By Jennette LotreanEvery year, more than one million Americans celebrate afterschool programs and their impact on the lives of millions of children. The Quest ExpandEd program at P.S. 182 proudly participated in this national celebration with our Annual Lights on After School event and, in true Quest fashion, knocked it out the park! Continue reading
“History in the Making: The Soul of the Youth” lit up the stage at The Child Center of NY’s Beacon program at Catherine & Count Basie Middle School 72 on Friday, February 3, kicking off Black History Month with a diverse array of performances and readings by students of all ages. Jaylin, who served as the student emcee for the evening, announced quietly before making his way to the front to introduce the first act: “I’m scared.” But the middle-schooler seemed far from frightened as the evening went on, offering casual and astute commentary after each performance. Continue reading
Statement by Traci Donnelly, CEO and executive director of The Child Center of NY
Photo by Lynn Edmonds/Queens Tribune. Councilman Rory Lancman and school children decried budget cuts to summer camps in Kew Gardens Hills on Monday.
We are disappointed to learn that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget proposal does not contain summer program funding for 31,000 middle school students. We strongly advocate for the restoration of this funding as soon as possible.
The Child Center of NY’s Summer Enrichment Camp at Parsons Community School is one of more than 400 sites throughout the City that would be affected by this cut. Without this program, upwards of 100 9-15-year-olds from some of the poorest neighborhoods will have nowhere to go during the summer months while parents who can’t afford other options work or attend school. To leave these children—and thousands like them—unsupervised, unchallenged, and without any sort of structure for two months straight benefits no one. If the mayor restores this funding, these children could spend the summer staying active, both physically and mentally, as programs like ours provide challenging learning opportunities, enrichment activities, and a sense of community. It is difficult to see how this would not be a good investment in the city’s present and future. We must prioritize all our children, and ensure equal learning opportunities for those who need them most.
We urge the mayor to fully restore this crucial funding and to do it soon. Last year, we received very late notice that our funding was restored. Although we applaud the Mayor’s office for ultimately restoring the funding, the late notice placed an undue burden on our families; it also adversely affected our program administrators and staff, as it gave them little time to hire and plan for an intensive summer camp, and many part-time staffers secured other summer employment because of the uncertainty. We hope the mayor will do the right thing and amend the executive budget to reflect restored funding to these programs in a timely manner.
Further Reading
Extended Day (afterschool) and Summer Learning Opportunities
Summer Programs Are Feeling the Heat, Queens Chronicle
Little-Noticed Funding Cut Highlights Existential Problem for Community Schools, Politico
When students geared up for classes after the summer break, afterschool programs launched too, enriching the after-school hours with learning and fun. Across the country, afterschool programs participated in Lights on Afterschool events where they highlighted their programs and how they are helping kids to learn and grow.
At the PS 56 COMPASS program, our programs paired the event with parent orientation and set up a gallery of the STEM-themed projects students worked on. Parents guessed scents and objects at a “Five Senses” display, and looked at clay models of dinosaurs and fossils at another station. Kindergarten students made a color wheel, Continue reading
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