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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Christianne Beebe @clbb.bsky.social · 3h

An education that meets the true needs of ALL students should be the goal. We would never oppose that for students requiring special education services. We acknowledge many flaws in current identification of SpEd students, but don’t push for abolishing the entire system. Same for gifted services.

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 3h

To clarify: Top ten percent in each school. Meaning "local norms" apply. Akin to the University of Texas top-ten percent plan.

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Dan Goldhaber @cedr.bsky.social · 4h

It's solo @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social on the Gadfly and he's talking about a topic - gifted education - that is near and dear to my heart. A few quick thoughts (not about the Mamdani proposal, but G&T in general) 👇

fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...
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How the Left can learn to love gifted education | Episode 990 of The Education Gadfly Show

This week, Mike Petrilli flies solo to discuss New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to eliminate gifted education in the early grades—and how progressives can be persuaded to cham...

fordhaminstitute.org

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Constance @drconstance.bsky.social · 4h

Universal screening is the answer. I don’t believe in taking things away in service of “equity”.

Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Bluesky friends, how can we get more folks on the left to support gifted education? Would my 3 ideas help? schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/how-can-we...

How can we depolarize “gifted education”?

SCHOOLED | Monday, 10/14/25

schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 4h

The key point for me is not about identifying and cultivating the next Einstein, but ensuring that kids who are performing well above their peers are being challenged as well, per this paper
edworkingpapers.com/sites/defaul...

abstract: "Send Them Home?" Rethinking What Public Education Owes to Flourishing Children Abstract This essay asks what justice requires for children who are already thriving in school and argues that the dominant frameworks in educational philosophy do not answer the question. Priority, equality of opportunity, adequacy, and capabilities treat public education chiefly as redistribution to the disadvantaged and therefore offer no affirmative reason to continue educating students once thresholds are met. I diagnose two background assumptions that sustain this silence, that no harm occurs when enrichment is withheld from thriving students, and that any remaining responsibility lies with families rather than the state. I then develop a positive account grounded in two ideas. First, democratic equality requires the sustained cultivation of civic capacities as societies grow more complex. Second, following Israel Scheffler, respect for persons requires supporting the development of human potential understood as a noncomparative, path-dependent propensity. Together these yield a principle of sustained development, the claim that every child is owed not only competence for citizenship but also meaningful next steps appropriate to their capacities. I show how this principle reframes policy debates about restricting advanced coursework, standards that become ceilings, and weighted funding formulas that already presume a universal base entitlement. The result is a conception of public education that prioritizes need while refusing to abandon those who thrive.

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Ugh, it doesn't sound like I'm going to persuade you Conor! This doesn't have to be a zero sum game, right? We've expanded AP access dramatically. Why can't something similar work at the elementary school level too?

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Right, but also, any student who is pretty far ahead of his or her peers will need some kind of acceleration/enrichment or will suffer boredom and not learn anything new on many days.

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Well, you can set 10 percent as the floor, not ceiling. Identify AT LEAST 10 percent of students in each school for advanced education/acceleration. But go above that when warranted.

Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Still going I think

Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 6h

I agree with your suggestions. Also, my sense is that some forms of enrichment tied to the gifted label could benefit any student. Jen's suggestion for a subject-specific approach could be helpful in clarifying the need to challenge students and how the opportunity offered addresses that need.

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Yes!

Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Yes, good addition, and one that the National Working Group on Advanced Education proposed too.

As for your course name, I'm taking that as a sign of my influence. :)

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 1d

I'm on board with all 3. I'm not sure what the right % is at the school level but applaud the idea of offering everywhere. I'd add a 4th, which is fluidity/continuous re-evaluation (i.e. this is not a "once and for all" decision)

my spring class is called Schooled!

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 4h

Yikes, thanks, fixing!

Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 1d

I don't know about that, but I like these ideas a lot!

Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Bluesky friends, how can we get more folks on the left to support gifted education? Would my 3 ideas help? schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/how-can-we...

How can we depolarize “gifted education”?

SCHOOLED | Monday, 10/14/25

schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 1d

Thoughts? @matthewakraft.com @kevincarey1.bsky.social @mattbarnum.bsky.social @carajackson.bsky.social @laryferlazzo.bsky.social @ingoisphording.bsky.social @anya1anya.bsky.social @chingos.bsky.social @mpolikoff.bsky.social @benjaminjriley.bsky.social @conorpwilliams.bsky.social

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 1d

Hey Bluesky friends, how can we get more folks on the left to support gifted education? Would my 3 ideas help? schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com/p/how-can-we...

How can we depolarize “gifted education”?

SCHOOLED | Monday, 10/14/25

schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

Michael Dannenberg @mdannenberg1.bsky.social · 1d

Education “reform advocates should always want…bipartisan support…[I]t makes for a stronger & more durable coalition,” says @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social True, but sometimes that’s not enough (see NCLB). You need the upper middle class as well. schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com?utm_campaign...

SCHOOLED | Michael J. Petrilli | Substack

SCHOOLED is Michael J. Petrilli’s twice-weekly newsletter restarting the ed reform conversation. Expect sharp analysis, curated commentary, and lively debates—including from YOU. This is one newslette...

schooledbymikepetrilli.substack.com

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 2d

The Disappearing Black School Board Member

Who sits on your local school board? It’s fewer Black folks than two decades ago. wordinblack.com/2025/10/disa... @alexanderrusso.bsky.social @dmhouston.bsky.social @wordinblacknews.bsky.social

The Disappearing Black School Board Member

Who sits on your local school board — and does their race really matter?

wordinblack.com

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 7d

The low numbers for Hispanic school board members are extremely disappointing. I wonder if political scientists find the same underrepresentation on city councils, county councils, state legislatures, etc., or is there something about school board elections driving this? @dmhouston.bsky.social

David Houston @dmhouston.bsky.social · 7d

But this pattern is, again, somewhat exaggerated by the large number of small, rural, and mostly white districts. The racial/ethnic disparity is less severe when accounting for the number of students that school board members serve.

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

David Houston @dmhouston.bsky.social · 7d

Supported by both the Fordham Institute and @wallacefoundation.bsky.social, Michael Hartney and I explored the extent to which U.S. school board members are politically and demographically representative of the communities they serve.

Here's a summary of our main findings:

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 7d

New from Fordham, the Wallace Foundation, @dmhouston.bsky.social & Michael Hartney:

Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...

Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict

School boards have become ground zero for America’s education culture wars, with fiery debates over race, gender, curriculum, and pandemic policies making national headlines. But beyond the noise, how...

fordhaminstitute.org

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 7d

New from Fordham, the Wallace Foundation, @dmhouston.bsky.social & Michael Hartney:

Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...

Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict

School boards have become ground zero for America’s education culture wars, with fiery debates over race, gender, curriculum, and pandemic policies making national headlines. But beyond the noise, how...

fordhaminstitute.org

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Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 12d

WATCH NOW: The New Federal Education Tax Credit: Policy and Politics, featuring @progressivepolicy.org's Rachel Canter, @dfer.org's Jorge Elorza, @brookings.edu's Jon Valant, @futureedgu.bsky.social's @thomastoch.bsky.social, and yours truly.
future-ed.org/webinar-the-...

WEBINAR: The New Federal Education Tax Credit: Policy and Politics

The Trump administration’s newly passed federal tax credit scholarship program could dramatically reshape the education landscape, providing families with potentially billions of dollars in funding…

future-ed.org

Michael Petrilli @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social · 14d

Steven Pinker on the Harvard admissions department:

"It is terrible. I’ve argued that as much. They use holistic criteria, which is mumbo-jumbo. It’s mysticism."

Image for a recent Conversations with Tyler podcast, featuring Harvard professor Steven Pinker.

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Reposted by Michael Petrilli

De-BOO-ra Wexler @debrawexler.bsky.social · 26d

There have been plenty of takes since last week's #NAEP results showed 12th graders performing at the lowest reading level since the test launched in 1992. This analysis from @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social is esp. disconcerting: that cohort had achieved NAEP’s highest 4th-grade reading scores.
#edusky

The Covid generation: Best readers ever in fourth grade, worst readers ever by twelfth

There’s been a lot of smart analysis of the dismal NAEP results released last week. But here’s an alarming fact that you probably haven’t seen before: The cohort of students who scored at record-low l...

fordhaminstitute.org

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