New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams vowed to keep the city's gifted and talented schools program in a stark rebuke to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who plans to end it.
Adams said de Blasio does not have the power to end the program, and it would be up to the next mayor to decide its fate, adding that he wanted to keep and even expand the program, which was said to discriminate against black and Hispanic students.
'The gifted and talent program was isolated to only certain communities, Adams said in an interview with CNN. 'That created segregation in our classrooms.'
'We need to expand.'
NYC mayoral hopeful Eric Adams vowed to keep the city's gifted and talented program despite current Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to end it
De Blasio announced that he wanted to end the gifted and talent program before he leaves office next month and replace it with 'Brilliant NYC' plan
"If you don't understand the nobility of public protection, you can't serve in my police department. We can have the justice we deserve and the safety we need. They go together. And that's the message that must be sent," New York City Mayoral candidate Eric Adams says. pic.twitter.com/ymgwMYpM8v
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De Blasio and critics of the current program said it was predominantly filled with white and Asian American students. About 43 per cent of students are Asian, 36 per cent are white, 8 per cent are Hispanic and 6 per cent are black.
It stands skewed from the city's children's populations, which is about 35 per cent Hispanic, 26 per cent white, 21 per cent black, and 12 per cent Asian.
Opponent were also against the initial exam that listed kids as 'gifted' as early as four-years-old.
'The era of judging four-year-olds based on a single test is over,' de Blasio said last week.
Beforehand, the program accepted 2,600 gifted kindergarteners but now, some 65,000 kids will be considered under de Blasio's replacement plan, which he is calling Brilliant NYC.
'Brilliant NYC will deliver accelerated instruction for tens of thousands of children, as opposed to a select few,' he said.
Protestors went out to City Hall and the NYC's Department of Education headquarters on Thursday to demand that the gifted and talented program remain
