THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
CITY HALL
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(212) 788-7116
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
August 13, 2007
Release # 073-2007
SPEAKER, MAYOR ANNOUNCE SERIES OF MIDDLE SCHOOL INITIATIVES
Council Releases Middle School Task Force Report
DOE to Implement Numerous Recommendations for Coming School Year
New York, August 13, 2007 - Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn today was joined by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Council Members and members of the Council's Middle School Task Force in announcing a series of initiatives to help improve academic performance in New York City Middle Schools and provide greater resources for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The Council released the findings and recommendations of its Middle School Task Force, many of which the Department of Education (DOE) is moving to implement for the coming school year.
"When the Council decided to make middle school reform a major priority, we pulled together experts and stakeholders from every facet of the education community," said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. "The recommendations of our Task Force point the way toward a comprehensive, effective approach that will dramatically improve New York City's middle schools and create bright futures for our students. We are proud that the Administration and the DOE have agreed to implement many of these recommendations this year, and we will continue working to move forward with even more of our key proposals city-wide."
"Our City's schools have made enormous progress over the last five years, but we still have a long road ahead," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The new strategies we are announcing today will continue that progress and help more students make the difficult transition from elementary school to middle school to high school. Middle schools are where too many of our students begin to lose their footing, so I want to thank Speaker Quinn, Chancellor Klein, and the task force for coming up with such a sound set of recommendations to help us continue moving forward."
CITY COUNCIL MIDDLE SCHOOL TASK FORCE
The City Council appointed the Middle School Task Force to combat persistently low academic achievement among New York City middle school students, whose performance has consistently lagged behind elementary and high school students. In 2007, less than 50 % of middle grade students met or exceeded the English Language Arts (ELA) standard, and only 45.6% of 8th graders met or exceeded the math standard.
Members of the Middle School Task Force held a series of public forums in all five boroughs, receiving testimony from middle school students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and other concerned members of the community. The Task Force investigated test scores recorded by students in subject areas throughout the middle school curriculum, and considered best practices championed by leading experts and advocates in the education field.
NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL INITIATIVES
The Administration and DOE have agreed to the following steps recommended in the Council's report:
· Identifying at least 50 high-need middle schools that will have access to a $5 Million Fund to implement Middle School Task Force recommendations
· Working to implement Task Force recommendations citywide
· Waiving fees for Professional Development for high-need schools
· Expanding Regents-level courses citywide
· Establishing an ongoing discussion on middle-grade reform with various stakeholders
In addition, Mayor Bloomberg announced the creation of the Director of Middle School Initiatives and the hiring of former Region 8 Local Instructional Superintendent Lori Bennett for the new position. Ms. Bennett, who assumed her new role last week, is reporting to the deputy chancellor for teaching and learning, Marcia Lyles. She has been a Middle School educator for three decades in both the New York City and Newark school districts. Ms. Bennett's new responsibilities include designing middle school professional development programs and implementing task force recommendations. The Director will also maintain an ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders to ensure that middle school reforms continue to evolve throughout the system.
The Department of Education will collaborate with the City Council to identify high-need middle schools to serve as the primary beneficiaries of intensive professional development support. The cost of all centrally offered professional development will be waived for these schools.
Working with the support of the new Director of Middle School Initiatives, the School Leadership Teams of these targeted middle schools will be able to choose from a variety of Task Force recommendations, and to access a $5 million fund to implement the recommendations that best fit with their individual schools.
New City funding may also be used in the following areas: hiring additional guidance counselors and family assistants, offering extended day programs to students, awarding teacher scholarships, creating collaborative communities, and purchasing external professional development or consultation services.
"The middle school years are crucial years for our children. I am confident that the steps we are taking will help us address the needs of this vulnerable student population," Chancellor Klein said. "Thank you to the Middle School Task Force for its valuable input and to Speaker Quinn for her leadership. I'd also like to thank Lori Bennett for taking on this challenge as our new Director of Middle School Initiatives. Lori has worked in middle schools for three decades. She brings both passion and understanding to this position."
"This initiative is an important step in focusing attention and resources on our middle schools, which pose significant educational challenges not only here in New York City but across the nation," said UFT President Randi Weingarten. "We are particularly pleased to see a commitment to provide our middle schools with more guidance counselors and enhanced support services, professional development for teachers and challenging instructional programs for students. The Middle School Task Force's recommendations are so on point that our goal is to have all of them adopted. We also hope this initiative will lead to a real lowering of class size, which will go a long way toward helping to improve these schools."
"In our report, the Task Force has outlined a series of reforms that we believe can lead to significant and measurable improvement across the City's middle schools," said Task Force Chair Dr. Pedro Noguera. "These recommendations are based upon a series of consultations with teachers, students, parents, and administrators from throughout the system. We have done our best to incorporate the ideas and concerns that have been raised and drawn on the best research on proven and effective measures that can lead to improvements in the classroom. We are proud that the DOE has agreed to begin implementing key components of our proposals, and thank Speaker Quinn and the Council for focusing much needed attention on this often forgotten segment of our public schools."
"For years our City's Middle Schools have been trailing elementary and high schools in basic performance, and lacking the resources necessary for improvement," said Council Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson. "Today we begin the process of reversing this trend, giving our middle schools a greater chance for success. I want to thank the Task Force for all their work in identifying core problems and proposing clear and practical solutions, and I commend the DOE for moving quickly to implement many of our proposals."
"This is a hopeful moment for NYC public school children," said Ocynthia Williams of the Coalition for Educational Justice. "CEJ applauds the Speaker of City Council for convening this Task Force, the Task Force for its great work and smart recommendations, and the DOE and the mayor for responding. There is much work ahead but this collaboration is an important first step."
ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TASK FORCE
The Task Force proposed additional initiatives to improve the quality of New York City middle-grade schools for students, teachers, and administrators. These initiatives, broken into 8 major categories, include:
· Middle Grades Leadership - Establish an effective training model for middle-grade school principals to create stronger instructional leaders.
· Professional Development for Middle-Grades Teachers - Establish ongoing professional development to make middle-grades teachers more effective instructors and help them encourage student development.
· Recruitment and Retention of Quality Teachers - Institute specified training in adolescent development for middle-grade teachers and recruit and retain quality teachers, especially in the areas of ESL and content-specific bilingual study.
· Parental Involvement - Encourage parents to play a larger role in their children's schooling to stimulate academic success and reduce discipline issues.
· Middle Grades Curriculum - Incorporate rigorous coursework, effective recuperative programs for students left behind, and greater enrichment activities to foster achievement and benefit academic development overall.
· Student Support and Counseling - Increase access to guidance counselors, support staff and other counseling services for students to help ease their transition into adolescence, which will result in more attentive, successful students.
· Middle Grades Governance & Organization - Mandate smaller class-sizes and scheduling flexibility to promote healthier learning environments.
· Safety & Discipline - Establish clear and firm disciplinary practices to elicit positive student behavior and create safe and productive learning environments for students and teachers.
The full text of the Council's Middle School Task Force report can be downloaded at www.nyccouncil.info.
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Contact: Anthony Hogrebe (Council) (212) 788-7157
Stu Loeser/Dawn Walker (Mayor) (212) 788-2958
