30 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
30 The Queens Courier • SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
Stopping the city school brain drain
For decades, the “gift ed and talented”
program has given some of the sharpest
young minds in the New York City public
school system a chance to challenge themselves,
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hone their skills and cultivate their
minds to their fullest potential.
But if a group of education reformers
whispering in the ears of Mayor Bill de
Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza have it their way, the gift ed and
talented program will soon be a thing of
the past.
Th e School Diversity Advisory Group
recommended last month that the
Department of Education (DOE) dismiss
the program in the name of equality. Th ey
claim that the screening system in place
disproportionately leaves out students of
color, and contributes to segregation in
the nation’s largest public school district.
But the group’s assertion that the gift -
ed and talented program, by itself, is the
cause of segregation is a deeply fl awed
argument. It’s also the same argument
made by those seeking to eliminate
entrance exams for the city’s specialized
high schools, for the very same reason: a
lack of equality and opportunity for all.
Make no mistake: there is a troubling
lack of equality and opportunity in New
York City public school education. A
shameful segregation indeed persists to
this day in classrooms across the most
progressive city in America.
But specialized education programs or
standardized tests are not to blame for
this condition. Decades of failed education
policy in New York City, rather, have
left behind public school students across
THE QUEENS
sun
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PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
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INSIDE SALES MANAGER
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PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
JENNA BAGCAL, MARK HALLUM, KATRINA MEDOFF,
CARLOTTA MOHAMED, MAX PARROTT, BILL PARRY
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
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718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
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Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Queens Courier
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the city.
Simply put, this city has not invested
enough in its future. It has not provided
enough resources to public schools in
every corner of every borough to operate
at its optimum level. It has not provided
enough in the way of aft er-school educational
programs and free tutoring for students
to achieve high marks and qualify
for specialized schools or the gift ed and
talented program.
To turn things around and truly open
up opportunity for all public school students,
we need to invest in them. Th at
costs billions of our taxpayer dollars, of
course, and requires a steady amount
of work to ensure that everything goes
according to plan.
In short, it’s hard. It requires work,
patience and diligence. It’s not an easy
remedy. But it just so happens to be the
right one.
Getting rid of programs such as gift -
ed and talented risks a tremendous brain
drain in New York. If the city cannot help
its sharpest young minds reach their full
potential, and if the city cannot help all
of its students reach their full potential,
they will wither away from boredom and
neglect. Likewise, if the city cannot solve
its segregation problem without investing
in better schools, better teachers and better
programs for all its students, it should
expect more of the same, regardless of
reforms made.
Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor
Carranza must do the right thing, for
once, and invest in the city’s future, rather
than tear it down.
Photo via Getty Images
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Chief Operating Officer Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Jenna Bagcal, Mark Hallum, Katrina Medoff
Carlotta Mohamed, Bill Parry
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Production Manager Deborah Cusick
I nside Sales Manager Celeste Alamin
Chief Financial Officer Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Media, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
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Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
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publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
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