As Eagle Academy continues to expand beyond its Bronx nest, Mayor Bloomberg and Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Wednesday lauded the school’s achievements in educating minority males — but said there is still a long way to go.
“There is real educational inequality,” Bloomberg told a crowd at Yankee Stadium that included former Mayor David Dinkins, former city Controller Bill Thompson and Tuskegee Airmen. “Eagle Academy is a model for improving student achievement.”
The academy also aligns with Bloomberg’s Young Men’s Initiative, which aims to close the achievement gap for minorities.
The all-boys public school network started in Tremont, and now has schools in Queens and Brooklyn. A new one is slated to open in Newark this fall with sixth and seventh grades.
The goal of the schools is to provide an option for at-risk inner-city black and Latino boys who may lack strong male role models in their lives.
“Given where the trends are going, we are in a state of crisis,” said Booker, who oversees a struggling school district where students have a 25% reading proficiency, he said. “(Eagle Academy) is showing America that there’s another way far cheaper than prisons. This should not be the exception, this should be the rule.”
The breakfast, which also honored World War II legends Tuskegee Airmen, was one of several events this week celebrating the Eagle Academy Foundation.
There was also a community service day, a forum on how young men of color are portrayed in the media, a professional development conference and a youth summit.
“It is a great movement that we are building,” said David Banks, president of the foundation. “Our message to all Eagle men is: Smart is the new gangster.”
clestch@nydailynews.com
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