Hard Lessons NYC

At age 21, Doobneek left Russia over homophobic persecution. Higher education became their best chance at staying in the country. tinyurl.com/a7529xbj

Interested in going to space? This @ANHM scientist helps residents on the streets of West Harlem learn about astronomy. tinyurl.com/4hbku6p6

“It feels like you go and speak about the issues and just kind of cross your fingers that someone was actually kind of listening to you.” Here’s why students are fighting for greater voting power on city’s school boards. tinyurl.com/2s3nw49y

People incarcerated at Rikers regularly face lockdowns and it’s impacting who gets an education at the prison complex. tinyurl.com/265tbxf4

Reading scores dropped sharply for Bronx students in Grades 3-5 this year — 40% of third graders scored proficient in reading in 2019 compared to 30% in 2022. Here’s why families are struggling to catch up. tinyurl.com/2p9589tr

Eileen Level is tired of the ‘arts desert’ she sees in her Canarsie community. To combat this, she created an organization to inspire high school students to share her passion for cinema. tinyurl.com/233pcrtd

About a quarter of students in New York City public schools are Black. But most of their teachers do not look like them. Only 19% of educators are Black — and only 4% are Black men. Why is this? tinyurl.com/2ydp4njt

Two elementary schools reside in the same building in the East Village. One is “progressive.” The other struggles to serve its Spanish-speaking population. How did these 2 schools that are only a few feet away end up worlds apart? tinyurl.com/zebn2dus

12-year-old William Zhumi Hidalgo is one of dozens of Sunset Park kids with disabilities who has to attend a school outside of the neighborhood. Why don’t middle schools in the area have the accessibility services they need? tinyurl.com/2uz9snmt