Northport Teen Honored for Advocating for Special Needs Students

A Northport High School senior was the recent recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Youth Advocacy Award for positively influencing people in the community.

Ranieri is an advocate for children with special needs. He has campaigned to get his school district to recognize the need for positive behavior goals since he was 13 years old. He has influenced his community to better embrace and accept students with disabilities. Ranieri is also a Youth Ambassador for Self-Advocacy in New York and a member of the New York Department of Education's Youth Advisory Panel. He has won numerous awards and recently completed the NYS Partners in Policy Making course via Cornell University.

“Christian exemplifies what it means to speak up and take action, and his efforts and leadership have truly made a difference for children across New York,” Laura Bay, president of National PTA said in a press release.

Ranieri, who was chosen from a pool of students nationwide, will be honored at the 2017 National PTA Legislative Conference on March 8 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA.

He was recently honored for his achievements at a Northport BOE meeting on Thursday.

Image via Carine Ranieri