Congrats to our 2023-24 Equity Partnership Program grantees!

May 1, 2023 | Blog

Partnering with organizations that advance educational equity statewide is core to our advocacy work. The partners we work with are deeply rooted in their communities and work directly with students, parents, community stakeholders, and more.

Each year, through our Equity Partnership Program, we provide technical assistance and grants to support advocacy capacity to community-based and parent-serving organizations. This year, we made changes to the program to deepen our impact on several key issues and are thrilled to announce eight organizations that will be taking on critical equity work that advances our policy priorities.

Here’s what each organization will be focusing on:

  • Community Action Organization of Western New York based in Buffalo will focus on training parents and students in advocacy focused on early literacy and college and career readiness. Additionally, CAOWNY will convene the Buffalo Education Equity Task Force to plan an annual conference.
  • Hispanic Federation, which works statewide, will work with Latinx students, parents, educators, counselors, and school administrators to learn more about their experiences with current New York State graduation measures and dual enrollment and advanced courses. The work will culminate in a white paper.
  • Just Equations, a nationwide math equity nonprofit, will support amplification efforts for the organization’s research. One report, in particular, will highlight student voices on math preparation for college admissions. Likewise, another report will follow up on a 2009 longitudinal study, which will explore the demographically disparate patterns of math course enrollment of high school students.
  • The New York State Network for Youth Success, which focuses on afterschool, summer, and expanded learning, will work to highlight the role of afterschool and summer programs in improving early literacy outcomes. The network will seek out bright spots of providers with expertise in early literacy throughout New York, which will be paired with existing national examples to use as a resource for providers. The results will be incorporated into a brief that will be disseminated across the state.
  • The New York Immigration Coalition, a statewide organization, will raise awareness about the need to improve teacher diversity, with a focus on Bilingual teacher pipelines in Buffalo and across the state.
  • Urban League of Rochester will utilize their youth education programming to administer community-wide surveys, host focus groups, and student conferences to garner feedback on Ed Trust-NY’s policy priorities. Additionally, in collaboration with the City of Rochester and Monroe County, ULR will address the inequities Rochester Commission on Racial and Structural Equity has identified in the public education system.
  • United Way of New York City will host a virtual conversation about issues related to graduation measures and advanced coursework in New York State with a focus on New York City and continue to support the larger conversation around graduation measures. Moreover, UWNYC will support the Center for New York Affairs at the New School to update the center’s book, FAFSA: The How-To Guide for High School students and support in amplification.
  • Young Invincibles, a statewide organization, will elevate the voices of postsecondary education students through their advocacy programs and coalitions. Their priorities include expanding dual enrollment statewide, passing legislation that could improve FAFSA completion, requiring colleges to do more in addressing CUNY and SUNY students’ basic needs, and advocating for a New Deal for CUNY, which would provide free tuition and more supports for students.

We look forward to working with our Equity Partnership Program partners in the next year and are grateful for all the important work they do to advance education equity in New York State.