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
More than 30 Organizations Call on Mayor de Blasio to Prioritize Educational Needs of Students Experiencing Homelessness
08.04.2020 | Today, Advocates for Children joins more than 30 organizations in reminding the Mayor and the City of its legal obligation to provide transportation for students who are homeless, and expressing our disappointment that the City’s school reopening plan does not prioritize students who are homeless for in-person instruction. The current... Continue reading
AFC Statement on Reopening Schools
07.08.2020 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza’s announcement of plans for reopening school buildings in September: Bringing 1.1 million children and more than 70,000 teachers safely back into the classroom in... Continue reading
More Than 20 Organizations Call On DOE Chancellor to Address the Needs of Students in Foster Care
06.24.2020 | Today, Advocates for Children joined more than 20 organizations calling on the DOE to appoint a senior-level leader to focus full-time on students in foster care and to honor its Fiscal Year 2020 commitment “to ensure bussing for students in foster care” and guarantee that students in foster care, who have a legal right to... Continue reading
AFC Urges DOE to Follow State Guidance & Let 21-Year-Old Students Stay in School
06.24.2020 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to new State guidance strongly encouraging school districts to provide over-age high school students the opportunity to return to school next year to finish meeting graduation requirements and to prepare for... Continue reading
AFC in the News
OPINION | Kim Sweet: Literacy education can’t wait until after the pandemic
08.07.2020 | NY Daily News | "Now that we know students will continue learning remotely for at least part of the time, we have to act quickly and creatively to address the crisis in skill development and improve online learning for the coming school year, or we risk producing a generation of young people permanently hampered by the system’s... Continue reading
Giving New York City’s 114,000 Homeless Children a Better Shot in School
08.07.2020 | Gotham Gazette | The organization Advocates For Children estimates that there are 114,000 homeless students in the New York City school system and that 85% are Black or Hispanic. This figure includes children not only living in shelters but also those that live doubled up with family or friends. These students perform significantly... Continue reading
State of our Schools: Advocates for Children of New York policy director talks remote learning
08.05.2020 | Bronx News 12 | As we get closer to September, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding what’s going to happen when returning back to school. Policy Director at Advocates For Children of New York talks with News 12 about remote learning. "We know that some students — including many students with disabilities, English Language... Continue reading
NYC homeless students should get option of full-time, in-person schooling: advocates
08.04.2020 | NY Daily News | Homeless students should get full-time access to in-person learning this fall if they choose as part of the city’s partial school reopening plan, more than 30 advocacy groups urged in a Tuesday letter to city officials. “The city should be prioritizing the needs of the students who had the most difficulty with... Continue reading