NYC schools have long failed to provide support or address trauma experienced by Black and Latinx students, low-income and unhoused students, multilingual learners and immigrant students, and other students of color.
Recognizing this, on July 22, the Healing-Centered Schools Task Force, a group convened by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and the Healing-Centered Schools Working Group, and led by city Councilman Kevin Riley, students, parents, educators, advocates and mental health providers, announced new recommendations to ensure the NYC Department of Education (DOE) takes meaningful steps to address students’ trauma related to COVID-19 and longstanding racial inequities.
