Choosing a public high school in New York City is an overwhelming process! It’s hard for any new student to make a decision about which of the more than 600 schools is the right one for them. But for recently arrived immigrant students and their families, there are even more barriers to enrolling in school. Resources to help with this process are hard to find and rarely available in languages other than English. Many students don’t know they have the right to ask for help in their language, and that there are schools and programs that specialize in supporting immigrant students. They might end up in a school that offers little help to someone struggling with a new language and culture, putting them at risk of dropping out of high school.

To help immigrant students and their families in NYC find the right school, CUP worked with Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project and designer Njoki Gitahi to create Your School, Your Choice!, a multilingual, step-by-by guide explaining the enrollment process. This guide helps students and their families understand their rights, their different school options, and how to enroll in the high school of their choice. The colorful foldout poster is in English, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic—helping students from all over the world adapt to life in their new country.

Your School, Your Choice! will launch at an immigrant student-led event at Flanbwayan’s offices. Flanbwayan is distributing thousands of copies at their local Family Welcome Center, in their neighborhood of East Flatbush, and around NYC through their network of partner organizations.

Get your copy of the poster here

Resources & Links

Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project’s mission is to transform the lives of Haitian newcomer youth through education and leadership development and to raise awareness of immigrant education issues both in the community and citywide.

Njoki Gitahi is a graphic designer focused on creating positive impact for people, systems, organizations, and communities through collaborative design.

Making Policy Public is a program of the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). CUP partners with policy advocates and graphic designers to produce foldout posters that explain complicated policy issues, like this one.

Funding Support

Support for this project was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

General support for CUP’s programs is provided in part by the David Rockefeller Fund, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, New York Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Special Thanks

Sanabria Alcindor, Victoria Boulin, Mary landy Dorival, Christine Gapar, Angie Delinois, Loren Flaherty, Gamael Fontin, Carla Fontus, Ingrid Haftel, Ralph Joseph, Luigi Nelson, Ralph Peguy, Marvens Romelus, Shernidane Romelus, Mitharly Severe, Juliana Theolin, Doujina Zephir, and Staelle Zephir.

Participants

  • CUP
  • Oscar Nuñez
  • Mark Torrey
  • Flanbwayan
    Advocacy Partner
  • Darnell Benoit
  • Nancie Adolphe
  • Designer 
  • Njoki Gitahi