Seattle Public Schools is shutting down its program for gifted and talented students as part of efforts to address “historical inequity.” It will replace the program with one that is “more inclusive, equitable, and culturally sensitive,” officials said.
Meanwhile, 11.8 percent of students taking part in the program were Asian, and the majority—nearly 70 percent—were white, according to the publication. This led to concerns among school officials, including Kari Hanson, the district’s director of student support services, that the program was rife with racial inequities.
‘The Program Is Not Going Away, It’s Getting Better’
Under the new “Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model,” all neighborhood schools will start to incorporate gifted and talented students, thus ensuring that “students furthest from educational justice have equitable access” and teachers can look at the “whole child” to identify learning abilities and talents.
“The approach includes three tiers of service for students depending on individual needs, delivered in a way that honors individual cultures and backgrounds,” according to the website statement.
New Program More ‘Inclusive, Equitable’
Critics argue the move will result in an increased workload for teachers who will now be tasked with creating individualized learning programs for large groups of students of between 20 and 30 students.That is despite educators struggling with a lack of extra resources, according to reports. In March, the district said it was facing a $104 million budget deficit, and needed to make some changes to balance the books.
“Right now, we’re dealing with a $104 million budget shortfall. This happened because Washington State is facing an educational funding gap, and there are fewer students enrolled at SPS. We also no longer have some funds we received in the past,” the district said at the time.
Elsewhere, many parents have raised concerns that the new model will leave more advanced students overlooked, with some telling The Seattle Times they fear it could lead to a slowdown in their children’s academic progress.
According to an analysis of school data by the Seattle Times, 52 percent of the gifted and talented students in the Seattle Public Schools district were white in the 2022-23 school year, while 16 percent were Asian, and 3.4 percent were black. This marks an increase in the number of Asian and black students participating in the program compared to the previous school year.
A spokesperson for Seattle Public Schools told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that it is “committed to ensuring the brilliance of every student is honored and supported.”
“The SPS Advanced Learning department is not phasing out highly capable services. We are working to provide services in all neighborhood schools,” the spokesperson continued. “To ensure all SPS students have access to advanced learning services, the district implemented universal screening in fall 2022. The screening process helps us identify students who may be eligible for advanced learning or highly capable services.”
