schools identified 3.3 million students as gifted and talented. Gentry co-wrote a study two years ago that followed the racial inequities in gifted and talented programs. She is a professor of education and the director of the Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute at Purdue University in Indiana. “I get the burn-it-down and tear-it-down mentality, but what do we replace it with?” asked Marcia Gentry. It is a question that is driving the debate over whether to grow gifted and talented programs or end them completely. They are trying to find ways to teach strong learners while continuing to help other students succeed. School leaders and parents increasingly have to deal with difficult questions over equity. They were created to compete with high-performing private schools. Many programs began as efforts to keep white families from leaving racially diverse public schools in urban areas. If it goes forward, that would be a big win for groups supporting an end to similar programs from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington.įrom the start, gifted and talented school programs drew worries they would produce an unequal education system in U.S. In early October, the mayor of New York City announced plans to end the gifted and talented programs in the country’s largest school system. Some parents say they worsen racial segregation and inequities in the country’s education system. Such programs have been under much criticism in recent years. American school systems usually have gifted and talented programs for students that show a high level of success.

Gifted and talented program