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On December 9th, as City leaders prepare for the transition to a new administration, the ARISE Coalition, the NYC Department of Education, and Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) are jointly hosting a Literacy Summit to build a shared vision for universal literacy. 

Improving the quality of literacy instruction is a matter of racial, economic, and disability justice. Literacy is the foundation for all future learning and essential for full participation in civic life. Yet more NYC students are reading below a basic level than are reading proficiently, and disparities by race, disability, language, and housing status are alarming.

We hope you'll join us as we bring together diverse stakeholders and experts from around the country to explore current challenges in reading instruction, strengthen our commitment to advancing equitable outcomes for all students, and plan for the future.

Register for the Summit

Join the Call to Collective Action

Browse AFC's literacy resources


AGENDA

View the full program & speaker bios [PDF]

10:00 – 10:15 | Welcome

10:15 – 10:45 | Keynote Address
Lacey Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, UnboundEd 

11:00 – 12:00 | Evidence-Based & Culturally Relevant Practices: Working at the Intersection for Equity 
Dr. Linnea Ehri, Distinguished Professor, CUNY Graduate Center
Dr. Katie Pace Miles, Assistant Professor, Brooklyn College
Dr. Susan B. Neuman, Professor, New York University
Dr. Julie Washington, Professor, University of California – Irvine

12:45 – 1:45 | All means ALL: Diversifying Literacy to Meet the Needs of Every Student 
Dr. Nadine Gaab, Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education 
Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, Researcher, Educational Consultant, and Author
Dr. Devin Kearns, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut 
Dr. Claudia Rinaldi, Professor of Education, Lasell University 

2:00 – 3:00 | How Do We Move Forward: Understanding the Shared Responsibility Around Literacy 
Jenny Bogoni, Executive Director, Read by 4th Campaign at the Free Library of Philadelphia
Dr. Kymyona Burk, Senior Policy Fellow, ExcelinEd
Margaret Goldberg, Co-founder, The Right to Read Project
Dr. Tracy Weeden, President and CEO, Neuhaus Education Center
Katie Kurjakovic, Assistant to the Vice President for Education, United Federation of Teachers
Maggie Siena, Principal, P.S. 343 The Peck Slip School 

3:15 – 3:30 |  Closing Remarks 
Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter 

Today, ARISE testified before the City Council Committee on Education on meeting the needs of students with disabilities during the COVID era, including the need to for a non-adversarial system for providing make-up services. Read our testimony [PDF]

Today, the ARISE Coalition testified before the City Council Committee on Education on concerns over the plan's rollout of the recovery services for students with disabilities, as well as literacy supports. Read our testimony [PDF]

Members of the ARISE Coalition sent a letter urging the City to do more to provide all students, including those with disabilities, with equitable access to the City’s Summer Rising program. We also offer four specific recommendations to change the landscape for students with IEPs and 504 plans, enabling them to meaningfully participate in the programming. Read the letter [PDF]

Today, the ARISE Coalition testified before the City Council Committee on Finance on the Executive Budget, outlining our priorities for the historic influx of education funding from the state and federal governments. Read our testimony [PDF]