{"id":239759,"date":"2023-04-23T03:11:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T03:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buoyantbloomer.com\/?p=239759"},"modified":"2023-07-20T13:25:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T13:25:45","slug":"gifted-and-talented-program-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buoyantbloomer.com\/gifted-and-talented-program-2\/","title":{"rendered":"So you got a seat in NYC\u2019s gifted and talented program – now what?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Those of you who have been reading these columns know that I am ambivalent towards NYC\u2019s gifted and talented program<\/a>. Ever since Mayor Adams scrapped screening for admissions<\/a>, I reason that basically any child who isn\u2019t acting out or being a nuisance in their current PreK classrooms will receive a nomination for Kindergarten G&T. This makes it harder to know what to do if you received a seat in an NYC G&T program for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For someone like our son who is now reading at a 1st grade level based on Fountas and Pinnell\u2019s assessment and is nearing year-end Kindergarten competency in math, the 2022 change in admissions means that the ongoing risk of decreased student ability within the gifted and talented program has neutered the advantages it is supposed to provide.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A gifted and talented program that lacks testing and clear standards for entry might not be as effective as one that has these requirements. Without objective measures of giftedness and talent, it is difficult to ensure that the program is serving the students who truly need and benefit from it. Additionally, a lack of clear standards may lead to inconsistencies in the program’s quality, with some students receiving more challenging and enriching opportunities than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially in NYC where only the five citywide G&T programs are accelerated by a year, the lack of standards not just for students but for what an \u201caccelerated curriculum\u201d looks like means that increasingly, there is only the most negligible of differences between a gifted and talented program and a general education one. Those are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note that you can have an IEP and be gifted, so for parents who think that a gifted and talented program means no children with IEPs, chuck that misconception out the door. You can also be gifted and still have social and emotional hurdles to overcome, so being part of a gifted and talented program will not mean having a magical classroom where the kids are all well adjusted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Something is better than nothing, right? So yes, accept that gifted and talented program seat. If there are schools you\u2019re on the waitlist for that you want, keep working the waitlists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But know this: the reality is that your child will have one teacher for 25 students in Kindergarten – gifted and talented program or not. There is only so much that one adult can do with a gaggle of 5 year olds. If there are fewer kids in the general education program that you received an offer for, you\u2019ll have to weigh the benefits of having a lower teacher:student ratio.\u00a0I personally would take more adult oversight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In older grades, there is one adult for up to 32 students from 1st-6th grades. Governor Hochul did sign a new law<\/a> last year capping class sizes as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve accepted your seat, be prepared to supplement school<\/a> anyway. Last year, this was our supplemental learning at home<\/a> plan during our son\u2019s PreK year – we had a ton of fun and it didn\u2019t require more than 30 minutes a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some additional ideas for how parents can support their gifted children in kindergarten:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, take a look at the comprehensive educational plan<\/a> of the school your gifted and talented program is at to see if it has additional information you can glean. You can find it here under the reports section. I also like the report on the arts! <\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll see if the program is aligned with the science of reading<\/a> (spoiler alert: many DOE schools in the city are not. Even NEST+m still uses the cueing method which has been debunked and just raises guessers rather than readers). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Caveat: some schools don\u2019t do a great job filling them out. The one for NEST+m for example isn\u2019t particularly great. But you do find out a bit about what curricula the school uses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All is not lost – in addition to what I mentioned above about supplementing school at home, remember that there\u2019s another entry point in the later grades, but it doesn\u2019t eliminate the problem of having non-qualified children in the program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, the comprehensive educational plan I listed above is worth a glance. I\u2019d go and see what curricula the citywide gifted and talented programs are using and find out if there\u2019s a program for parents\u2019 use. Singapore Math for example is used at NEST+m and they have a popular homeschooling version of the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n FWIW, we have tried it and while it wasn\u2019t for our son (he\u2019s a Math with Confidence dude), I can see that it would appeal to other kids!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, I will die on this hill: reading to learn and improving your child’s reading comprehension abilities is the most important academic skill a parent can help their child achieve<\/strong> (academic! not life skills!). Young children who learn to read early have more exposure to print, which creates a virtuous circle that solidifies reading and writing skills. Children who lag behind in reading skill development are more likely to develop negative attitudes about reading and school. This does not mean you have to formally teach preschoolers to read. It does mean teaching pre-reading skills, which is the point of emergent literacy. Adults can foster emergent literacy at home and at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
To accept the gifted and talented seat or not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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More ideas to support curious children in a gifted and talented program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Do more research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Help! I didn\u2019t get a gifted and talented program seat!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n