
“I’m afraid for my youngest
child next year if the G&T program
is cut,” said Bayside resident
Jie Liu, a parent of two children
who are in the program. “I
think they should expand the
program citywide, and not cut it
because a lot of kids want to get
a better education and more opportunities.”
Another parent, Amy Tse,
of Fresh Meadows, says she is
fighting for all children, who
have different learning capabilities.
“Children learn at different
levels. It’s really hard, and I
know this from personal experience
to service kids with varying
levels from where they’re at
in one classroom with 30 kids —
it’s near impossible,” Tse said.
Jie and Tse were among the
lawmakers gathered outside of
P.S. 203, located at 53-11 Springfield
Blvd., for a press conference
organized by City Council
Democratic nominees Sandra
Ung and Linda Lee, who criticized
Mayor Bill de Blasio for
scrapping the G&T program
without consulting parents, educators
and stakeholders in the
community.
De Blasio announced the end
of the G&T program on Oct. 8,
that will be replaced with accelerated
learning for individual
kids beginning in third grade
that won’t separate them into
special classes.
According to the mayor,
G&T students will remain in
their programming without
disruption to their learning,
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM |OCT. 22 - OCT. 28, 2021
and the city’s new plan, Brilliant
NYC, will be phased in for
grades one through three. Starting
with kindergarten in September
2022, accelerated learning
will be offered to all 65,000
kindergarteners.
Teachers will receive training
to provide individualized
instruction for students.
“There is no one-size-fits-all
solution,” Ung said. “Our students
learn at different paces.
There are kids who excel and
need more help, and we need to
make sure we accommodate all
those different levels of learning.
The teachers will be given
all of that burden to run these
classes.”
Lee is calling for an expansion
of G&T programs in every
school district.
“We need to expand opportunities.
In District 20, we do not
have a G&T program and that’s
an issue,” said Lee, whose son
attends P.S. 203. “Every student
should not have to travel far
to get a quality education. We
should also think about the services
to family members, making
sure they have after school
programs and tutoring that
they need.”
Congresswoman Grace
Meng shared Lee’s sentiments,
citing a few school districts that
have multiple G&T programs or
none at all.
“These programs should be
more equitable for every single
child in every neighborhood
regardless of socioeconomic status,”
Meng said. “The G&T curriculums
enrich our kids and
provide them with crucial opportunities
that help them excel
and reach their full potential inside
and beyond the classroom.”
Senator John Liu, chairperson
of the Senate’s Committee
on NYC Education and a graduate
of the G&T program at P.S.
203, said the elimination of the
G&T program has sent thousands
of families and students
into limbo and uncertainty, as a
new mayoral administration is
taking place.
“The G&T program has to
remain an option since it recognizes
that children learn at
different rates and should be
given the opportunity to learn
as much as they can within
the confines of the city’s public
schools,” Liu said.
Meanwhile, Councilman
Barry Grodenchik said the
city’s plan has no input from the
most important people — parents,
children and educators.
“It is dead on arrival here
in New York City. My dear late
mentor, friend and former boss,
Claire Shulman, used to say you
can kill anything. Well, this
plan is going to be killed, and I
can guarantee you that. I have
no doubt about that,” Grodenchik
said.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–4526.
BAYSIDE TIMES (USPS#025088) is published weekly by Queens CNG LLC, 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY.11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2021. All rights reserved. The newspaper will
not be liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Bayside Times C/O Queens CNG
LLC. 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361.
link
/NS.COM
link
