What Is The Future Of NYC Schools Gifted & Talented Program? Roosevelt Island Invited To District 2 NYC Brilliant Community Meeting November 17 - 200 Students Currently In PS/IS 217 G&T Program

According to the NYC Department of Education:

As announced by the Mayor, the Department of Education will eliminate the Gifted & Talented (G&T) test and phase out the current G&T model. In its place, we will launch “Brilliant NYC,” a blueprint for accelerated learning for all elementary students in New York City.

• Starting with Kindergarten in September 2022, accelerated learning will be offered to 65,000 kindergarteners compared to 2,500 kindergarteners that the current G&T model serves. 
• Students currently in G&T will remain in their programming so there is no disruption to their learning. Brilliant NYC will be phased in for grades one through three. 

For questions about Brilliant NYC, email brilliantnyc@schools.nyc.gov.

Every single one of our @NYCSchools students is gifted. Every single one is talented. #BrilliantNYC will end the outdated days of one-size-fits-all testing and open the doors for all of our children. pic.twitter.com/XHECR6pYus

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 16, 2021

Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 is located NYC School District 2. A PS/IS 217 staffer reports:

District 2 Superintendent Mr. McGuire invites the families to give their feedback regarding the future of the G&T program during the November 17th 6pm virtual "Brilliant NYC Community" Meeting. Register for this zoom meeting https://tinyurl.com/BrilliantNYCD2

 I asked the PS/IS 217 staffer:

Thanks for the info about the District 2 G&T update.

Do you have any more info on how this impacts Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217?

How many students are currently in the 217 G&T program in the various grades?

Is there any other info about the school that you think of interest to the Roosevelt Island community?

 who replied:

It's one class per grade level, we have around 200 G&T students. No decisions have been made, this is a community meeting held by the Superintendent to get the ideas from the stakeholders.

There were 620 students enrolled last year, 2020-21, in PS/IS 217. Info not available on current total enrollment this year.

NYC Department of Education has more on Brilliant NYC program.

CBS New York reports on NYC's plan to replace Gifted & Talented program with Brilliant NYC.

According to the NY Times, Mayor-Elect Eric Adams:

... Asked directly whether he would eliminate the gifted program, Mr. Adams replied, “no I would not, I would expand the opportunities for accelerated learning.”...

Register here for the District 2 Brilliant NYC community meeting to learn more. UPDATE 9 PM:

G&T was an effective way of raising test scores at 217 such that it regained popularity among island families. No longer necessary for that purpose.

— Minnehanonck (@minnehanonck) November 15, 2021