Chancellor To Open 50 New Middle Schools, Close Struggling Ones

By: Lindsey Christ

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Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott laid out what he called the city's boldest and most focused attempt to turn around middle schools during his first major policy speech Tuesday morning in Manhattan. NY1’s Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

Middle school is tough, according to Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott: tough for students, tough for teachers and tough for the city.

“Seventh and eighth grade students were the only ones in New York City to actually fall backward in performance on the state English tests,” said Walcott.

Figures show that once that happens, many students never get back on track. On Tuesday the Chancellor laid out an aggressive game plan to help change this, and it starts with a big push to close struggling middle schools and replace them.

“Today I am committing to opening at least 50 new middle schools across the city in the next two years. These schools, which will be a mixture of district schools and charter schools, will serve areas where there is a high need and demand for better middle schools,” said Walcott.

The city will also recruit and train educators to work in the hard-to-staff middle grades and boost literacy instruction, putting $15 million of new books on the shelves.

With 10 schools, Walcott said he's moving ahead with a federal plan called “Turnaround,” which requires replacing the principal and at least half the staff.

However, Michael Mulgrew, the teachers union president, said the plan isn't bold enough.

“Just changing the structural aspects doesn't go far enough, as far as I'm concerned. We really need to look at instructional changes that will help children. Anything else to me is just moving the deck chairs again,” said Mulgrew.

Previous plans to help struggling middle schools haven’t shown results, including an ongoing effort launched with the City Council in 2008, but the chancellor said this new strategy is more comprehensive and focused.

As for how tough middle school can be, Walcott said he remembers.

“I can name every single one of my elementary school teachers, but the only middle school teacher I recall is the one who forced me to play the trombone, which I did not want to do, because I had long arms,” said Walcott.

He hopes that as chancellor, he has more success conquering middle school.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott will be a guest on tonight's edition of "Inside City Hall" at 7 and 10 p.m.