Chancellor Banks Announces Nearly $12 Million in Additional Funding for Schools Experiencing an Influx of New Students

NEW YORK – New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks today announced new funding available to selected schools experiencing an influx of Students in Temporary Housing (STH) that have been identified by the Project Open Arms team as requiring additional resources. This supplemental funding will allow schools to provide additional curricular and instructional support for multilingual learners, as well as family support and necessary purchases as outlined to schools. Schools with 6 or more new Students in Temporary Housing will receive an allocation of $2,000 for each new Student in Temporary Housing enrolled since July, totaling a nearly $12 million investment across our schools.

“New York has always been a welcoming place for those seeking a better life in this country. As we see an increase of families seeking asylum in our city, we are working to ensure every student has the resources they need to thrive,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This additional funding will offer schools the financial support needed to assist our newest students — providing them with languages access and additional academic support. We are proud to welcome these students with ‘open arms,’ and are thankful to our interagency partners from across the administration for providing students with the wraparound support they deserve.”

“Each one of our kids, whether born in the boroughs or just arrived, deserves every resource we can provide, which is why I am thrilled to be announcing this additional funding today,” said Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. “Schools are the centers of our communities, and through these funds, we will ensure that our schools are fully equipped to provide the academic, emotional, and social needs of our newest New Yorkers. This allocation, alongside the work being done through Project Open Arms, will make sure our new students are able to continue their education without delay and families can know their children are being supported and cared for in the classroom.”

“New York City has welcomed students from all over the globe these past few months. We are opening our arms to ensure we meet the needs of our children. With this additional funding we will be able to better serve our communities. It is important that we continue to put New York City children first in all that we do,” said Council Member Rita Joseph.

The allocations will enable schools to support the priorities below:

• Ensuring Language Access and Support – In collaboration with superintendents, DOE is ensuring that all families are being supported in their native languages and that school leadership is aware of the constellation of resources available to provide translated content-specific information.
• Providing Academic and Extracurricular Programming – New York City public school curricular and instructional resources will be culturally and linguistically responsive, and educators will receive additional guidance in the areas of second language acquisition and specialized instruction for diverse learners. Extracurricular activities will be similarly targeted to students’ needs and interests, with the goal of enhancing the academic and social experience.
• Creating Supportive Classrooms and Schools – Once they are enrolled in school, every student will have access to universal social-emotional supports and will be evaluated using the DESSA social-emotional screener, an educational tool to assess students’ social and emotional needs. School leadership and staff will have regular check-ins to review attendance and DESSA data and ensure interventions and supports are activated as needed.
• Continuous Coordination with Community Providers and Community-Based Organizations (CBO) – ‘Project Open Arms’ will work in tight coordination with critical CBO partners and other organizations to provide families with critical resources and services.

“As a city of immigrants, New York is committed to providing our young people with a quality education and opportunities to thrive, regardless of immigration status. The humanitarian response by New Yorkers has been tremendous. Our schools have stepped up in unprecedented ways to empower families seeking asylum, from welcoming new students entering the school system to providing academic, social-emotional, and language-access supports for students and their families. Although our schools have been incredibly resilient and continue to go above and beyond the call of duty for our kids, they cannot do it alone. As we continue to welcome our newest neighbors, I want to thank the Department of Education for ensuring our school communities are supported with additional resources and funding so they can continue to do this critical work and meet the dire needs of families,” said Senator Jamaal Bailey.

“The additional funding for schools that educate and care for our migrant children is a needed and necessary relief. Both the Chancellor and the Mayor have gone above and beyond to welcome and invest in these young people and their families, who have settled in our Great City in search of a better life. I am proud to continue to work in tandem with them on these issues, as we remain committed to advancing the immigrant community in New York City,” said Assemblymember Catalina Cruz.

About Project Open Arms

Project Open Arms is a comprehensive plan to support families seeking asylum and ensure children are provided a full range of services to start their New York City public education. This multi-agency plan highlights wraparound services to ensure asylum-seeking families and their children will have access to critical academic, social-emotional, and language-based supports needed to be successful in New York City public schools. Under this plan, the city is prioritizing strong interagency collaboration to provide families with a broad range of resources. DOE has been working in close coordination with its agency partners, including MOIA and DSS, to connect families with the resources they need.