We need to shatter the inequities in our city’s specialized high schools. While Black and Latino students make up almost 70% of all NYC public school children, they make up only a quarter of our city’s current Gifted and Talented (G&T) students and a third of all SHSAT applicants. That’s totally unacceptable. To fix our broken system we need a thoughtful, comprehensive plan.
Our mission at the Education Equity Campaign is to increase diversity in NYC’s specialized high schools and expand G&T programs by improving educational opportunities in every community, creating more specialized high schools across the five boroughs, and ensuring that every student—regardless of race, income, or background—has equal access to high-quality, publicly funded test preparation.
With expert investment and community input, we can make substantive changes rather than surface level tweaks. Our solution focuses on five key areas of policy to drive systemic change:
A G&T Program in Every District: We must improve diversity in all of our elite programs from a young age. We fully support the Adams administration prioritizing expanding G&T programs, so every student has the opportunity to take entrance exams and attend a G&T program in their neighborhood. Every child deserves access to programs that cultivate their talent, and every parent deserves to know their child can succeed close to home.
Improve Our Middle Schools: It’s time to get serious about middle schools and preparing our children for high school. Right now, just 15 district middle schools accounted for half the new students admitted to our city’s elite high schools – and 485 schools admitted five or fewer kids. That’s not a problem with our kids. It’s a problem with the schools.
Double The Number of Specialized High Schools: In a city of 8.6 million, we need more than eight specialized high schools. Right now there are only 15,000 seats for over 360,000 high school students. That’s not nearly enough. Building two new specialized high schools in every borough will give more kids access to our city’s top high schools. And when we expand G&T programs early, we expand the playing field for specialized high school students and make these schools better places to learn, for all students.
Invest in Free SHSAT Prep for Every Student, Citywide: We know that test prep works. We must prioritize meaningful, public investment in test prep programs for students in black and brown communities. Today, more than 90% of NYC middle schools do not have access to publicly-funded test prep. Let’s change that by finally making test prep a right for every public school family.
Ask Every 8th Grader To Take The SHSAT: We also need fairer access to the test itself. Only a small minority of Black and Latino students currently take the SHSAT, which is only available on a single weekend. That needs to change—it’s our responsibility to ensure that every student has an opportunity to take the test and be properly prepared for test day. The SHSAT should be made available during regular school hours. It is the City’s responsibility to ask every student if they would like to take the test - and let them and their parents decide if they would like to opt-out.
Kirsten John Foy is a lifelong civil rights and human rights activist who currently
serves as President and CEO of the Arc of Justice. Kirsten has passionately, and effectively,
campaigned on behalf of greater education equity, gun violence prevention, and workers’ rights
across the country for decades. His political activism started as a member of the Black Students’
Union at Brooklyn College, where he organized protests against tuition increases and a city effort to
require students on welfare to work. Kirsten previously served as the Northeast Regional Director for the National Action Network, where he helped guide the activities of chapters in 12 states. Previously, Kirsten was Director of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs for then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. Kirsten is a product of the NYC public school system and a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. He is a licensed Pentecostal Minister and resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant with his wife and their three children.
PAID FOR BY EDUCATION EQUITY CAMPAIGN (EDUCATIONEQUITY.NYC)
Nicole Brisbane has dedicated her career to advocating for high quality public education in every community. Nicole started her career in education as middle school Intensive Reading teacher in 2005. After law school, she joined Teach For America as a Director of District and Community Partnerships, before moving on to become Managing Director of New Site Development, where she helped lead expansion into six new regions. Most recently, Nicole led Democrats for Education Reform New York (DFER) and its policy and advocacy affiliate organizations, Education Reform Now and Education Reform Now Advocacy. In addition to running her own consulting practice, Nicole is a Project Director at the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University where she leads graduate students on a consulting project focused on improving public education. Nicole is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Florida State University and received her law degree from Emory Law School.
Michael Lach is the Director of STEM Education and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Chicago. Previously, he was appointed by Secretary Arne Duncan to lead science and mathematics education efforts at the U. S. Department of Education. Michael has taught science in New York City, New Orleans, and Chicago public schools where he was earned National Board Certification, was named one of Radio Shack’s Top 100 Technology Teachers and was awarded Illinois Science Teacher of the Year. He was also a charter member of Teach for America, where he served as Director of Program Design, developing a portfolio based alternative-certification system that was adopted by several states. As an administrator with the Chicago Public Schools, he led the district’s instructional improvement efforts in science and mathematics in a variety of roles between 2003 and 2009, ultimately becoming Officer of Teaching and Learning overseeing curriculum and instruction in 600+ schools. He earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Carleton College, and master’s degrees from Columbia University and Northeastern Illinois University.
Kirsten John Foy is a lifelong civil rights and human rights activist who currently serves as President and CEO of the Arc of Justice. Kirsten has passionately, and effectively, campaigned on behalf of greater education equity, gun violence prevention, and workers’ rights across the country for decades. His political activism started as a member of the Black Students’ Union at Brooklyn College, where he organized protests against tuition increases and a city effort to require students on welfare to work. Kirsten previously served as the Northeast Regional Director for the National Action Network, where he helped guide the activities of chapters in 12 states. Previously, Kirsten was Director of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs for then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. Kirsten is a product of the NYC public school system and a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. He is a licensed Pentecostal Minister and resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant with his wife and their three children.
Nicole Brisbane has dedicated her career to advocating for high quality public education in every community. Nicole started her career in education as middle school Intensive Reading teacher in 2005. After law school, she joined Teach For America as a Director of District and Community Partnerships, before moving on to become Managing Director of New Site Development, where she helped lead expansion into six new regions. Most recently, Nicole led Democrats for Education Reform New York (DFER) and its policy and advocacy affiliate organizations, Education Reform Now and Education Reform Now Advocacy. In addition to running her own consulting practice, Nicole is a Project Director at the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University where she leads graduate students on a consulting project focused on improving public education. Nicole is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Florida State University and received her law degree from Emory Law School.
Michael Lach is the Director of STEM Education and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Chicago. Previously, he was appointed by Secretary Arne Duncan to lead science and mathematics education efforts at the U. S. Department of Education. Michael has taught science in New York City, New Orleans, and Chicago public schools where he was earned National Board Certification, was named one of Radio Shack’s Top 100 Technology Teachers and was awarded Illinois Science Teacher of the Year. He was also a charter member of Teach for America, where he served as Director of Program Design, developing a portfolio based alternative-certification system that was adopted by several states. As an administrator with the Chicago Public Schools, he led the district’s instructional improvement efforts in science and mathematics in a variety of roles between 2003 and 2009, ultimately becoming Officer of Teaching and Learning overseeing curriculum and instruction in 600+ schools. He earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Carleton College, and master’s degrees from Columbia University and Northeastern Illinois University.
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