New York Schools Chancellor Announces Plan For Middle Schools

The New York Times (9/21, Subscription Publication) reports, "In his first policy address since becoming schools chancellor in April, Dennis M. Walcott announced on Tuesday that New York would open 50 new middle schools in the next two years, many in the city's poorest neighborhoods." Walcott also said New York would "apply for about $30 million in federal money to replace teachers and leadership, while keeping students in place, at five struggling schools for each of the next two years." The Times notes, "While the plan, outlined in a speech at the Kimmell Center of New York University, got a warm welcome from educators in the audience, it drew a more guarded response from others, including the president of the teachers' union, Michael Mulgrew, who said Mr. Walcott was not going far enough."