In many of the city's poorest neighborhoods, there isn't a single good middle school, according to some of Mayor Bill de Blasio's loudest critics on education policy, who are now slamming City Hall for it. NY1 education reporter Lindsey Christ has more.

Middle school is a tough time for kids and their teachers. It's a challenge Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña talks about often.

But now, a group critical of Mayor de Blasio's education policies is focusing on the quality of city middle schools.

The group issued a report saying 56,000 elementary school kids live in neighborhoods without good middle schools.

"I live in Bed-Stuy, but I send my daughter to school in Williamsburg because I wasn't satisfied with the middle schools in my community," parent Camille Artemus said.

The report says that in eight of the city's 32 school districts, no local middle school meets the average passing rate — 37 percent in English and 32 percent in math — on state tests.

"There is no school in Central Harlem — in District 5, where I live — where there is a middle school that is performing above the already-low city average," said Tenicka Boyd, the senior director of organizing for StudentsFirstNY.

The analysis did not include charter schools or specialized middle schools.

The eight districts without proficient district middle schools are spread in three boroughs and low-income neighborhoods, like East Harlem in Manhattan, East Tremont in the Bronx, and Brownsville in Brooklyn.

The organization behind the report, StudentsFirst NY, is one of two well-financed school advocacy groups in New York that is aligned more with former Mayor Bloomberg's education policies — policies like charter schools and making it easier to get rid of low-performing teachers.

They've been consistently critical of de Blasio's approach to education reform, and as de Blasio seeks reelection this year, critics like StudentsFirst plan to attack his record.

The city education department slammed the report, saying 25 percent of the students in those districts' middle schools have special needs and nearly 12 percent are learning English.

But the city's numbers reinforce some of what the critics are saying.

Fewer than 60 percent of students in the districts cited in the report enroll in their local middle schools, suggesting parents and their children are voting with their feet.