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Today, ARISE testified before the City Council Committee on Education about persistent problems with special education services and the treatment families encounter when they advocate for their students’ rights, and shared recommendations around: special education service delivery; special education recovery services; and the provision of appropriate literacy supports for all students, including those with dyslexia and other struggling readers. Read our testimony [PDF]

Today, ARISE testified before the City Council Committee on Education regarding the FY 23 education budget, urging the City to ensure the allocation of COVID-19 relief funding intended to support students with disabilities, and provide pay parity for preschool special education teachers at community-based organizations. Read our testimony [PDF]

Today, ARISE testified before the City Council Committee on Education regarding the FY 23 preliminary budget, urging the City to invest in supports and interventions for students with disabilities, including literacy education, recovery services, and salary parity for preschool special education teachers. Read our testimony [PDF]

The ARISE Coalition testified before the City Council Committee on Youth Services about the need to ensure the City’s summer programming provides the support needed to truly serve all students, including students with disabilities.  Read our testimony [PDF]

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