Socialism is not about bringing those who need help up, but bringing the talented down, and the leftwing frontrunner to take over America’s biggest city is proving it. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist candidate for New York City mayor, has declared his intention to dismantle the city’s Gifted and Talented program for kindergarteners, reviving a flashpoint of the de Blasio era. Speaking Thursday, Mamdani vowed to eliminate the accelerated track for 5-year-olds beginning next fall, though current classes would be allowed to finish out the school year.
The decision is set to ignite fierce debate among parents, who have long been divided over the program’s purpose. Critics argue the admissions process—dominated by testing—exacerbates racial inequities, with white and Asian students disproportionately represented. Advocates counter that the classes serve as vital lifelines for high-achieving children, particularly those from families of modest means, writes The New York Post.
Mamdani’s plan mirrors a late 2021 reform pushed by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, who sought to dismantle accelerated learning in elementary schools, only to see his changes undone by successor Eric Adams. “I will return to the previous policy,” Mamdani told the New York Times. “Ultimately, my administration would aim to make sure that every child receives a high-quality early education that nurtures their curiosity and learning.”
Opponents warn the move could accelerate the flight of parents from the public system. Danyela Souza, vice president of Community Education Council 2 in Manhattan and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, called the plan a betrayal of families seeking upward mobility. “Mamdani is eliminating opportunities for low and middle income students to access an advanced education,” said Souza, a parent in the schools herself.
Souza also highlighted what she sees as hypocrisy in Mamdani’s personal history. His own parents sent him to the elite Bank Street School, where tuition can reach $66,000 a year. “He’s taking away opportunities from families who are not as fortunate as his family,” she told The Post. “It’s going to accelerate families leaving the city public school system.”
The controversy arises against a larger backdrop: under Democratic leadership, New York State itself has quietly lowered the bar for academic success at the behest of the teachers’ unions. The Board of Regents recently reset its math and English proficiency standards after disastrous test scores—so low that in Schenectady not a single eighth grader tested proficient in math. Rather than demand more from schools, state leaders, under pressure from teacher unions, chose to redefine what “proficiency” means. As one critic noted, “Public educators betrayed students by abandoning them during the pandemic, and they are betraying them again by refusing to help kids regain the education they have lost.”
The parallel is stark. At the very moment when state officials are moving the goalposts downward, Mamdani proposes to eliminate the city’s one program designed to challenge top students. Together, the two developments suggest a leftwing political class more intent on appeasing unions and ideology than on lifting children to higher standards or making the country more successful.
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