Local leaders are hailing the city’s decision to allow all District 26 elementary school students enrolled in Gifted & Talented (G&T) programs to be grandfathered into middle school programs.
“There is no more important issue in our community than the education of our students,” said Assemblymember Nily Rozic. “The new policy reflects the children and parents in District 26 and will allow families to focus on getting their children off to a strong start in middle school.”
Parents were outraged when they learned students would no longer be automatically accepted into their local middle school G&T programs.
Fifth grade students would have to submit applications and seek admission to middle school G&T programs based on their fourth grade New York State ELA and math scores, the Department of Education (DOE) previously said.
More than 750 people signed an online petition, protesting the abrupt change.
“The Gifted and Talented programs in our schools are vitally important to the education of our students,” said Congressmember Grace Meng. “After listening closely to the needs of parents, the community, and elected officials, I applaud the Department of Education for its decision to add more G&T seats in District 26 as well as allow current students through fifth grade to remain in the program.”
According to Councilmember Mark Weprin, the DOE will also create more middle school G&T programs for high-performing general education students.
“With the opening of additional classes for incoming students who qualify for the program, the agreement is good news for parents across the district,” he said.
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