This report reveals that the overall 2007/8 graduation rate for Black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent. New York City only graduates 28 percent of its Black male students with Regents diplomas on time. This is more disturbing evidence that an education system that can help students meet the challenges of the 21st Century is as urgent as ever!

Click here to read the report!

EMERGENCY MEETING TO RESPOND TO 2010 TEST SCORES
When: Tuesday, August 17^th at 4 pm
Where: 74 Trinity Place in lower Manhattan
Trains: R to Rector, 2/3/4/5 to Wall Street

Click here for the flier for August 16th in English… and in Spanish.

Click here for a basic summary of the 2010 test results.

Click here for basic graphs of 2010 test scores.

-Easy Breakdown of the Data
-How This Affects Your School and Children
-Next Steps for Parents and Community

Wednesday, August 11th 6 – 8 pm
74 Trinity Place near Broadway
Trains: R to Rector, 2/3/4/5 to Wall Street, A/C to Fulton, J/Z to Broad

Click here to download fact sheet on 2010 test scores (English and Spanish)

Click here to download flier for parent meeting (English and Spanish)

June 17, 2010

By Meredith Kolodner

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/06/17/2010-06-17_class_act_taking_a_budget_hit_successful_middle_school_program_faces_ax.html

Click here to read the report and click here to read the Daily News story.

By Helen Zelon

The New York City Council passed a resolution this week unanimously endorsing the proposed School Turnaround Zone (STZ), a strategy designed to help struggling schools improve their performance and avoid closure.

Developed by the parent-led Coalition for Educational Justice, the STZ would integrate school-improvement strategies with strong leadership, giving schools three years ‘in the zone’ to demonstrate progress.

 The STZ also has the support of Council speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio. But the decision whether to adopt it ultimately rests with the Department of Education (DOE), which is independent of the City Council.

If adopted, the STZ would represent a significant departure from the DOE’s current approach to struggling schools. To date, the DOE has closed 91 schools and is attempting to obtain court approval to shutter 19 more.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has met with education advocates to discuss the STZ proposal, and has referred the matter to Deputy Chancellor Marc Steinberg, says Megan Hester, spokesperson for the Council for Educational Justice.

DOE spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld would not comment directly on the Council’s resolution.

In an email to City Limits, he repeated verbatim an earlier response to City Limits’ inquiries about the STZ: “President Obama agrees that in order to prepare all of our children for college and the workplace, it is critical that we turn around our lowest performing schools. This can include, in some cases, transformation. We will continue to engage parents and community leaders as we work to turn around our lowest performing schools, win federal dollars for our students, and build on the progress we’ve made in improving student outcomes.”

Click here to read the City Council resolution.

by Lisa Fogarty

The City Council took a stand against school closings Tuesday by unanimously passing a resolution that calls upon the Department of Education to fix, and not give up, on low-performing schools.
  The School Transformation Zone, proposed by the advocacy group NYC Coalition for Educational Justice, calls for the use of federal School Improvement Grants and other funds to implement reform plans in the city’s lowest-performing schools.

   Since 2002, the DOE has closed 91 schools. Ten Queens high schools risk closure because of low graduation rates and Progress Report grades: Jamaica, Beach Channel, August Martin in Jamaica, John Adams in Ozone Park, Flushing, Newtown in Elmhurst, Grover Cleveland in Ridgewood, Long Island City High School, Queens Vocational and Technical High School in LIC and the Business, Computer Applications and Entrepreneurship Magnet in Cambria Heights.
   Struggling schools would have the opportunity to turn themselves around by applying five school improvement strategies: expanding the school day and year; providing a rigorous curriculum that includes access to Regents courses and Advanced Placement or other college-level classes; taking steps to attract, train and maintain quality teachers and principals by reducing class size and offering professional development and mentoring; giving students strong support services that include small group and individual counselors; and ensuring active parent and community participation by including them in policy and decision-making.
   “Resolution number 157-A reflects the view of many parents, educators, advocates and elected officials, including myself and many other Council Members, that DOE has a responsibility to help struggling schools rather than just taking the easy way out by closing them,” said Education Committee Chairman Robert Jackson (D-Morningside Heights).
   The CEJ said the resolution is timely because state school districts must submit their plans within the next two weeks for how they will use School Improvement Grants to transform their lowest achieving schools, 34 of which are located in the city.
   The DOE has maintained that school closings are a last resort and that the department is open to turning around schools.
   “President Obama agrees that in order to prepare all of our children for college and the workplace, it is critical that we turn around our lowest performing schools,” DOE spokeswoman Ann Forte said in a statement. “This can include, in some cases, transformation. We will continue to engage parents and community leaders as we work to transform our lowest performing schools, win federal dollars for our students and build on the progress we’ve made in improving student outcomes.”

Download PDF

Read the press release here and the full Council resolution here!

Click here to read CEJ’s policy brief on school turnaround.