Seattle Public Schools is dismantling its gifted and talented program, which administrators argued was oversaturated with white and Asian students, in favor of a more “inclusive, equitable and culturally sensitive” program.
The district began phasing out its Highly Capable Cohort schools and classrooms for advanced students in the 2021-22 school year due to racial inequities, the school district notes.
The program will completely cease to exist by the 2027-28 school year, with a new enrichment-for-all model available in every school by the 2024-25 school year.
“The program is not going away, it’s getting better,” school officials said on the district website.
“In particular, students who have been historically excluded will now have the same opportunities for services as every other student and get the support and enrichment they need to grow.”
The enrichment program currently only allows students who placed in the top 2 percent on standardized exams to be placed in the Highly Capable Cohort to receive enriched learning.
The students would then be sorted into one of three elementary schools, five middle schools and three high schools.
But in 2020, the Seattle school board voted to terminate the program, after a 2018 survey found that the students in the Highly Capable Cohort were 13% multiracial, 11.8% Asian, 3.7% Hispanic and just 1.6% black.
Nearly 70% of the students were white.
“Numbers would suggest that within our city … predominantly white children are more gifted than other cultures and races, and we know that is absolutely not true,” Kari Hanson, the district’s director of student support services, told Parent Map at the time.
Under the new program, dubbed the Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model, teachers will be required to come up with individualized learning programs for all 20 to 30 of their students — a task for which, they argue, they do not have the time or resources as the district faces a $104 million budget deficit, according to the Seattle Times.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Considering the challenges of personalizing education for every student in a classroom, is it realistic to expect teachers to adequately meet the needs of all students without additional resources?
@9LBF7MMCA Common Sense2mos2MO
no, so we should contribute more resources to the education system
@9LBDD9C2mos2MO
The continuous support in education is very important, without the proper preparation and resources it is impossible for students to learn and advance in their academic careers.
@9LBD7JS2mos2MO
The teacher is also human and can sometimes not meet to expectation
@9LBCLR32mos2MO
What additional resources do they need?
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
How do you feel about replacing gifted programs with an inclusive model where every student receives personalized enrichment opportunities?
@9LBMPFS2mos2MO
This is a better opportunity for everyone than just having regular gifted programs.
I really dont have a strong view
@9LB9F6J2mos2MO
my opinion on this news topic is that kids cant learn what they are interested in when they are in school. so if the person is doing good in a topic and hes interested in it then the school should provide a course on that subject.
@9LB9D5RIndependent2mos2MO
High school/schooling should be focused around the future and what each student must need for their upcoming choices/roles in the community.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Do you believe that the racial composition of a gifted program reflects the program's fairness or the societal variables influencing academic achievement?
A racial composition does not reflect a program's fairness - programs should be based on merit.
@9LBBD5G2mos2MO
The racial composition of a gifted program may reflect both societal variables influencing academic achievement and potential systemic biases within the program's selection process.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@GoofyCoyoteForward2mos2MO
Going to drive away upwardly mobile poor & middle class families
What a bunch of clowns
This just doesn't make any sense! Public education is being harmed on the left by decisions like this. Public education is being harmed on the right in states like Texas through underfunding and religious indoctrination. Our future is being put at grave risk.
@SimilarIndependentMountain2mos2MO
NYC didn't shut down G&T but took away the test and made it a non accelerated program as well.
There are NYT articles every other month attacking the top public high schools.
It's the good parenting tax I guess.
@9LB8QBY2mos2MO
Once again, schools have proven they do not look out for the well-being of their students and are instead more interested in promoting their ideals. Students should be allowed to take more advanced classes if they are willing to put in the work and desire to be in those classes.
Ah yes, let's help people catch up by lowering the standards rather than rewarding excellence.
If this isn't a signal to homeschool, don't know what is.
@L1b3rtyBrianDemocrat2mos2MO
I went to a public magnet school in a very middle class suburb that was 75-80% white. Every year, parents of kids that didn't get in would go to various school board meetings and try to get the school shut down or defunded. I think it mostly just envy.
@D3mocratImpalaUnity2mos2MO
There is a war on merit led by “progressives” and if they win we all lose.
@UnityAutumnNo Labels2mos2MO
They say it doesn't "accurately represent the diversity of the district"
Wonder if they will shut down the football/basketball program
It’s nice that school boards are incapable of learning from the mistakes their peers in other cities have made.
@TunaEleanorRepublican2mos2MO
“Vision of Success
When our new Advanced Learning model is implemented across the district in local neighborhood schools, every student — particularly those furthest from educational justice — will have access to the learning services that meet their needs, so they can reach their full potential.”
What on earth is “educational justice”?
The historical activity of users engaging with this general discussion.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...
