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
AFC Testifies on Persistent Issues With NYC School Bus Transportation Services
11.21.2022 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Oversight and Investigation and the Committee on Education regarding persistent, long-standing issues with NYC school bus transportation services. The DOE must take action to develop the systems and procedures necessary to run an effective transportation system... Continue reading
Despite a Decrease in Suspensions, New Data Continue to Show Persistent Disparities & an Alarming Increase in Police Involvement
11.17.2022 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following response to the release of the New York City Department of Education (DOE)’s suspension data report for the 2021-22 school year: The new suspension data released publicly this week indicate a decline in the number of suspensions issued to New York City students... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on the DOE’s COVID-19 Relief Spending
11.16.2022 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Education about the need for the DOE to address delays in launching key programs funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds and for city, state, and federal elected leaders to begin planning to sustain long-overdue initiatives funded with this short-term funding. Read... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on Accessing Mental Health Services for NYC Youth
11.09.2022 | Today, AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities & Addiction and Committee on Youth Services to discuss the youth mental health crisis and urgent need for a comprehensive system to ensure that our young people have access to and receive behavioral and mental health supports in schools... Continue reading
AFC in the News
Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay.
11.17.2022 | The CITY | It’s a common trajectory for young people with emotional disabilities, who make up close to half the students enrolled at schools in New York City’s juvenile detention centers and in the Rikers Island jail, according to data from the Independent Budget Office. “There’s a school-to-prison pipeline for these kids,” said Dawn... Continue reading
Thousands of asylum-seeking students in NYC spread out across more than 300 schools
11.08.2022 | Gothamist | “I think we can glean from the data that there has been a significant influx of students and families into the New York City shelter who've recently arrived to this country and that many of the schools where they’re enrolled were not prepared for that influx. Nor was the shelter system,” said Jennifer Pringle, of Advocates... Continue reading
More than 100K public school students in NYC experiencing homelessness: report
10.26.2022 | PIX 11 | New York City has committed to hiring 100 shelter-based Department of Education Community Coordinators this year to help families navigate the school system, resolve barriers to regular attendance, and connect students in shelter with needed supports. However, a month and a half into the school year, at a time when the... Continue reading
More than 104,000 New York City Students Were Homeless Last Year
10.26.2022 | The New York Times | Jennifer Pringle, who works at Advocates for Children of New York, a nonprofit that collects the data on homeless students annually, said that the system must meet the needs of the newcomers, “while not losing sight of the longstanding issues” facing local children who are homeless. “If we want to break this... Continue reading