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.
99 Results Found
The 2021–22 school year marked the seventh consecutive year in which more than 100,000 New York City public school students experienced homelessness.
This June 2022 data analysis estimates that more than 329,000 public school students do not have a parent who speaks English fluently and calls for investments in a permanent, central system for immigrant family communications at the Department of Education (DOE). The analysis uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) to illustrates the need for multi-faceted approaches to communication that go beyond making translated documents available online.
According to monthly attendance data released by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), students living in homeless shelters continued to have significantly higher rates of absenteeism than their permanently housed peers following the full reopening of schools in fall 2021, and attendance disparities remained larger than they were prior to the pandemic.
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.
This January 2022 data brief found that preschool students with disabilities are being underserved by 3-K and Pre-K for All and are being denied access to special education programs and services to which they have a legal right—with disparities based on race, school district, housing status, and language of instruction.
More than 101,000 New York City students were identified as homeless during the 2020–21 school year, a 42% increase since the start of the decade and the sixth consecutive school year that more than 100,000 New York City students experienced homelessness.
According to monthly attendance data released by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), students living in homeless shelters had significantly more difficulty accessing an education than their permanently housed peers in winter and spring 2021.
This report explores data on police responses to more than 12,000 “child in crisis” interventions, where a student in emotional distress is removed from class and transported to the hospital for psychological evaluation. A disproportionate share of these interventions involved Black students, students attending District 75 schools, and students attending schools located in low-income communities of color. We call on the City to end the criminalization of students in emotional crisis by eliminating police from schools and investing in behavioral and mental health supports and services.
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.
This May 2021 AFC and Legal Aid Society report highlights the urgent need for the Department of Education to launch a small office focused solely on the needs of students in foster care. Currently, the DOE does not have an office, team, or even a single staff member dedicated to supporting the 6,000 New York City youth in foster care, a group of students particularly in need of specialized support.
A new look