The Challenge of Middle School Equity

The goal of creating equitable middle grades schools is a noble and ambitious one. It includes a vision for schooling that is dedicated to eliminating any and all prevailing injustice that exists in American education and in American life. As William Ayers states, “If we take as our goal the education of all children—or even a gesture in that direction—our system is a failure. It is an unjust system. Our impulse to change must build, then, an opposition to this injustice” (2000, p. 7). So it is that efforts to advance equity in education should be considered in relation to the critical role schools play in developing a democratic society in which the lives of all people are enhanced, enriched, and improved. This agenda constitutes more than a hope for decent schools; it constitutes a hope for a more fair and just society and world.