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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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10.02.2012 | Gotham Schools | Volunteer Melodie Ampuero, a project associate at Advocates for Children...praised the program and thought it could be expanded. She said she worried that the one-time service wasn’t enough. Volunteers were not instructed to follow up with the students they met to make...
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This report, jointly issued by AFC and The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), sets forth key principles for a sound ELL accountability framework in New York State.
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9.27.2012 | Gotham Schools | The hearing offered a rare view into ELL issues. Elsa Cruz Pearson, a staff attorney for Advocates for Children of New York, said the main way advocates get data is through an annual report that the Office of English Language Learners submits to the state. But the city...
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9.25.2012 | Insideschools.org | The reform has had the opposite effect in some schools, according to Maggie Moroff, special education coordinator at Advocates for Children, with neighborhood schools creating self-contained special education classes for just a few students. "Those classes aren't...
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Resource: Testimony Delivered to the NYC Council Regarding the DOE's Corrective Action Plan for ELLsTestimony delivered to the New York City Council's Committee on Education and Committee on Immigration regarding oversight of immigrant students in the NYC public schools and the DOE’s Corrective Action Plan for ELL students.
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9.24.2012 | DNAinfo.com | "We're hearing from too many families that their children's preschool services were not in place at the beginning of the school year," said Randi Levine, a lawyer with Advocates for Children, which supports disadvantaged children in New York City... Read article
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Resource: Guide to the Educational Rights of Students in Temporary Housing: Charter SchoolsThis guide describes the rights of students in temporary housing who attend charter schools.
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9.12.2012 | New York Law Journal | Jamie Levitt, the President of AFC's Board of Directors, is featured in the New York Law Journal special supplement, "Lawyers Who Lead By Example." In her role on the Board, Levitt has helped to recruit Morrison & Foerster attorneys to represent parents at...
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9.13.2012 | City Limits | This school year the city has undertaken a dramatic transformation of special education to try to improve student achievement. While applauding the push, these writers believe the city has to put more resources into the classrooms where special ed kids are now learning....
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9.06.2012 | Insideschools.org | The aim of the special education reform--being rolled out in all schools this year--is to educate special needs children in the least restrictive settings possible, and, preferably, in their neighborhood schools. Is that what's actually happening? Not in all schools...
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Resource: PTI Training FlyerFlyer with general information about AFC's free onsite workshops.
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5.09.2012 | ABC Eyewitness News | Eric DeGiaimo, NYC student and recipient of the Education Champion Award at AFC's 2012 Spring Benefit, told his story to ABC Eyewitness News.
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5.29.2012 | WABC-TV | " We're asking the state to keep the local diploma as an option until they put into place new pathways to graduation," Gisela Alvarez, senior project director, said. Alvarez and the not-for-profit Advocates for Children of New York have joined a coalition, pushing for the...
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Blog: Univision Covers the Difficulties Immigrant Parents and Students Face in NYC Schools (Spanish)9.03.12 | Univision | Parents describe their difficulty advocating for their children with special needs without proper translation and interpretation services. Featuring AFC staff attorney Rigel Massaro.
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9.03.2012 | WNYC/SchoolBook | Advocacy groups working with students who require special education services in school say many families are facing mixed messages and open questions about the services local schools can provide them, with just days to go before the start of school. Advocates for...
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9.05.2012 | DNA Info | Advocates who work with special needs children say the DOE's goal of mainstreaming is admirable, but they worry that many of the city's 1,700 schools are ill prepared to serve the broad spectrum of kids who are now enrolling, including some who need small, self-contained...
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9.01.2012 | New York Post | At least 40 parents have approached the nonprofit Advocates for Children after being told that their kids wouldn't get small classes or extra services that were promised in official education plans. Read article
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8.14.2012 | NY1 News | At Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, 65 percent of the students live in households that earn under $30,000. That is double the figure of just three years ago.While Hillcrest saw one of the biggest jumps, student poverty has increased citywide. "An increase in poverty...
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8.28.2012 | Insideschools.org | The beginning of a new school year can be exciting -- and confusing. Some very helpful information is now available for families of students with disabilities. A new fact sheet from Advocates for Children is online in both English and Spanish. It covers a range of...
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8.27.2012 | Advocates for Children has a newly updated fact sheet to help families of students with disabilities through the start of the school year. It covers a number of concerns that typically come up at this time of year, including: What to do if a child does not yet have a school assignment...