>>> ECONOMIC AND RACIAL

SEGREGATION.

ACCORDING TO THE NEW SCHOOL, 40%

OF NEW YORK CITY KINDERGARTNERS

ENROLLED IN SCHOOLS OUTSIDE

THEIR SCHOOL ZONE WITH THE HOPE

OF GETTING AN EQUAL CHANCE AT

SUCCESS, ALL PART OF THE SCHOOL

SUCCESS PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS

PARENTS AND CHILDREN TO CHOOSE

WHICH SCHOOLS TO ATTEND.

SINCE 2004, THOUSANDS HAVE

SWITCHED FROM LOW TO HIGHER

PERFORMING SCHOOLS.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SCHOOLS AND

COMMUNITIES THEY LEAVE BEHIND?

AS PART OF OUR "CHASING THE

DREAM INITIATIVE" ON POVERTY IN

AMERICA, WE'RE LOOKING AT A BOOK

CALLED "TEENS TAKE CHARGE"

DEDICATED TO ELEVATING THE

STUDENTS' CHOICES.

JACK SAT DOWN WITH TAYLOR McGRAW

AND MARQUEZ AND BEGAN ASKING HOW

THE PROGRAM GOT ITS START.

>> I WAS ORIGINALLY A

SCHOOLTEACHER IN NEW YORK CITY

AND RECOGNIZED PRETTY EARLY ON

THERE WAS A PROBLEM IN THAT THE

STUDENTS I WAS TEACHING DIDN'T

HAVE MUCH OF A VOICE IN THEIR

EDUCATION AND POLICIES AFFECTING

THEM.

AFTER I FINISHED TEACHING I

DECIDED I WANTED TO CHANGE THAT.

I LINKED UP WITH MY COFOUNDER,

ADRIAN AND DECIDED WE WANTED TO

DO A PODCAST AND I STARTED GOING

TO HIGH SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK

CITY, INTERVIEWING THEM ABOUT

THEIR EDUCATION.

AS I WAS DOING THIS WORK, THEY

SAID, HEY, TAYLOR, THIS IS COOL.

WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN A

PODCAST, WE WANT TO TELL PEOPLE

IN PERSON.

ABOUT 6 OR 8 STUDENTS LINKED UP

AND DECIDED TO PLAN AN EVENT.

ALONG THE WAY, THEY'RE LIKE, WE

SHOULD HAVE A NAME.

ONE OF THEM SAID, WE COULD BE

"TEENS TAKE CHARGE."

>> HOW HAS THE GROUP GROWN THEN?

YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW IT HAS

EXPANDED, BUT THE NUMBER OF

TEENS PARTICIPATING.

>> WE HAD 6 OR 8 IN THAT

ORIGINAL GROUP.

NOW, WE HAVE MORE THAN 30

STUDENTS IN SOME FASHION

INVOLVED IN TEENS TAKE CHARGE.

WE HAVE EVENTS, WE HAVE UPWARDS

OF 300 PEOPLE IN THOSE EVENTS.

>> HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH

THE TEENS TAKE CHARGE PROGRAM?

>> I'M PART OF THE SCHOLAR, THE

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING FOR

STUDENTS LOW-INCOME OR DEFINE

THEMSELVES AS LOW-INCOME AND

TECHNICALLY, IT HELPS YOU

GRADUATE COLLEGE, NOT ONLY HIGH

SCHOOL BUT COLLEGE AND TAYLOR

WAS AN INSTRUCTOR.

HE CAME IN ONE AUGUST AND

INTRODUCED THE SENIOR CLASS,

UPCOMING SENIOR CLASS ABOUT

"TEENS TAKE CHARGE."

I BECAME INTERESTED WHEN HE

FIRST SAID NEW YORK CITY HAS THE

MOST SEGREGATED PUBLIC SCHOOL

SYSTEM IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

I THINK, I BELIEVE HE STARTED

OFF, WHICH FATE HAS IT, HE ASKED

THAT QUESTION.

>> DUST IT OUT.

WERE YOU SURPRISED WHEN HE SAID

NEW YORK?

>> COMPLETELY SURPRISED.

YOU'RE KIND OF BORN INTO THE

SYSTEM AND YOU DON'T REALLY TAKE

A STEP BACK TO LOOK AT IT.

WHEN HE SAID THAT, IT WAS A

BLINDERS OFF THING.

I KNEW I HAD A LOT OF COMMENTS

DURING THAT TIME.

I THOUGHT, I HAVE TO GET

INVOLVED.

I HAD A CAMERA AND I TOLD

TAYLOR, I COULD BE YOUR

PHOTOGRAPHER, YOU KNOW.

>> ALL RIGHT.

YOU WENT ON TO BE THE PERSON IN

MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS AND YOU

TOLD ME ALL YOU DO IN SOCIAL

MEDIA.

I WILL COME BACK TO YOU.

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.

IN THEORY, SOUNDS LIKE 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'S SUGGESTING

IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE, HOW

MANY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THEIR

SCHOOLS TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE?

>> I WASN'T SURPRISED BUT I KNEW

ABOUT THE ISSUE FOR A WHILE AND

TAUGHT AT A CHARTER SCHOOL AND

WHAT LOT OF FAMILIES ARE LEAVING

FOR.

I THINK YOUR QUESTION AT THE

BEGINNING WAS A GOOD ONE.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SCHOOLS LEFT

BEHIND?

WHAT HAPPENS TO STUDENTS IN

SCHOOLS LOW PERFORMING KIDS ARE

LEAVING OUT OF.

WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SCHOOL

CHOICE, WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT IT

IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BUT IN

FACT, REALLY, THE NATION'S

LARGEST EXPERIMENT IN SCHOOL

CHOICES HAPPENS IN NEW YORK

CITY'S HIGH SCHOOLS.

THERE ARE NO SCHOOL ZONES IN

HIGH SCHOOLS.

EVERY STUDENT IS EXERCISING

CHOICE WHEN IT COMES TO HIGH

SCHOOLS.

>> A NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOLS,

CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG, A

NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE AN

ACADEMIC COMPONENT TO GET IN TO

TEST AND GET INTO CERTAIN

PLACES.

HOW ABOUT YOUR SCHOOLS?

YOU'RE A SENIOR AND YOU WILL

GRADUATE, WHAT DID YOU SEE IN

TERMS OF THE RACIAL MIX OF YOUR

SCHOOLS AS YOU WERE GROWING UP?

>> I BELONG TO WHAT YOU CALL A

ZONE SCHOOL BECAUSE I ONLY LIVE

10 MINUTES AWAY, I WALK TO

SCHOOL EVERYDAY.

MOST OF THE STUDENTS THAT GO TO

MY SCHOOL, THEY LOOK LIKE ME,

THEY'RE LATINOS AND

AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

FOR ME, IT WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM

IF I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THE

RESOURCES OR THE OPPORTUNITIES

ARE VERY LIMITED.

>> IT'S AN INTERESTING ISSUE.

ON SOME SURFACES IT SOUNDS LIKE

A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME

STUDENTS.

IT IS BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE

LEFT BEHIND.

YOU ARE GRADUATING, HEADING OFF

TO NYU.

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND TEENS

TAKE CHARGE AND TAYLOR,

HOPEFULLY THAT WILL CONTINUE TO

GROW BECAUSE WE NEED TO HEAR

YOUR VOICES OF YOUNG REASON.

THANK YOU FOR BOTH OF US.

YOU BOTH BE WELL.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> THANK YOU.