I agree with much of what was already been said, but there are still issues with Seattle's gifted program. My child attends a gifted-only elementary school that contains 700+ kids, but only two African-American students. His classes are full of kids with affluent and well-educated parents. Other areas of Seattle have elementary schools with few Caucasian or Asian students and almost every kid qualifying for free and reduced price lunch. So, when people look at our program, they become angry because it siphons out the kids from general education classrooms. Gen ed families aren't happy with being left behind because many of the high achievers and affluent students with involved parents leave to join HCC.
I would agree that, assuming the population is not 99.9(or more) white, it would seem likely that some gifted children of color are being missed in the selection process or that parents for some reason are choosing not to send them there. I'd be looking at what could be done re: those factors before I shut down a program that was otherwise successful. If teacher recommendations are part of the criteria, for example, then racial bias might be at play in who the teachers think is likely to be gifted.
