NYU Metro's views on NYC's Gifted & Talented program
N ew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that the city’s Gifted & Talented (G & T) program will be terminated due to racial disparities. The NYU Metro Center, the chosen vendor leading Westport’s ongoing Equity Study, has advocated for the end of these long-standing programs. Norm Fruchter, Senior Consultant for the NYU Metro Center, addresses the topic in an article entitled The Spoils of Whiteness .
In this article, Mr. Fruchter laments the success enjoyed by children from New York’s large Asian population. He offers the following statistics to support his opposition to the G & T programs:
…in the interim decades, district G & T programs have seen a sharp increase in Asian student populations. Asian student enrollment in the city’s highly selective high schools, and particularly in its test-driven school sector, has also accelerated. Though Asian-American students comprise 16% of the city's public school population, nearly 75% of Stuyvesant students, 66% percent of Bronx Science students, and 60% of Brooklyn Tech students are of Asian descent.
NYU Metro Center deceptively targets “whiteness” in support of ending NYC gifted and talented programs, while acknowledging Asian children benefit the most. Mr. Fruchter echoes this theme of hostility to “whiteness” in the title he chose for his essay. Yet, it is clear from the facts that he has chosen to present that the majority of children he believes are benefiting from the G & T program are not white at all.
As the Westport school system continues its work with the NYU Metro Center, Westport taxpayers and parents should be aware of positions that organization has historically taken with respect to programs designed to benefit highly capable students, regardless of their cultural background. Likewise, Westporters of Asian descent and all backgrounds should be aware that NYU Metro Center apparently views Asian academic success as evidence of institutionalized racism and white supremacy.