Res. No. 1588
Resolution calling upon the New York City Department of Education to provide enough seats in middle school Gifted and Talented programs for each student who graduates from his or her elementary school's Gifted and Talented program, in the respective borough in which the student resides or in the respective borough in which the student's school is located.
By Council Members Vallone, Dromm, Wills, Arroyo, Brewer, Cabrera, Eugene, Ferreras, Fidler, Gentile, James, Koo, Koppell, Williams, Rodriguez, Lappin and Halloran
Whereas, The New York City Department of Education (DOE) Gifted and Talented (G&T) programs provide challenging instruction to children with exceptional academic capacity; and
Whereas, According to the DOE, G&T students are identified after a rigorous testing process; and
Whereas, Starting in kindergarten, students are grouped together in a class with similar students and receive appropriate instruction in all content areas; and
Whereas, Depending upon availability, some students are able to remain in the G&T program through the end of middle school; and
Whereas, The admissions process, according to the DOE, includes the administration of verbal and nonverbal assessments at various times from January through February, and the scores become available in May; and
Whereas, Students with a composite score at or above the 90th percentile on the admissions test receive an application upon which they can rank their preferences for G&T programs in their district; and
Whereas, Students with a composite score at or above the 97th percentile on the admissions test can apply for acceptance into one of the five elite citywide gifted and talented schools; and
Whereas, According to the DOE, in 2012, a total of 14,249 preschoolers took the hour-long G&T test and nearly 5,000 qualified for G&T kindergarten seats at either a citywide or district school, a 22 percent increase from last year; and
Whereas, In response to a shortage of G&T middle school seats, on October 12, 2012, DOE released a proposal which would require students to be re-tested to remain in the G&T program when graduating into middle school; and
Whereas, In four of the five citywide gifted and talented schools, students are automatically guaranteed middle school G&T seats upon elementary school graduation; and
Whereas, However, in some areas of the city, such as Community School District 30, where there is only one G&T middle school program with four classes, there will be no guarantee that a child currently enrolled in his or her elementary school's G&T program will remain in a G&T program in middle school; and
Whereas, In 2012, 600 students applied for the 60 middle school seats that remained in Community School District 30; and
Whereas, In order to ensure that eligible children are not shut out of G&T programs upon graduation into middle school, more seats need to be added to G&T programs across the city; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York City Department of Education to provide enough seats in middle school Gifted and Talented programs for each student who graduates from his or her elementary school's Gifted and Talented program, in the respective borough in which the student resides or in the respective borough in which the student's school is located.
LS# 3804
JP/GP
11/20/2012