Give school counselors more tools to turn the tide on the youth mental health crisis
More than 130 children’s organizations recently called on President Biden to declare a national emergency in response to America’s youth mental health crisis. That news came just days after an expert panel recommended that all children ages eight to 18 receive routine screenings for anxiety. These developments drew new attention to a worsening situation. Yet […]
NYC’s education panel grows with new mayoral appointees and elected members
Mayor Eric Adams unveiled on Thursday his newly appointed members to New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy, which has grown significantly in response to an updated state law. Adams appointed six new people to the newly expanded panel that signs off on major education department contracts and school closures or co-locations. State lawmakers last […]
After COVID paused Regents exams, graduation rates for NYC’s English language learners surged
Arnulfo Toribio was ready to drop out of high school. It was 2020, and Toribio felt exhausted from learning years’ worth of material while balancing school with a full-time restaurant job. Before immigrating to New York City a few years earlier, he had spent much of his childhood working on a Mexican farm to support […]
NYC is using one-time COVID money for a lot of education programs. What happens when it dries up?
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City’s education department received a massive windfall: more than $7 billion in federal relief funding to help reopen school buildings and address lost instruction. But city officials have used a significant chunk of that one-time relief on initiatives that have recurring costs. What happens to those […]
Goodbye, Regents? A New York commission mulls high school graduation requirements
New York’s high school students have taken Regents exams since the 1870s. But they could become a relic of the past, as state officials start the final leg of a lengthy process to rethink the state’s graduation requirements. In New York, students are generally required to earn 22 course credits in high school and take […]
NYC promises affordable child care to undocumented families through voucher program
Next month, New York City will begin providing subsidized child care to low-income, undocumented families, who typically can’t access such services because of their immigration status. The $10 million initiative, called Promise NYC, is expected to serve 600 children over the next six months, city officials announced Wednesday. It also aims to help the influx […]
New data shows fewer students per counselor at nation’s schools, but caseloads remain high
The ratio of students to counselors in the nation’s public schools has reached its lowest point in at least 36 years, spurred both by an influx of new counselors and a nationwide decline in student enrollment, according to new data. The dual trends left schools with an average of 408 students for every counselor last […]
NYC schools shift COVID response: No more ‘Situation Room’ or family letters about positive cases
New York City’s education department will “permanently close” the command center that collects reports of positive COVID cases among students and school staff, according to an email sent to principals on Tuesday. Along with the Dec. 23 closure of the “Situation Room,” families will no longer receive the automatically generated email notifications about cases in […]
