Schools Chancellor David Banks touted the expansion of the  gifted and talented program as a tool to keep more families from leaving public schools. 

Banks said about 120,000 families have unenrolled from the city school system over the past five years partly because access to the program was limited. 

“We found out just how important it was, and we really wanted to make sure we were listening to our parents and families,” Banks told host Errol Louis on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” Thursday night. 

The comments come after Banks and Mayor Eric Adams announced the city will be adding 100 kindergarten seats and 1,000 third-grade seats to the academic program, allowing every school district in the city to have entry points to the program at both grade levels. 

The move by the chancellor and mayor marks a major departure from plans the de Blasio administration had sought to put in place at the end of the previous mayor’s tenure.

But Banks emphasized that expanding the program won’t solve all of the problems at the public schools.

Banks referred to the program as a “piece of the puzzle” that will help ensure that all students receive an enriched education. 

“Parents and families that believe that’s a program that would work for them, we want to provide that for them,” he said. “We’re not trying to be ideologues here, but at the same time we want to make sure we’re meeting the needs of all of our kids.” 

Banks said the changes, including the elimination of the testing system and expansion to all districts, will make the program equitable to students of diverse backgrounds. 

“They never had that before and by definition that’s going to greatly diversify the program,” he said. 

Public school teachers will receive training and be in charge of selecting the students who enter the gifted and talented program. 

“There’s a lot of work that we have to do between now and then to get everybody ready,” he said. 

Applications for the program will open on May 31.