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 School Reopening
10.16.2020 | Today, AFC is testifying before the New York City Council Committee on Education and Committee on Health regarding the reopening of City schools. As the City continues working on the health and safety measures needed to protect school communities from COVID-19 this year, the City must also redouble its outreach efforts and provide... Continue reading
Advocates Call For a Coordinated Plan to Address the Urgent Educational Needs of Students Who Are Homeless
09.16.2020 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York joins 30 organizations in calling on Mayor de Blasio to address the urgent educational needs of students who are homeless as the school year begins. We are urging the City to develop a coordinated interagency plan and designate a point person to work across agencies to ensure that every... Continue reading
AFC Statement on Delay of School Reopening
09.01.2020 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to Mayor de Blasio’s announcement delaying the first day of school: With so many unanswered questions about the reopening of school buildings, the City needs to use this additional time to develop robust... Continue reading
Advocates Call for a Restorative Reopening Plan for the 2020-2021 School Year
08.31.2020 | Today, Advocates for Children and Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) shared recommendations with Chancellor Carranza for a developing reopening plans are trauma-informed, culturally-responsive, grounded in restorative practices, and geared towards developing healing-centered school communities. The 2019-2020 school year presented historic... Continue reading
AFC in the News
How will New York students take Regents exams? (Hint: It’s too soon to know)
10.16.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | Ashley Grant, a lawyer with Advocates for Children New York, believes the state should unlink Regents exams from graduation requirements — for which it does not need federal approval — and can do that without making the call now about cancellations. Her organization is part of the Coalition for Multiple Pathways calling... Continue reading
NYC’s remote learning attendance shows persistent racial disparities
10.15.2020 | Chalkbeat NY | An initial look at the city data also showed that average daily engagement was 70% or less for homeless students at about 300 schools, said Randi Levine, policy director at Advocates for Children, which has pushed for more support for students in shelters, many of whom are still struggling to log on due to spotty... Continue reading
Parents: NYC Teacher Shortage Hurts Special Ed Students The Most
10.15.2020 | Gothamist | At issue are the students’ legally-binding Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) which require they are taught by two teachers—one licensed in general education and one licensed in special education—alongside their general-education peers. During a regular year, about 100,000 students are enrolled in the ICT program and... Continue reading
What Homeless Students Have to Deal With to Go to School During COVID
10.14.2020 | VICE | Randi Levine, policy director at Advocates for Children of New York, said it’s unclear how many of New York City’s roughly 114,000 homeless kids just stopped regularly showing up for school due to the COVID-19 pandemic... “The dropout rate was already high, and there’s a concern about whether that increases,” Levine said.... Continue reading