If NYC eliminates gifted programs, here's what could come next

Schools in the Richardson Independent School District of Texas are updating the methods and measurements they've used to identify gifted students. One way is by testing all second and sixth graders in the district, which helps diminish implicit bias coming from teachers who may discriminate against certain students. Students' scores are also being judged differently by comparing them against others from similar backgrounds, from within their own school, and nationally.

Over one-third of juniors and seniors enrolled in Colorado public high schools are also taking postsecondary education courses. The model is saving students time and financial costs and is helping to close the achievement gap between white and minority Coloradans.

U-46, Chicago's second-largest school district faced a legal suit in 2005 for discrimination of Hispanic students in its gifted programs and is now setting an example for how programs can be upended for good. By 2018 U-46's gifted program consisted of 48% Hispanic students, a better representation of a 57% Hispanic district. The changes implemented by the district included addressing systemic issues by not relying on teacher recommendations and instead testing all third and sixth graders, expanding the number of seats for gifted students. The district also has teachers undergo antiracism training and more.

In Boston, four organizations that serve Black and Latino families formed an alliance to provide low-cost learning pods to students of color. Run out of two churches, the full-day learning pods “serve nearly two dozen kindergarten through sixth-grade students.” The service comes at a crucial time, since pandemic learning is leaving behind students of color who already were at a disadvantage.

In Austin, some families pay upwards of $1,300 a month to place their children in learning pods, an option not all families can afford. To help working families an organization launched Community Pods, which offers the same learning pod service for free. Teachers with Community Pods help students with their virtual classes. Students also receive meals and snacks. Around 45 students are participating, but the goal is to serve 100.

While virtual learning can work for some, for special education students, many services and lessons get lost. “When it comes to those occupational needs and those speech needs, they’re not getting those services met because they’re not in school.” In Texas, one school district is using a bus to provide curbside education to special education students. A teacher, a table, and materials are all inside the bus. Once inside, students receive lessons from specialists. “As soon as Arwyn got on the bus the first time, she was super excited to see her teachers, to see her occupational therapist."

As a result of the pandemic, some families find themselves turning to learning pods, a sort of alternative school where students can be looked over and mentored while they attend remote classes. Working parents find themselves turning to pods as a solution. At their worse, they can exacerbate social inequities. Affluent families can pay for expensive pods with private tutors. In Austin, one pod is trying to be more accessible. “Some of them pay me, and some of them we’re more on a work-trade,” Perkins said. “We all help each other.”

Back On Track Syria is a tutoring initiative in Berlin helping Arabic-speaking students keep up with school subjects by offering help in their native language. The students in the program are often refugees and migrants integrating into a new country and a new educational system and language, often times after not being in school for months or years. The lessons range from small groups to individualized instruction in subjects like math, physics, reading, German, and even English.

The Austin Independent School District is expanding its therapist intervention program at a variety of its schools in order to help improve student well-being. Over 40 student mental health clinics, which are open year-round, are now present in elementary, middle, and high schools and also offer its services to parents, and through their presence have helped increase attendance, as well as helping students cope with stress and anxiety.

In areas of high poverty, students in San Antonio, Texas are highly encouraged and supported to take the next step after high school to go on to challenging universities and gain a degree. Their efforts, which include talking about college as early as kindergarten and one-on-one year-long guidance to identify strengths and choose the right college, are particularly targeted at students who will not only be the first one in their family to attend college, but the first in their family to leave the state. Students share that they feel prepared, challenged, and optimistic about their time away from home.