Parents and teachers from around the city gathered across the street from Mayor Bloomberg's home to protest proposed school closures and charter school expansions on Thursday evening. Today Advocates for Children, a group that works with the city's most disadvantaged youth, issued a statement urging the Department of Education to consider the effect of closures on homeless students and those with special needs. Closing failing schools is sometimes necessary, the statement says, but the impact of closures on the city's most at-risk youth must be addressed.
The statement notes that many of the schools facing closure serve extremely disadvantaged student populations. "The number of students who are homeless rose by 21% citywide from 2007-08 to 2008-09, it went up by a remarkable 580% on average at the schools slated to be closed," it reports. These schools also serve higher populations of English Language Learners and students with special education needs.
AFC urges the Department of Education to answer a number of questions: What happens to students with special education needs when their schools close? What is the DOE doing to increase the supply of attractive high school options for English Language Learners and student with other special education needs? And, does a school’s willingness to serve a diverse population with multiple challenges make it a target for closure?
Read about other developments in the school closure debate and view AFC's statement below:
- Class Size Matters, today called for a moratorium on all school closings, until the Independent Budget Office prepares a report on the fiscal impact of the closings and the effect of worsening overcrowding in other schools. Read their statement here.
- Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer urged Chancellor Klein to postpone the Jan. 26 vote on school closings by the Panel for Educational Policy until more "comprehensive data" about each school is available. Read Stringer's letter here.
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