Advocates for Children of New York works on behalf of children who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure due to poverty, disability, race, ethnicity, immigrant or English Language Learner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or involvement in the foster care or juvenile justice systems.
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Spotlight
Attendance Data Show Urgent Need to Overhaul the Education Support System in City Shelters
10.18.2021 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a new policy brief documenting the pandemic’s heavy toll on school attendance for students living in homeless shelters and calling on the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to direct federal COVID-19 relief dollars to overhaul the education support system in shelters,... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on the DOE's Use of Foundation Aid and Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding
10.05.2021 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York State Senate Education Committee on the DOE’s use of increased state and federal education funding; specifically, how the funding is being used to meet the needs of students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and students experiencing homelessness—students who were hit... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on Reducing the Responsibilities of the NYPD
09.27.2021 | Today, AFC is testifying before the City Council Committee on Public Safety, joining the call from students, parents, and educators for police-free schools and urging the City to eliminate the reliance on the New York City Police Department to address the needs of students in our schools. The City must invest sufficient resources... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on School Reopening Protocols and Mental Health Supports
09.01.2021 | Today, AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education on the City's plan to hire 250 new School Safety Agents (“SSAs”), rather than invest in the social-emotional and mental health supports our students need so profoundly at this point in time. As students return to school buildings to learn in person, it... Continue reading
AFC in the News
Homeless public school students’ attendance rate drops dramatically at start of year, report finds
10.19.2021 | amNY | According to a new report released by Advocates for Children of New York, the average attendance rate for a public school student living in a homeless shelter was 73%, a 10 percentage point drop from the pre-pandemic rate. The report, released Monday, found attendance rate among homeless high school students have suffered... Continue reading
Attendance falls for homeless students in N.Y.C., in part because of the pandemic, a study shows.
10.19.2021 | The New York Times | “These are days of instruction that they can’t get back,” Jennifer Pringle, director of Advocates for Children’s Learners in Temporary Housing project, said. “Homelessness and education are inextricably linked. So if we really want to break the cycle of homelessness we need to focus on education and make sure... Continue reading
Attendance lags for homeless NYC students amid COVID pandemic: report
10.18.2021 | NY Daily News | New York City students living in homeless shelters missed nearly one in every four days of school on average last winter and spring as technology, transportation and logistical challenges piled up during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report found. “These alarmingly low attendance rates make clear that the... Continue reading
NYC school attendance lags for homeless students, report finds
10.18.2021 | PIX 11 | Homeless students have long faced barriers to education and now New York City advocated are worried about their low attendance rates at school. The average attendance rate for the first weeks of the academic year was about 75 percent, according to a new study by Advocates for Children of New York (AFC.) Last winter and... Continue reading