Strengthening NYC Middle-Grades Learning In and Out of School [Executive Summary]

Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed his administration to adding enough seats to afterschool programs to accommodate every middle-grades child whose family chooses to participate. He has announced plans to scale up today's most effective afterschool programs, providing a balanced program of academic and extra-curricular activities that take into account children's developmental strengths, needs, and interests while integrating and enhancing academic skills. On January 31, 2014 a diverse group of stakeholders met at the Ford Foundation to develop a set of recommendations to the Mayor that reflects his stated goals and at the same time considers opportunities for innovation.

This is the executive summary of the full report, submitted to the Mayor's Office in June 2014, that outlines recommendations for strengthening middle grades (middle school) learning. Bank Street College of Education, the Partnership for After School Education (PASE), and the Ford Foundation collaborated on this report.