In Sept. 2008, NYCMA launched the Ethnic and Community Press Fellowship-Developing an Education Beat for journalists and editors of 18 NYC ethnic and community newspapers, to get vital education information to immigrant parents, break down language and cultural barriers, and engage them in their children's education to ensure a better economic future. The 10-month program – an immersion course in public education initiatives and school reform, navigation of the school system, parent and student rights and tools to advocate for a better education – promotes critical thinking on education issues, sidesteps anecdotal reporting, improves the quality of coverage, and makes the publications the go-to place for nuanced information on public education, in a language they understand, for the communities they serve. The program addresses the needs of at-risk students – the ELL school drop out rate, 27.2%, double that of English-language students, and for Black students, the rate is 14 %.

Because of the language barrier confronted by many immigrant parents – there are more than 150 foreign languages spoken by children in NYC's public school system – and the lack of nuanced and informed reporting on education issues in a language that immigrant parents can understand, parents are excluded from participating fully in their children's education.  Not knowing their rights or their children's rights, not knowing the resources or venues available to them to have a voice in the school's decision-making processes, impedes their involvement in their children's education.  This marginalization is exacerbated further by disparate expectations in the various communities, informed by the parents' own experience – or lack – of education in their home countries. The ethnic community press plays a vital role in this environment. The Fellowship addresses this issue and aims to promote parent engagement to help ensure academic success for their children and a secure economic future.