Since the spring of 2022, more than 190,000 migrants have come through New York’s intake system, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ office. Of those, research suggests tens of thousands are migrant children who have recently enrolled in New York public schools.
Now, with the rise of multilingual immigrant students, some advocates are asking the city to build more schools with better resources tailored to the needs of these multilingual learners.
At the Flatbush and Nostrand Ave. junction in Brooklyn last week, dozens of community leaders, immigrant students and parents called on Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Schools Chancellor David C. Banks and the Office for Multilingual Learners to increase support for the rising population of immigrant students.
“What do we want?” Flanbwayan Literacy Project Founder and Director Darnell Benoit chanted into a megaphone. “More schools!” the crowd responded.
Benoit and those at the rally said NYC, which has the largest school district in the United States, should build three new high schools in Brooklyn and Queens tailored to the needs of bilingual immigrant students, like Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School and Emma Lazarus High School in Manhattan.