The city’s efforts to reform
its middle schools and close the racial achievement gap haven’t made the grade:
Black and Latino eighth-graders still lag far behind their white classmates,
according to a critical new report.

A coalition of parents and
community groups behind the report is calling on education officials to take
urgent measures to address what they call a "middle-school crisis."

At a rally today, scheduled
to coincide with the report’s release on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the group,
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice,* is set to propose three immediate remedies for the
city’s 200 lowest-performing middle schools.

Their suggestions include
adding 90 minutes of academic and enrichment time per school day, implementing
targeted training and incentive programs for teachers, and increasing academic,
social and emotional supports for students.

The report uses state and
national test data to show that the city’s black and Latino eighth-graders have
fallen further behind their white peers in reading proficiency between 2003 and
2006-07.

* Make
the Road New York is
a founding and active member of the coalition