"The results of this year's Specialized High School Admissions Test are extremely disheartening, and make it crystal clear that this city has a long way to go before it can claim it provides parity in accelerated education to all communities. The percentage of Black and Latino students accepted to the city's specialized high schools actually decreased this year.
"A path to true excellence in education begins at the earliest levels and must be fostered throughout a student's career. All students, no matter where they live, must be provided equal access to gifted and talented education at the earliest levels. A single test must not be the only source of admission to our best public high schools. One's socio-economic background, race, neighborhood or borough must no longer determine the quality of a public education.," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
In May 2012, Borough President Diaz issued “An Action Plan for Fixing the Specialized High School Admissions Process.” That report can be read athttp://on.nyc.gov/2I8COLb.
In June 2017, Borough President Diaz and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams released a new report, titled “Fixing the Pipeline: Solutions to Disparities in Gifted Education in New York City,” outlining multiple recommendations for the future of gifted and talented education at all levels in New York City’s public schools. That report can be read at http://on.nyc.gov/2IbBLKB.h
EDITOR'S NOTE:
We agree 100 Percent with Bronx BP Diaz Jr., and we say just look at the graduation rates recently released by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Those results showed that Bronx students were still behind their citywide counterparts when it came to just graduating high school.
It is no wonder that in a borough of mostly Black and Latino students that Bronx students are not getting accepted into specialized high schools, but we urge the Bronx BP to look at the quality of education that Bronx students are getting at the elementary and the middle school levels in the Bronx. As one mother said at a school board meeting twenty years, the school she went to had failed her, and was now failing her child. Unfortunately that same school is probably now failing her grandchildren.
