The Department of Education will kick off a program to expand the type of aid ELL students receive at existing transfer schools, which serve students who are behind on credits or need additional learning support. But the agency has yet to specify which schools will get those extra resources this school year, which starts next week.
At a virtual rally on Sunday, parents, young people and advocates in the city and across the state shared stories about the impact of the pandemic and renewed calls for elected officials to invest more in behavioral health programs and services for children and teens, which experts say have been underfunded for years and are now at a breaking point, with increased demand spurred by the coronavirus crisis.
“It’s known as the summer slide, or summer setback. That period of just over two months when our children are out of school, when learning diminishes—and often disproportionately impacts youth from historically disadvantaged groups. This summer is a chance to reverse that trend.”
With pieces dating back to the early 20th century, the city’s public schools are home to almost 2,000 works encompassing realistic murals depicting the city’s history, giant pieces on exterior walls, playground installations that teach children about sound, fanciful fences and wall installations with nooks and crannies for students to explore. Faith Ringgold, Keith Haring, Romare Bearden and Carrie Mae Weems are among the many prominent artists represented.
According to the DOE, 43 percent of NYC’s students spoke a language other than English during the current school year. The Immigrant Family Communication program, which had been budgeted for only one year, was renewed in the 2023 budget but was not expanded to the $6 million requested by advocates.
“The arts are a form of embodied play that surpasses verbal processing and allows us to explore, connect with ourselves and others, and ultimately build or rebuild the muscles of imagination when life circumstances or the experience of trauma has taken them away.”
“Though society is scared and grieving, we cannot allow the knee jerk reaction to the devastating mass shooting in Uvalde to ignore the systemic, policy, and evidence-based realities and root causes of gun violence.”
After two pandemic years that wrought havoc on all education but particularly on arts classes, advocates and educators have mounted a drive to win more—and more permanent—funding for visual art, music, dance and theater in the city’s public schools.
City Limits asked readers and members of the city’s education community to fill out a survey about the policy, which is set to expire at the end of June. We heard from nearly 90 respondents, including dozens of current and former parents, educators and advocates. Here’s what we found.
In November 2020, after months of pandemic-induced school closures and remote learning, Legal Aid and the law firm Milbank filed a lawsuit on behalf of three families with children in shelter that accused the city of violating their state constitutional right to a “sound basic education.”
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