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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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04.14.2021 | NY Daily News | Tenth graders who in shelters saw the lowest attendance rates, logging in just 64% of the time in January — a rate 18% lower than their classmates in stable housing, according to an analysis of Department of Education attendance data from the group Advocates for...
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04.16.2021 | Manhattan Neighborhood Netwok | “Tens of thousands of students are still struggling to access an education because of the pandemic or are at risk of disconnecting from school entirely,” Kim Sweet, executive director for AFC, said in statement Wednesday. “With the DOE poised to get...
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04.21.2021 | BronxNet TV | OPEN Host Daren Jaime sits Betty Baez Melo, Early Childhood Education Project Director at Advocates for Children, to talk about the shortage of preschool special education classes for NYC families and AFC's calls for action. Watch video
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04.16.2021 | Today, AFC is testifying before the City Council Committees on Education and General Welfare about the importance of having an intentional, targeted plan to support students in shelter as the City decides how to use its historic influx of education funding. Read our testimony [PDF]
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04.15.2021 | The Bklyner | Drops in attendance amongst English Language Learners and students with disabilities outpaced that of other students, raising concerns that existing educational disparities have only worsened during the pandemic. That’s according to a policy brief published yesterday...
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Blog: DOE: Public high school seniors at risk of aging out granted extra time to earn degrees next year04.15.2021 | amNY | Most of the students that require additional time to earn their high school degrees are English Language Learners or students with disabilities. Last summer, about 2,200 students across New York state needed six years to graduate from high school, according to the nonprofit...
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04.15.2021 | Chalkbeat NY | “We’re very pleased to hear that the DOE plans to allow students over 21 to return to school, but need clarification on whether the DOE will fund the continued enrollment of students with disabilities placed by the DOE in specialized non-public schools,” said Ashley...
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Blog: 'Reimagining the role of school safety': Advocates detail their vision for policy-free schools04.14.2021 | SI Live | Dawn Yuster, the director of th School Justice Project for the Advocates of Children of New York, said the organization's belief is that the current proposals being made in the City Council are inadequate and that a substantial shift in personnel and resources are essential...
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04.14.2021 | News 12 | The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the disparities in school attendance for students living in homeless shelters, English language learners and students with disabilities--particularly at the high school level. Advocates for Children of New York are calling on the...
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04.14.2021 | amNY | “The latest attendance data should spur City Hall and the DOE to action,” said Kim Sweet, AFC’s Executive Director. “Tens of thousands of students are still struggling to access an education because of the pandemic or are at risk of disconnecting from school entirely. With the...
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Blog: AFC Urges DOE to Follow NYSED Guidance and Extend Eligibility to Students at Risk of Aging Out04.15.2021 | 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...
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04.13.2021 | The Bklyner | “It will be important for the DOE to engage in intensive outreach to reengage students and families who have been disconnected from school,” Kim Sweet, executive director of of the organization Advocates for Children of New York. “The City must also take intentional...
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Blog: New School Attendance Data Shows Steeper Drops for Students in Shelter, English Language Learners04.14.2021 | CityLimits | The numbers, highlighted in a policy brief released Wednesday by Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), show the attendance rate for students in shelter during the first month of this year was 75.7 percent, 14.1 percentage points lower than students not living in...
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04.11.2021 | In Focus on NY1 | Randi Levine joined In Focus to talk about her organization has come up with a comprehensive COVID education recovery plan for the current mayor and his successor to adopt that includes hiring a core of professionals to bolster the areas of academics, social,...
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Blog: Advocates Sign Letter To Mayor De Blasio Demanding More Preschool Seats For Special Needs Students04.12.2021 | CBS New York | Monday, a coalition of 100 organizations, including Advocates for Children, sent a letter to the mayor demanding federal funding be used to provide every special needs child access to a preschool class. “These are families of children who have a legal right to...
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04.12.2021 | Juvenile Justice Information Exchange | Despite progress in getting Wi-Fi in homeless shelters, many students remain disconnected from remote classrooms for several other, sometimes, unclear reasons, said Jennifer Pringle, director of the New York State Technical and Education...
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04.13.2021 | Today, Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the City’s announcement of summer programming for 2021:We are pleased that the City is moving forward with an expanded version of summer school that will...
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Blog: 100 Organizations Urge Mayor de Blasio to Meet the Need for Preschool Special Education Classes04.12.2021 | Today, more than 100 organizations sent a letter to Mayor de Blasio making the point that 3-K and Pre-K will never be “for all” until the City addresses the continuing shortage of seats in preschool special education classes—a shortage that has left young children with disabilities who...
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01.27.2021 | The next Mayor of New York City will take office at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the longstanding inequities in our City’s schools. Based on our 50 years of on-the-ground experience helping students and families navigate the largest school system in the country...
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04.06.2021 | NY Daily News | Randi Levine, the policy director of Advocates for Children, said that with the influx of state and federal cash, the city should “fund a major education initiative” that includes academic support and mental health support with extra attention to students hit hardest by...