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Julian’s Story
Julian is a 3-year-old preschooler with delays in his language skills, but the DOE failed to provide recommended services.
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Students Facing Disciplinary IssuesAdvocates for Children of New York (AFC) has more than 45 years of experience assisting students who are being removed from school for disciplinary reasons. When a student is facing a school suspension or expulsion, AFC works to ensure the student’s rights are not...
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01.27.2021 | The next Mayor of New York City 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...
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04.06.2021 | NY Daily News | Randi Levine, the policy director of Advocates for Children, said that with the influx of state and federal cash, the city should “fund a major education initiative” that includes academic support and mental health support with extra attention to students hit hardest by...
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04.01.2021 | BronxNet TV | Host Daren Jaime sits down with the Policy Director of Advocate for Children of New York, Randi Levine discussing the COVID-19 Education Recovery Plan and recommendations focus on summer programs for students, intensive one-on-one tutoring, services for disabled...
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03.31.2021 | amNY | “This is a matter of basic fairness,” reads a letter from the group Advocates for Children to the NYSED Chancellor Lester Young and Board of Regents Commissioner Betty Rosa. “Students turning 21 during the 2020-21 school year should have as much time to complete this year’s...
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Page: Leadership & StaffLeadership & StaffKim SweetExecutive Director Matthew LenaghanDeputy DirectorShivani AlamoStaff Attorney, School Justice ProjectKaren AlvesSenior Education Specialist, HelplineDiana AragundiStaff Attorney, Immigrant Students' Rights ProjectMichael AthyStaff Attorney, Charter Schools...
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03.30.2021 | NY1 | “There's no federal law that requires that state accountability tests be tied to graduation,” said Ashley Grant, director of the Postsecondary Readiness Project at Advocates for Children of New York. “And New York state's a real outlier right now on this, so we're one...
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03.29.2021 | The 74 | “3-K and Pre-K will never be ‘for all’ while preschoolers with disabilities are sitting at home without the classes they need,” said Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children. “Announcing a major expansion of 3-K with no plan to provide legally required classes...
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Public Comments & TestimonyAdvocates for Children of New York (AFC) has our finger on the pulse of important education issues and education policy trends that affect children in New York City and New York State. We are on the forefront of pushing to improve education policy, so that all...
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Early ChildhoodClick on each student's name to read more.Gabriel, a kindergarten student with speech delays whose first language is Spanish, was placed in a specialized school that was much too low-functioning for him.Haley has cerebral palsy and developmental delays; her mother came to...
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Students with DisabilitiesClick on each student's name to read more.Angenis, a student with dyslexia who was a non-reader at age 12, attended a school that was unable to help him learn to read.Briana, a student with learning disabilities, needed a school that was the right fit.Emely was almost...
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Page: Jayce's StoryJayce's StoryJayce, an imaginative 5-year-old with Autism, needed a spot in Learning Bridges, NYC’s program to provide childcare during days of remote instruction. His kindergarten was only offering remote learning, but Jayce had a hard time focusing at home and wasn’t receiving any of his...
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Spring 2021 | On March 23, 2021, we testified [PDF] before the City Council Committee on Education on the preliminary budget, outlining our prorities for an ambitious education initiative to direct the largest one-time federal investment in education in our nation’s history. Click on the links...
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03.24.2021 | NY Daily News | Advocates for Children, a group that represents students with disabilities, said the expansion comes with a major caveat: hundreds of preschoolers with disabilities still don’t have access to specialized classes. “3-K and Pre-K will never be ‘for all’ while...
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03.24.2021 | amNY | But while electeds touted the news, education advocates spoke up for special needs children who have largely been left out of the conversation when it comes to 3-K and Pre-K for All initiatives. “3-K and Pre-K will never be ‘for all’ while preschoolers with disabilities are...
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Blog: Live Updates on COVID-19As we continue to monitor the evolving public health situation regarding COVID-19, we will update this page with more information for families about NYC public schools.A note about AFC's services: In response to the public health emergency resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, Advocates for...
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03.24.2021 | Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) issued the following response to Mayor de Blasio’s announcement that New York City plans to use federal COVID-19 education relief funding to expand 3-K citywide: While AFC has strongly supported this Administration’s commitment to expanding...
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03.24.2021 | Gothamist | The nonprofit Advocates for Children said there are not enough slots for students with disabilities, who require smaller classes with a special education teacher. They estimate a shortage of 1,000 to 2,000 seats for special education pre-school classes, plus hundreds more...
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03.24.2021 | Chalkbeat New York | “We have heard from families desperate for help because their children with autism or other complex disabilities were going without appropriate services because there were no available seats in the type of class they needed,” the nonprofit Advocates for Children...
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03.23.2021 | Forbes | "This is the fifth consecutive year that the number of New York City students experiencing homelessness has topped 100,000, a number that's steadily increased by more than 70% over the last decade," said Janyll Canals-Kernizan from Advocates for Children, which works to ensure...