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.
21 Results Found
Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), issued the following statement in response to Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks’ announcement of plans to support students with dyslexia.
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.
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.
This report highlights data on racial disparities in reading proficiency rates and calls on the City to invest part of its $7 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding in a comprehensive effort to revamp the way it provides reading instruction to all students and targeted interventions to students who need extra support.
With the federal government having approved the largest one-time investment in education in our nation’s history, NYC needs an ambitious education initiative to pave the way to hope and opportunity for this generation of students. Such a plan must invest resources in academic support, mental health support, and outreach and engagement. It must be targeted to assist students disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including the provision of specialized instruction and support where needed. This plan outlines our recommendations for steps the City should take.
In response to the release of the grades 3–8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test scores for 2019, Kim Sweet, Executive Director, issued the following statement.
AFC testified before the New York City Council Committees on Education and Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services about the need to make certain that our public schools are prepared to provide all students, including those with dyslexia and other disabilities, with appropriate, evidence-based literacy instruction.
This report documents the need for urgent and sustained action to improve literacy levels for low-income students with disabilities and prepare schools to teach reading effectively for all students. It reviews research and case stories indicating that students with a wide range of disabilities are capable of learning to read if they receive appropriate instruction, discusses the key elements for teaching reading effectively, highlights a number of promising programs in NYC, and provides recommendations for implementing systemic change.
AFC testified at a New York City Council Committee on Higher Education oversight hearing on teacher training in New York City’s post-secondary institutions, emphasizing the need to better prepare new teachers to support the needs of students who are struggling to learn to read and students with behavioral challenges.
AFC and the ARISE Coalition, which is coordinated by AFC, each testified before the City Council Education Committee about the education proposals in the Fiscal Year 2016 Preliminary Budget.