hardlessons.nycitynewsservice.comHard Lessons | Three years in, what have we learned?

School Accessibility Together But Unequal Black Educators Brooklyn Arts Early Childhood Inequities A Rikers Education Student Representation Asylum in School Sidewalk Astronomy Select Page Hard Lessons COVID wreaked havoc on New York’s already-struggling education systems. Nearly three years in, what have we learned? The pandemic was deeply disruptive to every aspect of New York life, especially for those who rely on its education systems. New challenges have emerged and longstanding issues have been exacerbated — from learning loss in the classroom to lockdowns preventing lessons at Rikers Island. With coronavirus cases rising once again in the city, problems will surely persist. Yet New York is also showing signs of hope and adaption, from a scientist teaching astronomy on a West Harlem sidewalk and students advocating for a vote on their own education to a Sunset Park family pushing for greater accessibility in neighborhood schools. These stories take a look at how New Yorkers will always fight for — and figure out — ways to learn. When Nearby Is Out of Reach From left to right, Laura Espinoza and her daughter Britney, William Zhumi Hidalgo and his mother Lidia Hidalgo. (Photos/Naoufal Enhari) Inaccessible neighborhood schools force special-ed students into long commutes. By Naoufal Enhari Edited by Kiara Thomas On a sunny fall afternoon, William Zhumi Hidalgo, 12, struggled to roll his wheelchair up a handful of steps leading to the hillside Sunset Park in Brooklyn. His mother instinctively walked behind him, in case she needed to help him climb the park’s steep entrance. This moment at the stairs was indicative of the countless hurdles William faces in his everyday life, which includes a long commute to a school that can provide him with the accessibility services his neighborhood schools cannot. In the 2021-2022 school year, there were 217,688 students with disabilities in the city’s public school system. That’s one in five students. Schooling for students with disabilities has been long hampered by a range of accessibility and education issues, including shortages of preschool special-ed classes, inadequate literacy instruction and behavioral support, problems with transportation and a consistent failure to provide translation and interpretation services. The problems are especially prevalent in low-income and immigrant neighborhoods. In Sunset Park, more than 60 families—including 37 who are Spanish-speaking—have at least one child or with disabilities who must attend a school outside of the neighborhood because of accessibility issues, said Laura Espinoza of Visión Futuro , a support group for families with special-needs children. The actual number might be higher given that some parents are reluctant to publicly communicate about their children’s disability, she said. The hardship on families Public school buildings vary in levels of accessibility. Almost 400 out of 1,400 public schools have a Building Accessibility Profile ranking of five or below out of 10. More than 700 are deemed partially accessible, according to data from the DOE’s Building Accessibility Profile. It’s a really unjust and inequitable system,” said Maggie Moroff, senior special-education policy coordinator at the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York . And the more resources the family has, the more likely they are to be able to navigate the system, to understand it, to supplement it, and all of those things.” William has spina bifida , which has paralyzed him from the waist down. He also suffers from hydrocephalus , an abnormal buildup of fluid in the brain, which makes it difficult for him to concentrate and causes other health issues. Since no middle school in Sunset Park provides access to an elevator and medical and academic support, his mother, Lidia Hidalgo, said she was forced to opt for an accessible school outside their neighborhood, in Kensington. But because he lives outside of that school’s zone, the bus that picked him up as the first student in the morning also dropped him off last in the afternoon. His daily commute totaled more than three hours. It’s too much time on the school bus. It’s not good for him, it makes him dizzy and unable to concentrate,” Hidalgo said. According to the DOE, most students with disabilities attend their zoned or district school. Others attend specialized programs in district schools or a school that meets their specific accessibility needs. William’s parents said they had to make costly choices so he wouldn’t have to take the long bus ride twice a day. Now, his father drives him to school every morning, consequently giving up full-time employment as a truck driver to wait tables in the evening, Hidalgo said. Hidalgo, a house-keeper, has also given up work opportunities to be able to check on William at school during the day and give him the personal and medical care he needs. It’s too much,” said Hidalgo, who moved from Mexico to Sunset Park 22 years ago. I go there two to three times a day. And sometimes when there is a problem with the bus, they call me from school and I end up going for the fourth time to pick him up.” Nearly one in five students in New York City public schools has a disability. DOE’s officials testifying at an education committee hearing at City Hall on Sept.21, 2022. Laura Espinoza (left), founder of Visión Futuro, testifies at a City Hall hearing on special education, on Sept. 21, 2022. An urgent need The DOE needs to immediately evaluate the needs for special education in Sunset Park and other communities” to provide the necessary services, said Espinoza, a longtime advocate for better access to special education in immigrant communities. This will save time, effort, and money” for the city, parents, and students, she said. Longer commutes affect children’s wellbeing and academic performances. When asked if the DOE was aware of Sunset Park schools’ accessibility problems and what measures are being taken to address them, a spokesperson responded with an emailed statement: Every New York City student is entitled to a school that has the full range of programs and services that they need to reach their full potential. We are committed to building high-quality public school programs to serve all of our students with disabilities.” At a City Council oversight hearing on Sept. 21, Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph (D-Brooklyn) said the DOE’s special education system was broken.” The department, she said, is failing year after year to provide students with disabilities with the instructions and support they need to succeed in school.” It’s going to be a very, very long time before New York City public schools are fully accessible across the board.” Maggie Moroff Senior Special Education Policy Coordinator , Advocates for Children of New York For the time being, William and his mother remain hopeful that by next year, he will be able to attend an accessible high school in Sunset Park. On the DOE’s website, Sunset Park High School is marked as accessible, PS 371 is not. I really hope so,” said Hidalgo. We can’t go through all this again.” Share this story A Few Feet and a World Apart Earth School parents watching their children line up before school. (Photos/Safiyah Riddle) At two East Village schools, racial and socioeconomic segregation persist. By Safiyah Riddle Edited by Zoltan Lucas and Caithlin Pena Leslie Daly and Ramona Cepeda both chose schools for their children the same way: through word of mouth. Like many other parents at the Earth School in the East Village, Daly, 47, enrolled her daughter there because it had a good reputation among parents she knew. I heard about the progressive schools in the area from a group called ‘Bowery Babes’ – a listserv that is affiliated with a prenatal yoga class that I took on Bowery Street,” said Daly, a psychologist. While touring the school four years ago, she said she didn’t consider sending her daughter to PS 64, the elementary...