If you live in a New York State school district that offers gifted education, consider yourself fortunate. Based on survey data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, just 127 of New York’s 732 school districts (roughly 17 percent) reported offering gifted and talented programming in 2015, the most recent survey year.
Shown on a map, the data reflects sparse gifted and talented availability with large swaths of the state uncovered. It’s a disappointing, but unsurprising, picture of a state that neither mandates nor funds gifted education.
The current state of gifted education in New York may be even bleaker than it appears; quick research of some of the included districts reveals gifted and talented programming consisting of “advanced classes” offered only to high school students.
Gifted and Talented Programs in Central New York
Here in Central New York, only nine school districts in five of the six CNY counties reported gifted and talented programs in 2015. Missing from the list entirely is Madison County. The districts that reported some form of gifted and talented programming are: Central Square, Cortland, Jordan Elbridge, North Syracuse, Port Byron, Utica, Waterville, Weedsport, and Whitesboro.
Some Caveats
This information was collected in 2015, and it’s possible that gifted and talented programs have come or gone since then. In some cases gifted and talented programs are only available at the high school level and are therefore only a partial solution. The data may not reflect districts or schools that address gifted and talented needs in other ways, like acceleration. Finally, the list does not include private schools.
If you’re aware of a public school or school district in Central New York that does currently provide a gifted and talented program that is not reflected in this report, please let us know! We’d be happy to hear about private schools that have gifted and talented programs, too.