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Gifted and Talented Program Finally Coming to Bed-Stuy Middle School

By Camille Bautista | February 27, 2017 2:51pm
 Madiba Prep Middle School on Lafayette Avenue is slated to receive a gifted and talented program in the 2017-2018 academic year, according to officials.
Madiba Prep Middle School on Lafayette Avenue is slated to receive a gifted and talented program in the 2017-2018 academic year, according to officials.
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BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A gifted and talented program for middle school students is finally coming to the neighborhood after years of requests from elected officials, parents and community members, education officials confirmed Monday.

Central Brooklyn’s Madiba Prep will be the first middle school in the district to get a G&T accelerated study program, and only the second school overall in Bedford-Stuyvesant's School District 16.

There will be 30 seats available in the next academic year for incoming sixth graders at Madiba Prep Middle School, according to the Department of Education.

Selection will be determined by factors such as attendance and New York State ELA and Math exam scores, with the bulk based on final report card grades.

“We are always working to strengthen middle-school instruction and programming for our District 16 students, and I look forward to working with Principal [Anne Marie] Malcolm and Madiba Prep on this new program,” Superintendent Rahesha Amon said in a statement.

The G&T option coincides with the Feb. 8 release of the DOE’s Middle School New Schools Application for fifth graders, according to the agency.

The optional application allows families to consider additional programs that were not available on the main-round middle school application.

The deadline to submit is Wednesday, March 1, and G&T open house sessions will be held Monday, Feb. 27 from 1 to 2 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m., and Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Lafayette Avenue school.

READ MORE: MAP: See How Racial Segregation Persists at Gifted and Talented Programs

Families and community members have long pushed for a gifted and talented program in the neighborhood.

Local councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. previously called the absence of such options in central Brooklyn an “embarrassment” and called attention to the issue through an ongoing campaign

“Education is the key to economic success and resources must be available to all children in our city, no matter what zip code they reside in,” Cornegy said about the new program.

“I am elated the Madiba Prep Middle School is the first to provide a gifted & talented program for 6th, 7th and 8th graders in our district.”

Madiba Prep shares a building with P.S. 26, which is home to the district’s third grade G&T class that kicked off this past fall.  

The placement and development of the program at Madiba came after discussions with the local Community Education Council and stakeholders, according to the DOE.

A representative for the CEC was not immediately available for comment.

The open house for Madiba Prep’s G&T program will be held on Feb. 27 and 28 at 1014 Lafayette Ave. near Malcolm X Boulevard. Call 718-574-2804 to confirm attendance.