Today, immigrant advocates released new data from the Migration Policy Institute revealing that 4,200 newcomer immigrant youth, ages 14-21, are not enrolled in school. Multilingual Learners/English Language Learners (MLLs/ELLs) have the highest dropout rate, 26%, of any population in the city.
The data also indicated that of the thousands of immigrant youth not currently enrolled in school, 90% are between the ages of 16-21 years. While most unenrolled immigrant youth live in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, the five transfer schools well-suited to address their complex educational needs are all located in Manhattan, except for one, located in the Bronx.
To address this crisis, the New York Immigration Coalition’s Education Collaborative unveiled a comprehensive $6 million pilot program designed with input from stakeholders at every level. The pilot is a 3-year grant-based program aimed at increasing older newcomer immigrant youth’s access to transfer schools based in communities near where they live. This grant-based program will provide a best practices model for other schools struggling to meet the needs of this student population.
Download the report here.