News & Media

6.20.2012 | New York Times/SchoolBook | Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children of New York, said that these parents were eager to participate in their children’s education, but were hampered by their lack of English proficiency, and that the city has not shown the necessary support. “They really can’t participate or speak out,” Ms. Sweet said, “because despite their requests, they’re not able to get materials in their own languages.” Read article

6.18.2012 | Gotham Schools | The state’s highest court ruled last week that public school students cannot use New York’s human rights law to seek recognition of discrimination — or get financial compensation when discrimination has taken place. Never before have courts ruled that such a large group of constituents is not protected by the law, said Rebecca Shore, the director of litigation for Advocates for Children, which aims to protect low-income students from discrimination. Read article

6.5.2012 | New York Times | “It is great that the DOE is starting to think of discipline in a more holistic way," said Avni Bhatia, a staff attorney for Advocates of Children of New York.  But because there are no requirements for schools to use these new practices  we're concerned that schools that have long relied on punitive policies will continue to do so."   Read article

6.1.2012 | Gotham Schools | Critics of the social promotion ban have said they have seen some students stuck in a grade, unable to advance because of the state tests. Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children, said today that those students often become discouraged and are unlikely to advance. “We ended up seeing students held back repeatedly that weren’t really getting extra help,” she said. Read article