Advocates for Children of New York works on behalf of children who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure due to poverty, disability, race, ethnicity, immigrant or English Language Learner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or involvement in the foster care or juvenile justice systems.
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Spotlight
AFC Responds to the Release of 2022 New York State English Language Arts (ELA) Test Scores
09.28.2022 | Today, 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... Continue reading
AFC Testifies on Meeting the Needs of All Students with Disabilities
09.21.2022 | Today, AFC is testifying before the City Council Committee on Education about the serious obstacles that students with disabilities and their families continue to experience every day on the ground. Every day, Advocates for Children hears from parents struggling to get their children with disabilities the education they need.... Continue reading
New One-Pagers: Enrollment Information and Language Supports for Migrant Students
08.26.2022 | AFC's newest fact sheets cover key enrollment information and language supports for migrant students. The one-pagers -- one for each borough in NYC -- are available in English and Spanish. Get the fact sheets Continue reading
Start of School Year Questions & Answers for Families of Students with Disabilities
08.23.2022 | We've updated our annual factsheet for families of students with disabilities, which covers issues NYC families often encounter at the start of the school year, including enrollment, busing, placement, and more. The factsheet is available in English and Spanish, and will be updated through the fall as more information becomes... Continue reading
AFC in the News
Survival Games and Months of Missed School: How Migrant Children Are Adjusting to New Lives in NYC
08.25.2022 | The CITY | Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, director of immigrant students’ rights at Advocates for Children New York, commended Project Open Arms but raised concerns over whether the city could properly implement the plan amid staff shortages. “We’re really happy that the city’s finally paying this level of attention to immigrant... Continue reading
NYC’s ‘Project Open Arms’ to help migrant children for start of school year
08.19.2022 | PIX 11 | “Our concern is that there isn’t sufficient staff at each school that are bilingual and that are knowledgeable to be able to help families and to help all the students are coming in,” said Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, director of immigrant students’ rights at Advocates for Children New York. Watch video Continue reading
NYC schools lays out plan to enroll hundreds of asylum-seeking students
08.19.2022 | Chalkbeat NY | “We know there aren’t enough bilingual programs in the city for all of the English language learners that qualify for them,” said Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, director of the Immigrant Students Rights Project at Advocates for Children New York. “We also know schools don’t always inform families of their right to elect... Continue reading
Nueva York se prepara para apoyar a estudiantes inmigrantes recién llegados a la ciudad
08.18.2022 | Telemundo | El alcalde Eric Adams declaró que no quiere que los niños enviados desde Texas por el gobernador Greg Abbott interrumpan su educación y diversas organizaciones se aliaron para brindar asesoría a sus padres para que continúen sus estudios. Watch video Continue reading