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Julian’s Story
Julian is a 3-year-old preschooler with delays in his language skills, but the DOE failed to provide recommended services.
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Resource: AFC Education Helpline Flyer (Spanish)Gives information on the Jill Chaifetz Education Helpline.
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05.03.2022 | New York Post | More than 100,000 public school students were homeless last school year — including a third that lived in New York City shelters. More than half of students living in shelters miss at least one out of every 10 school days, according to data cited by Advocates for...
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05.02.2022 | amNewYork | “Every parent sends their child to school assuming they will be taught to read. Yet when students struggle, parents often have to find help on their own,” said Kim Sweet, Executive Director of AFC. “As a city, we need to stop accepting that unacceptable outcome and provide...
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05.02.2022 | Gothamist | The report from Advocates for Children – “Reaching Every Reader” – argued the fact that so few public school students are being taught to read effectively is “unconscionable,” citing how less than 47% of all third through eighth graders, and only 36% of Black and Hispanic...
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05.02.2022 | Chalkbeat NY | “For many parents, it is not possible to transport their child with significant disabilities to and from their school,” said Randi Levine, from Advocates for Children. “We know many students with disabilities last year were unable to participate in the Summer Rising...
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05.02.2022 | Today, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a new report, Reaching Every Reader: The Path Forward, summarizing key takeaways from last December’s Literacy Summit--a day-long virtual event jointly hosted by AFC, the NYC Department of Education (DOE), and the ARISE Coalition...
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Blog: Infusion of federal cash, a more focused approach seen as key to boosting literacy in NYC schools05.02.2022 | NY Daily News | Yet enormous obstacles remain to creating widespread change in a system with 1,600 schools and more than 70,000 teachers — and advocates warn that the DOE could squander its opportunity without specific and long-term plans for how to make reforms stick. “History...
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05.02.2022 | New York Post | “Every parent sends their child to school assuming they will be taught to read,” said Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children. “Yet when students struggle, parents often have to find help on their own.” “As a city, we need to stop accepting that...
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04.29.2022 | Gothamist | Families and advocacy groups welcomed the news, but say that the city needs to commit to training all teachers across the system on strong, proven literacy strategies that benefit students with dyslexia and other reading challenges, such as training more teachers in...
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04.29.2022 | More than 30 organizations released a letter calling on Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks to use federal COVID-19 relief funding specifically designated for students in temporary housing to hire 150 shelter-based Department of Education Community Coordinators. Community...
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04.28.2022 | Advocates want the city Education Department to hire 150 people to make sure students in homeless shelters get to school every day. Chronic absenteeism — defined as missing more than one in ten school days — is a big challenge citywide this year, and it’s more pronounced among...
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Immigrant Students and English Language LearnersAdvocates for Children of New York (AFC)’s Immigrant Students’ Rights Project combines our distinctive leadership in the field of public education advocacy with our in-depth knowledge of the needs of immigrant students, students learning English, and...
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50th Anniversary Spring Benefit Event Committee MembersKimberley D. HarrisEvent Committee Co-chair, Board Vice President, Advocates for Children of New YorkLucy FatoEvent Committee Co-chair, Board Member, Advocates for Children of New YorkRaul F. YanesEvent Committee Co-chair, Board Member,...
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04.22.2022 | NY Daily News | “The DOE really asked a lot of parents during the pandemic. It’s a much harder ask for parents who don’t speak English,” said Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, the director of the Immigrant Students’ Rights Project at Advocates for Children.Orquiria, a Bronx mother of two city...
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Blog: NYC Council members, advocates push Education Department to ramp up support for kids in foster care04.20.2022 | NY Daily News | “For too long, students in foster care have been an afterthought at the Department of Education – resulting in students going without needed school supports at a time in their lives when so much is unfamiliar and uncertain,” said Erika Palmer, a supervising attorney for...
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04.20.2022 | New York Post | Erika Palmer, an attorney at Advocates for Children, said that after foster kid “Daniel,” a pseudonym to protect his privacy, was threatened by his mom with a knife, he got into trouble at school that resulted in his suspension. Daniel was eventually allowed back...
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04.20.2022 | Chalkbeat NY | Maggie Moroff, a special education policy expert at Advocates for Children, said occupational and physical therapists provide support that is often a precondition to academic success, such as learning to grip a pencil or helping students build up enough endurance to...
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04.20.2022 | PIX 11 | Advocates and city leaders pressured the Department of Education Wednesday to fulfill a promise to support students in foster care. The DOE announced a division dedicated to the needs of students in foster care in December of 2021. City data shows those children are...
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04.20.2022 | NY1 | Advocates say the city has promised a staff of 11 for the office. City officials testified four positions have been posted. None, so far, have been filled. “Meaning there is still not anyone at DOE focused solely on students in care,” Erika Plamer, an attorney with Advocates...
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04.20.2022 | City & State | The four positions that the department is now hiring for include a senior manager of foster care support, an interagency coordinator, a policy associate, and a data manager. But education advocates noted that only the first position is described as focusing solely on...