Together, We Expand Access To Schools
Where Students Thrive.

This Summer, We Are Saying 40 Years Is Too Long

Rochester was warned about its education crisis nearly 40 years ago. Another generation cannot be asked to wait for change.

In 1986, the Urban League of Rochester released A Call to Action , sounding the alarm about an education system in crisis. At the time, Rochester students faced deeply troubling conditions. More than one-quarter of students were leaving school before the twelfth grade, 42% of students in grades seven through nine were failing at least one core subject, and 80% of children entering kindergarten were already a year or more behind developmental expectations. The report called on Rochester to respond with urgency and collective action, not someday, but then.

Six years later, the 1992 report The Rocky Road to Reform in Rochester examined the reforms that followed and identified A Call to Action as a major catalyst for change. Yet nearly four decades after Rochester was first warned of the crisis, too many children are still waiting for the quality education they deserve.

Across Rochester’s public education landscape, including the Rochester City School District and charter public schools, families continue to confront uneven access, persistent inequities, and student outcomes that remain far below where they should be.

That is where 40 Years Is Too Long begins. READY is launching this campaign to move Rochester beyond repeated reports, promises, and acknowledgment, and toward meaningful action that expands access to quality schools for every child.

This campaign challenges our community to confront what the data reveals, listen to the experiences of students and families, and recognize that another generation cannot be asked to wait.

Today, students across Rochester’s public school systems continue to navigate significant educational challenges.

Too many students are still not receiving the educational opportunities they deserve. Student outcomes remain far below where they should be, and the gap between Rochester students and students across New York State remains unacceptable.

The children who were underserved when Rochester first sounded the alarm in 1986 are now parents and grandparents watching another generation encounter many of the same barriers. A child does not have 40 years to wait for a quality education, and Rochester cannot continue treating persistent failure as inevitable.

The time for acknowledgment alone has passed. The time for collective action is now.

When a crisis continues for decades, the question is no longer whether change is needed. The question is whether we have the courage, urgency, and collective responsibility to address its root causes.

40 Years Is Too Long

To wait for quality schools.

To ignore the educational inequities that deepen cycles of poverty.

To accept the same declining outcomes.

To let children carry the burden.

To call a crisis normal.

40 Years Is Too Long

This July, we’re taking the conversation to Instagram.

READY is rolling out 40 Years Is Too Long, a campaign raising awareness about Rochester’s education crisis and what it will take to move from concern to action.

Follow us this month as we share campaign posts, community reflections, data points, and calls to action around what Rochester’s children and families deserve.

Click any campaign image to view it at full size.

Follow READY on social media to stay connected to the campaign, share the messaging, and help move the conversation forward.

Welcoming Moniek Silas-Lee

Meet READY’s Community Partnerships and School Innovation Fellow.

A New Chapter at READY READY is excited to welcome Moniek Silas-Lee as our Community Partnerships and School Innovation Fellow. Moniek is a transformative education leader with experience across urban, suburban, and public charter school settings. Throughout her career, she has advanced academic excellence, strengthened community partnerships, and developed innovative approaches that help schools, educators, and students thrive. As a proven turnaround school leader, Moniek successfully guided a school out of receivership by implementing strong instructional models, high-levels of student engagement and building strong school cultures and climates. In the coming weeks, we will share more about Moniek’s natural next step in her journey, why this work is personal to her, and her vision for what Rochester’s children need next.

Community Partnerships and School Innovation Fellow Moniek Silas-Lee Moniek's extensive leadership experience also includes serving as the Founding Principal at Loretta Johnson Middle School, where she established the school's foundational vision and academic culture from the ground up. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Educational Leadership and Administration and a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, credentials that continue to inform her impactful work today. Moniek is excited to join the READY team and contribute to its vision by partnering closely with teachers and the Rochester community to expand access to high-quality educational opportunities and help build a school where educators, students, and families can thrive.

POWER LAB SESSION 1 & 2

Building informed, empowered leaders who can drive change in Rochester.

What Defines a Quality School?

Listen to Shanai define what makes a quality school and why every Rochester student deserves access to one.

Follow READY on Instagram for more stories, updates, and insights.

What We’re Reading This Month

Each month, READY will share resources, reports, and articles that help our community better understand education policy, school quality, family access, and the systems shaping student opportunity.