NYC Working Group on School Transformation
by Norm Fruchter
Last April, the New York City Working Group on School Transformation issued a reportexamining the impact of the school closing policy of the city’s Department of Education (DOE). The Working Group’s report argued that by closing schools instead of helping them to improve, the DOE was abdicating its responsibility to support struggling schools. The Working Group’s report called on the DOE to develop a Success Zone to help struggling schools improve, and to build instructional capacity across all the city’s schools so that many fewer would need to be closed.
The Working Group presented the following evidence that specific DOE policies exacerbated the problems of struggling schools:
Last April, the New York City Working Group on School Transformation issued a reportexamining the impact of the school closing policy of the city’s Department of Education (DOE). The Working Group’s report argued that by closing schools instead of helping them to improve, the DOE was abdicating its responsibility to support struggling schools. The Working Group’s report called on the DOE to develop a Success Zone to help struggling schools improve, and to build instructional capacity across all the city’s schools so that many fewer would need to be closed.The Working Group presented the following evidence that specific DOE policies exacerbated the problems of struggling schools:
- The schools the DOE has closed since 2002 had significantly higher percentages of incoming 9th graders with below-level 8th grade math and reading scores, as well as significantly higher percentages of English Language Learners and students with disabilities, than the school system’s averages.
- In the five years before many of the system’s struggling schools were targeted for closure, the DOE significantly increased the percentages of students with low-level 8th grade math and reading scores at those schools, and also increased the percentages of English Language Learners and students with disabilities.
- In the five years before many of the system’s struggling schools were targeted for closure, the DOE