Few policies in public education have been as contentious as how schools identify and educate their most academically able students. Some seek to dismantle gifted-and-talented programs, exam schools, and other advanced offerings, arguing that they promote racial and economic segregation, while others defend current programs that exclude millions of capable students.

But a new model of advanced education is emerging in some states and school districts, aiming to balance academic rigor and equity. To explore this third way in advanced learning, FutureEd Director Thomas Toch will moderate a discussion featuring leaders from New York City and Arizona's Gadsden Elementary School District #32, Johns Hopkins University researcher and past president of the National Association of Gifted Children Jonathan Plucker, and FutureEd Senior Fellow Peg Tyre, author of FutureEd's report, Excellence with Equity: The Case for Rethinking Gifted Education.