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
Reaching Every Reader: NYC Literacy Summit
December 2021 | On December 9th, as City leaders prepare for the transition to a new administration, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), the NYC Department of Education, and the ARISE Coalition are jointly hosting a Literacy Summit to build a shared vision for universal literacy. Improving the quality of literacy instruction is a matter... Continue reading
NYC Projecting Shortage of More than 900 Seats in Preschool Special Education Classes for Spring 2022
Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following response to the NYC Department of Education’s posting of new data showing a need for more than 900 additional seats in preschool special education classes in the spring of 2022: New data released by the DOE show a projected deficit of more than 900 seats in preschool special... Continue reading
AFC Issues Statement in Response to Passage of Intro 150-A
11.23.2021 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the New York City Council’s passage of Intro 150-A, creating a task force focused on the transportation of students in temporary housing: AFC thanks the New York City Council for today passing Intro 150-... Continue reading
AFC Calls on the City to Address the Urgent Need for Make-Up Services for Students with Disabilities
11.18.2021 | Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following response to the release of the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s special education data report for the 2020-21 school year: The data released today show that 23,000 students with disabilities did not fully receive their mandated special education... Continue reading
AFC in the News
Advocates: 900 NYC special needs children could be left without a preschool seat next year
11.30.2021 | amNY | About 900 New York City toddlers with special needs could be left without a spot in a city preschool program next year, according to a new analysis. Advocates for Children of New York crunched newly released data from the New York City Department of Education and found a deficit of dozens of preschool special education... Continue reading
Chancellor Porter And City Council Announce Historic $4 Million Investment In Language Access For All
11.30.2021 | Harlem World Magazine | “Immigrant families, like all families in the NYC public schools, have a right to participate in their children’s education, but to do so, they have to feel comfortable communicating with their schools,” said Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York. “The NYC Department of... Continue reading
Some NYC children are still without the paraprofessionals they need to get to school
11.24.2021 | NY1 | Kim Madden, director of family support at Advocates for Children, which is advocating for Babilonia, says it's not just one family. Between the vaccine mandate and split morning and afternoon hours, bus paras can be hard to hire and retain. "It's not a unique situation, and I think it's something that was very predictable... Continue reading
NYC Schools Still Ramping Up Promised Support For Students With Disabilities
11.19.2021 | Gothamist | During remote learning, Randi Levine, policy director with the group Advocates for Children, said students waited months for devices, were not assigned required special education teachers, did not receive mandated services, and were placed in virtual classes that were far too large. “This school year, challenges have... Continue reading