With Carranza’s Resignation, Immigrant Advocates Call on Porter to Meet Needs of Underserved Students

Murad Awawdeh and Rovika Rajkishun, interim Co-Executive Directors of the New York Immigration Coalition:

“We welcome Meisha Ross Porter to the battle for education equity for immigrant families. As we close out nearly one full year of life during this pandemic, her top priorities must be to effectively engage immigrant students and their families and address the severe academic learning loss immigrant students have experienced through the transition to remote learning. For the last year, we have sounded the alarm about our school system's failure to support immigrant families who are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis but have seen little response from the Department of Education to address these issues. To regain trust and ensure educational equity across New York City, the incoming chancellor must focus on the needs of immigrant students who are currently being left behind by our policies and system.”

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Dear incoming NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter,

The New York Immigration Coalition’s Education Collaborative, a group of more than 30 immigrant-serving organizations, thanks Chancellor Carranza for his service and welcomes you as the new NYC Schools Chancellor.

Throughout this past year, the members of our Education Collaborative have witnessed and raised concerns about our immigrant students and families - English Language Learners (ELLs), students with disabilities, parents whose home language is not English, and low-wealth families - who have borne the brunt of this crisis. Our communities have been disproportionately affected by this virus, socially, emotionally, and economically, and our young people have lost valuable time and resources necessary for them to advance academically. The Education Collaborative has been working tirelessly to ensure that our immigrant students and families are not forgotten. We have called on the city to improve communications with immigrant families, develop an academic recovery plan for ELLs, and allocate additional resources for schools with large ELL populations and community-based groups that can support our immigrant families.

You have served the Bronx community with a commitment to racial equity. We are happy that you pledged today to use this opportunity to ensure the NYC Department of Education improves communications with families, cultivates real partnerships with advocates, parents and students, and regains the trust of our families. The NYIC Education Collaborative urges you to focus immediately on serving the countless immigrant students who have been left behind during the pandemic. We look forward to collaborating with you to ensure our students and families can thrive.

Sincerely,

Education Collaborative Leadership Group

Darnell Benoit, Executive Director, Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project

Aracelis Lucero, Executive Director, Masa

Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, Immigrant Students’ Rights Project Director, Advocates for Children of NY

Andrea Ortiz, Manager of Education Policy, New York Immigration Coalition