A group of minority community leaders in Palm Beach County on Monday said they are in a new alliance to advocate “for the improved academic achievement of students of color.”

Organized by the Coalition for Black Student Achievement, the group also includes the Hispanic Human Resources Council, Palm Beach County Caucus of Black Elected Officials, the West Palm Beach branch of the NAACP, and others.

At a meeting Saturday, participants agreed unanimously to work together to be more accountable to the children in their communities who are not learning with current strategies used in schools, according to a news release from Chuck Ridley, coalition chairman.

“We all realized the work before us will be difficult, but we will no longer sit back and watch while our children suffer,” Ridley said in a statement.

Some participants also expressed dismay over the reassignment of school district Chief Academic Officer Jeffrey Hernandez.

“Eight weeks ago, we were excited to meet the man our superintendent recruited here to implement the dramatic academic overhaul to save our children’s futures,” said Cathy Anaya, local chapter director of ASPIRA, a national organization that helps Hispanic youth. “Now Mr. Hernandez has been sent somewhere — the new curriculum is totally voluntary -- and no one has come back to explain how the District plans to make progress for our children.”

More meetings are planned in the upcoming weeks.