>>> ECONOMIC AND RACIAL

SEGREGATION.

ACCORDING TO THE NEW SCHOOL,

LAST YEAR, 40% OF NEW YORK CITY

KINDERGARTNERS ENROLLED OUTSIDE

THE ZONE WITH THE HOPE OF

BRIDGING THE GAP AND GETTING AN

EQUAL CHANCE AT SUCCESS.

IT'S ALL PART OF THE CITY'S

SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM THAT

ALLOWS STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO

CHOOSE WHICH SCHOOLS TO ATTEND.

AND SINCE 2004, THOUSANDS OF

CHILDREN HAVE SWITCHED FROM LOW

TO HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS.

NOW MAYOR de BLASIO IS PUSHING

TO END THE SPECIALIZED HIGH

SCHOOL ADMISSIONS TEST THAT'S

SERVED AS THE GOLDEN TICKET INTO

THE ELITE INSTITUTIONS.

BUT AS STUDENTS AIM FOR A

BRIGHTER FUTURE WHAT HAPPENS TO

THE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES THEY

LEAVE BEHIND?

AS PART OF OUR CHASING THE DREAM

INITIATIVE ON POVERTY AND

OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICA, WE'RE

TAKING A LOOK AT A NEW PROGRAM

CALLED TEENS TAKE CHARGE

ELEVATED TO THE STUDENT'S

VOICES.

JACK FORD SAT DOWN WITH THE

PROGRAM'S FACILITATOR TAYLOR

McGRAW AND HE BEGAN BY ASKING

ABOUT HOW THE PROGRAM GOT ITS

START.

>> I WAS ORIGINALLY A

SCHOOLTEACHER IN NEW YORK CITY

AND I RECOGNIZED PRETTY EARLY ON

THERE WAS A REAL PROBLEM IN THE

STUDENTS I WAS TEACHING DIDN'T

HAVE MUCH OF A VOICE IN THEIR

EDUCATION AND THE POLICIES

AFFECTING THEM.

SO AFTER I FINISHED TEACHING I

DECIDED I WANTED TO CHANGE THAT.

AND I LINKED UP WITH A GUY MY

COFOUNDER ADRIAN, AND WE DECIDED

TO DO A PODCAST.

SO I HAVE MY PODCAST EQUIPMENT.

I START TO GO TO HIGH SCHOOLS

INTERVIEWING STUDENTS ABOUT

THEIR EDUCATION.

AS I WAS DOING THAT WORK, THE

STUDENTS THAT I WAS TALKING TO

SAID, HEY, TAYLOR, THIS IS COOL

AND ALL, BUT WE WANT TO DO MORE

THAN A PODCAST.

WE WANT TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT

THIS IN PERSON.

SO ABOUT SIX OR EIGHT STUDENTS

LINKED UP AND THEY DECIDED TO

PLAN AN EVENT.

ALONG THE WAY THEY'RE LIKE WE

SHOULD, WE SHOULD HAVE A NAME.

AND THEN ONE OF THEM SAID WE

COULD BE TEAMS TAKE CHARGE.

THAT'S HOW IT STARTED.

THAT WAS A YEAR AGO.

>> HOW HAS THE GROUP GROWN?

YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW IT'S

EXPANDED BUT HOW ABOUT IN TERMS

OF SIZE AND THE NUMBER OF TEENS

PARTICIPATING?

>> WE HAD SIX OR EIGHT IN THAT

ORIGINAL GROUP.

NOW WE HAVE MORE THAN 30

STUDENTS WHO ARE IN SOME FORM OR

FASHION INVOLVED IN TEENS TAKE

CHARGE.

WHEN WE HAVE EVENTS WE HAVE

UPWARDS OF 300 PEOPLE AT THE

EVENT.

>> HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH

THE TEENS TAKE CHARGE PROGRAM?

>> I'M PART OF THE SCHOLAR, IT'S

AN ACADEMIC PROGRAM IN NEW YORK.

THE ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING FOR

STUDENTS WHO ARE LOW INCOME OR

DEFINE THEMSELVES AS LOW INCOME

AND TECHNICALLY THEY HELP TO

GRADUATE COLLEGE.

NOT ONLY HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

SO TAYLOR IS ACTUALLY AN

INSTRUCTOR.

HE CAME IN ONE LIKE -- I BELIEVE

AROUND AUGUST, YOU KNOW,

INTRODUCED THE SENIOR CLASS, THE

UPCOMING SENIOR CLASS ABOUT HIS

TAKE CHARGE.

I BECAME INTERESTED WHEN HE

FIRST SAID, YOU KNOW, NEW YORK

CITY HAS THE MOST SEGREGATED

PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE

WHOLE COUNTRY.

YOU KNOW?

I THINK -- I BELIEVE HE STARTED

OFF BY SAYING -- YOU KNOW, THE

STATE HAS IT.

>> WERE YOU SURPRISED WHEN HE

SAID --

>> I WAS COMPLETELY SURPRISED.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE -- YOU

KNOW, YOU'RE KIND OF BORN INTO

THE SYSTEM AND SO YOU DON'T

REALLY, YOU KNOW, TAKE A STEP

BACK TO LOOK AT IT.

SO WHEN HE SAID THAT IT WAS JUST

LIKE OH --

SO I KNEW I HAD A LOT OF

COMMITMENTS DURING THAT TIME BUT

SOMEHOW I SAID I HAD TO GET

INVOLVED.

SO I HAD A CAMERA, SO I TOLD

TAYLOR I COULD BE YOUR

PHOTOGRAPHER.

YOU KNOW?

>> ALL RIGHT.

>> AND YOU HAD -- THE MEDIA, THE

COMMUNICATIONS.

YOU WERE TELLING ME ALL THE

THINGS YOU DO IN SOCIAL MEDIA

THERE.

SO OBVIOUSLY YOU BECAME INVOLVED

IN THIS.

I'LL COME BACK TO YOU IN ONE

SECOND, BUT LET'S COME BACK TO

THE ISSUE THAT WE INTRODUCED

HERE.

IN TERMS OF THE IDEA OF MOVING

OUT OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ZONE TO

GO SOME PLACE ELSE.

AND IN THEORY IT SOUNDS LIKE

IT'S A MARVELOUS OPPORTUNITY.

FIND A BETTER SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

FOR YOUR CHILDREN.

AND CHILDREN FOR THEMSELVES.

WERE YOU SURPRISED WHEN YOU SAW

THE RESULTS OF THE NEW SCHOOL

STUDY AND WHAT IT IS SUGGESTING

IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE, HOW

MANY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THEIR

SCHOOLS TO GO SOME PLACE ELSE?

>> I WASN'T SURPRISED BUT I

THINK IT WAS BECAUSE I HAVE

KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE.

I TAUGHT IN THE CHARTER SCHOOL

WHICH IS WHAT A LOT OF FAMILIES

ARE LEAVING FOR.

>> RIGHT.

>> BUT I THINK -- I THINK YOUR

QUESTION AT THE BEGINNING WAS A

GOOD ONE.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SCHOOLS THAT

ARE LEFT BEHIND?

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE STUDENTS

THAT ARE IN SCHOOLS THAT ARE

CONSISTENTLY LOW PERFORMING THAT

KIDS ARE LEAVING OUT OF?

AND I THINK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT

SCHOOL CHOICE, WE OFTEN TALK

ABOUT IT IN THE ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL.

BUT IN FACT REALLY THE NATION'S

LARGEST EXPERIMENT OF SCHOOL

CHOICE IS HAPPENING IN THE NEW

YORK CITY'S HIGH SCHOOLS.

THERE ARE NO SCHOOL ZONES FOR

HIGH SCHOOL.

SO EVERY STUDENT IS EXERCISING

CHOICE WHEN IT COMES TO HIGH

SCHOOLS.

>> HIGH SCHOOLS -- A NUMBER OF

THE HIGH SCHOOLS, CORRECT ME IF

I'M WRONG, BUT A NUMBER ALSO

HAVE AN ACADEMIC AND A SUCCESS

COMPONENT TO GET IN, TESTING

GETS YOU INTO CERTAIN PLACES.

THROUGH YOUR SCHOOL, YOU'RE A

SENIOR, YOU'RE BEING TO

GRADUATE, WHAT DID YOU SEE IN

TERMS OF THE RACIAL MIX OF YOUR

SCHOOLS AS YOU WERE GROWING UP?

>> SO I BELONG TO WHAT YOU MAY

CALL THE -- I ONLY LIVE TEN

MINUTES AWAY.

I WALK TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY AND

MOST OF THE STUDENTS THAT GO TO

MY SCHOOL ARE -- THEY LOOK LIKE

ME.

THEY'RE LATINOS AND

AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

AND FOR ME, IT WOULDN'T BE A

PROBLEM IF I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE

THE RESOURCES OR THE

OPPORTUNITIES ARE VERY LIMITED.

>> WELL, IT'S AN INTERESTING

ISSUE.

AS WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU WOULD

THINK ON THE SURFACE IT SOUNDS

LIKE A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR

SOME STUDENTS AND INDEED IT IS.

BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE THAT

REMAIN BEHIND?

IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE

STRUGGLING WITH IN THE MEANTIME.

YOU'RE GRADUATING, HEADING OFF

TO NYU, CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU.

AND HOPEFULLY YOUR INVOLVEMENT,

TOO, TAYLOR, IT WILL CONTINUE TO

GROW BECAUSE WE NEED TO HEAR

YOUR YOUNG VOICES.

THANK YOU AND BE WELL.

>> THANK YOU.