News & Media

09.01.2022 | Conexión Migrante TV | "“Un problema que vemos ahora es que no hay suficiente personal que hable español o que hable el idioma que hablan las familias. Entonces, recientemente el departamento de educación iba a contratar coordinadores que trabajan en albergues para ayudar a las familias, pero no lo hicieron. requieren que esos coordinadores puedan hablar español." Watch video

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 families,” she said. “We just really hope that they can actually follow through, and not just for this time, but also for the future, given that we see families coming in in this particular situation throughout the year.” 

Rodriguez-Engberg also has concerns over whether students will be entered in bilingual programs with teachers who speak English and the students’ native language, which is not available in all schools. The alternative would be a teacher trained to teach children of all backgrounds English, but without the support of a teacher knowing the language. 

She said it is also vital for the city to provide students with emotional support, with many having traumas or struggling to adjust to a new  country. 

“If you can imagine for a second sitting in a classroom where everything is happening in English, you can understand how frustrating and maybe just demoralizing that feels for a child,” she said.  Read article

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 bilingual programs.” 

Rodriguez-Engberg and other advocates worried that there won’t be enough bilingual social workers to help these students, who may be experiencing varying degrees of trauma after fleeing their home countries and relatives or friends. City officials said they plan to evaluate every student’s social-emotional needs using screeners that the district launched last school year. Read article

08.18.2022 | Chalkbeat NY | “Students living in shelter and students with disabilities who rely on bus service shouldn’t have to leave the program hours earlier than their peers,” said Randi Levine, from Advocates for Children. 

The city provided prepaid ride-sharing services for the home trip after the enrichment program, but parents had to accompany their children. Though the city covered the roundtrip for parents, it could still be a struggle for them time-wise. As of last week, Summer Rising families took roughly 7,000 prepaid rides, officials said. Read article