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Policy Resources

AFC works to change education policy so that the public school system serves all children effectively. We publish policy reports and data analyses, testify at the City and State levels, speak out in the press to bring attention to the challenges facing the students and families we serve, and join with other advocates, parents, youth, and educators to call for change.

Leading the Way for NYC Schools: Recommendations for the Next Administration
  • Policy Agenda

    • Leading the Way for NYC Schools: Recommendations for the Next Administration

    Based on our experience helping thousands of NYC families each year, we urge the next Mayor to take on big challenges with bold ideas and stand firm in the face of threats to students’ civil rights.
    Closeup of student holding a pencil in class

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    Ensuring All Students Learn to Read: Where We Go from Here
    Black boy sitting on steps and reading with an adult. (Photo by Cavan for Adobe, Adobe Stock)
  • Policy Agenda
    • Ensuring All Students Learn to Read: Where We Go from Here

    For far too long, New York City Public Schools has failed to meet the critical charge of ensuring all students learn to read. While the City has begun to take steps to address this challenge, meaningful change takes time, and literacy must remain a top education priority for the next Mayoral administration. To sustain and build upon the work done thus far, New York City should develop a robust system of intensive interventions and support for students across all grade levels; provide teachers with ongoing coaching and professional learning in the science of reading; and partner with families to support literacy learning.

    Jan 6, 2025

    AFC Testifies on Dyslexia & Dysgraphia
    Elementary school boy with glasses reads a book while tracking the text with his finger. (Photo by pop_thailand, Adobe Stock)
  • Testimony & Public Comment
    • AFC Testifies on Dyslexia & Dysgraphia

    Today, AFC is testifying at a hearing of the New York State Education Department Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Task Force. Our testimony focuses on screening and intervention, emphasizing that moving the needle on literacy requires a comprehensive approach and a substantial and sustained commitment of resources.

    Oct 1, 2024

    Hearing from Parents: Recognizing Families as Crucial Partners in Reading Instruction
    teacher meets with parent and young child in a classroom
  • Policy Report
    • Hearing from Parents: Recognizing Families as Crucial Partners in Reading Instruction

    This report, which is based on conversations with parents of New York City students about their experiences working with their children’s schools as their children were taught to read, makes recommendations for New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) on how to partner with families as the city enters the next stages of its efforts to improve reading instruction across the school system.

    Jan 25, 2024

    AFC Testifies on New Phonics Based Curriculum and Dyslexia Screening in NYC Public Schools
    Overhead shot of a child paging through a brightly colored picture book.
  • Testimony & Public Comment
    • AFC Testifies on New Phonics Based Curriculum and Dyslexia Screening in NYC Public Schools

    AFC testified before the New York City Council Committee on Education & Committee on State and Federal Legislation regarding the new phonics based curriculum and dyslexia screening in NYC Public Schools. We are urging the Council to remain steadfast in the commitment to ensuring that all schools are using reading curricula with proven effectiveness and to push the school system to provide all students—including those who have disabilities like dyslexia—with the intervention and support they need.

    Dec 14, 2023

    Response to the Release of the 2022 New York State English Language Arts Test Scores
    Open book lying on the table in the public library.
  • Press Statement
    • Response to the Release of the 2022 New York State English Language Arts Test Scores

    Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to the release of the 2022 New York State English Language Arts (ELA) test scores for New York City, showing that only 36% of Black and Hispanic students, 18% of students with disabilities, and 13% of English Language Learners (ELLs) in grades 3–8 are reading proficiently.

    Sep 28, 2022

    Reaching Every Reader: The Path Forward
    Illustration of a stack of book on a blue background. Report title is overlaid.
  • Policy Report
    • Reaching Every Reader: The Path Forward

    This report summarizes key takeaways from the December 2021 Literacy Summit—a day-long virtual event jointly hosted by AFC, the NYC Department of Education (DOE), and the ARISE Coalition—and makes clear recommendations for improving reading instruction in New York City schools. The report was accompanied by a Call to Collective Action signed by 70 organizations.

    May 2, 2022

    Vision for NYC Schools: Recommendations for the Next Administration
    Hands typing on a laptop. (Photo by wavebreak3, Adobe Stock)
  • Policy Agenda
    • Vision for NYC Schools: Recommendations for the Next Administration

    Mayor-elect Eric Adams 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 and get the support they need to learn, we outline some of the most pressing challenges in public education — including those that pre-date COVID — where the incoming Mayor must be prepared to focus attention, energy, and resources.

    Nov 3, 2021

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