AFC: Despite reforms, overage, under-credited kids still face dead ends

Posted by Philissa at 6:06 PM

Advocates for Children, Insideschools' parent organization, has just released a report about the status of overage, under-credited kids — of which there are about 138,000 — in the reorganized DOE. The policy brief, "Dead Ends: The Need for More Pathways to Graduation for Overage Under-Credited Students in New York City," says that despite the creation of the Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation, which incubates programs to serve older students, and the addition of new transfer schools in District 79, many older students are still without options. In particular, many of the new transfer schools require students to be able to graduate in two years or to have a certain number of credits before enrolling; young adults who never accumulated any credits are shut out of these programs.

AFC's report also discusses the ability of the DOE's programs to meet the special needs of English language learners, students in special education, and pregnant and parenting teens, whose special programs were closed this year. AFC found that more than half of Young Adult Borough Centers don't offer adequate services for at least one of those needy groups.