They found that the behavioral
problems of these middle - school 6th graders «persist beyond the sixth grade year» and that «exposing sixth graders to older peers has
persistent negative consequences on their
academic trajectories.»
According to New City's website, the school was founded in 2006 in response to a
persistent community
problem in Asheville of an
academic «achievement gap» between white and African - American students.
The intervention sought to reduce specific empirically identified risk factors for adolescent health and behavior
problems:
persistent physically aggressive behavior in the early elementary school grades,9 - 11
academic failure, 12 and poor family management practices including unclear rules, poor monitoring of behavior, and inconsistent or harsh discipline.13, 14 Because being raised in poverty increases risk for crime, school failure, and school dropout,15 - 17 effects of the intervention on children from low - income families were of particular interest.