Tuesday's Tip: Institutionalize Racism in Gifted Programs

Gifted Program Funding & Administration Are Forms of Institutionalized Racism

In education, giftedness has become a form of white property and an unearned white privilege, that has created a social caste system in our schools. The facts speak for themselves:

• African American and Latino families are often unaware of the opportunity for gifted education or are discouraged based on the obvious inequities and thus do not request access to gifted education and advanced courses.

• African American and Latino scholars in gifted education still face low or negative expectations, lack of mentorship with a significant number returning to general education.

• African American and Latino scholars are underrepresented in International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs.

• African American and Latino scholars have always been underrepresented in gifted education regardless of the racial demographics within the district.

• Being denied access to gifted education has contributed to the crisis evident in the Black-White educational achievement gap.

• Gifted Education administration is infected by race-based deficit thinking that is both implicit and explicit.

• Programming and service funding is dependent solely on local funds and parent demand. Not all states spend money on gifted education so wealthier districts have more access to services. This results in school districts in higher-income areas being the only districts able to provide appropriate gifted opportunities and services.

• The majority of educators are white females who do not see the gifts or talents of the African American and Latino scholars. This results in a lack of referrals for screening, services, and placement.

• The U.S. Department of Education does not gather information about expenditures for gifted scholars. Thus, district educators and leaders are not held accountable.

This has a major effect on STEM and other career placement. When denied access to advanced high school courses and programs scholars are then denied access to elite colleges, universities, and STEM majors. This then prevents access to certain industries and career opportunities. It is clear that substantive changes at the local level must occur.

This is the fifth of 6 blogs addressing the Gifted Child within the IEP. Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the blog so you do not miss any of them.

Next on the Agenda

6. Gifted IEP