Republican New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa held a press conference outside P.S. 9 in Manhattan on October 3, openly criticizing Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for his phased-out plan to abolish the gifted and talented program. Sliwa proposed to expand the number of seats in gifted and talented classes and increase educational resources, gaining support from education advocates.
Sliwa pointed out, based on his own experience, that the current gifted and talented program in New York City is highly competitive and unevenly distributed. Many students from the Bronx, Staten Island, and Brooklyn may not even have the opportunity to take the test. He advocated for expanding the testing to all 75,000 pre-K students and increasing the number of seats to at least 5,000 to ensure that children in both high-crime and low-performing districts have equal opportunities.
He emphasized, “Education should be fair, and the right to participate should not be taken away from students just because bureaucrats believe that students in certain areas may not perform as well.”
He also suggested, in addition to expanding the gifted and talented program, increasing vocational schools to allow young people who are not academically focused to learn skills such as auto repair, aerospace, and healthcare, to meet the city’s labor force needs. “Whether they are future scientists or technical talents, the education system should provide appropriate pathways.”
Queen’s Council candidate Steven Wong spoke at the press conference in support of Sliwa’s position. He pointed out that the gifted and talented programs and the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) system have allowed countless immigrant families’ children to excel, but now they are being suppressed in the name of “fairness,” “In reality, it is pulling down Asian and high-achieving students, which will only force parents to turn to private schools or move out of New York.”
Chinese education expert and researcher at the Manhattan Institute, Chen Huihua, stated that the gifted and talented programs and specialized high schools have produced many Nobel laureates, proving the effectiveness of the system. “True fairness is not about leveling everyone down but providing more children with better education.” She believes that dismantling successful systems is equivalent to sacrificing the future competitiveness of all students.
Sliwa’s policy proposals directly hit the core of the education issue in the New York City mayoral race. Supporters at the event urged voters to not vote for candidates planning to abolish the gifted and talented program when casting their votes on November 4, to protect their children’s right to education.
“New York City leads the education in the United States, if we cannot hold onto it here, other cities will follow suit, with unimaginable consequences,” Steven Wong admitted.