A new report released by the Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) provides recommendations on how to boost literacy efforts throughout the city, and how AFC will work in partnership with the Department of Education (DOE) to improve reading.
The report, released May 2, further details the importance of encouraging literacy – especially in communities that aren’t receiving adequate attention.
Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor David C. Banks have both framed literacy as an integral part of education, yet fewer than half of all 3rd–8th graders, and only 36% of Black and Hispanic students, scored proficient on the 2019 New York State English Language Arts (ELA) exam and early national data show that not only are more children struggling with reading in the wake of the pandemic, but racial disparities have become even more extreme.