Education

This comes at a time of the year when many families are strategizing about what to do with the summer. If you're a NYC parent, you're working out schedules (and budgets) for what your children will be doing in June, July and August—this is when you start enrolling your little ones in academic summer camps NYC kids love, and cool science camps 2020 has in store. In the near future, Universal Summer Youth Programs could be one of your options, offering something like a play-based extension of the school year only with tons of outdoor summer activities for kids: Your little New Yorker would be engaged, learning and having fun all year long.

The legislation was introduced by Debi Rose (Staten Island) and Ben Kallos (Manhattan). According to Rose, "Summer programs are invaluable experiences that build self-esteem, social skills, leadership skills and friendships in a safe, constructive environment. They also help curb summer learning loss," she said in a statement. "It is time we build on our successes with early childhood education in the city and give all students seeking a spot in a summer program the opportunity to participate."

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Two City Council Members have proposed a bill that would make summer camp free for all New York City students.

The bill, introduced Tuesday, would require the city's Youth and Community Development Department to determine the scope and resources to provide summer camp for all city kids by 2022, according to The Daily News.

At the moment, summer youth programs are often not funded until the city's final budget is determined in June, causing uncertainty for parents, program providers and kids.

The NYC Parks Department offers a summer day camp for students aged 6 to 13, which costs between $500 and $575 for seven weeks.

One of the bill's sponsors, Debi Rose of Staten Island, tweeted, "It is time we build on our successes with early childhood education in the city and give all students seeking a spot in a summer program the opportunity to participate."

“This Universal Summer Youth Programs legislation will finally put an end to the budget dance and put our city on a path to guarantee every child a place to enjoy their summer,” said Kallos.

The push to expand summer programs comes on the heels of a City Council hearing that explored the possibility of universal after school programs

The bills, authored by Rose, Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger and Council Member Ben Kallos, would help counter the reality of parents working longer hours and spending more time away from the house. A recent study from WalletHub concluded that the average New York City employee works 40.3 hours per week, which is the longest average work week of the 116 cities reviewed by the personal finance site.

“After-school programs provide vital learning, enrichment and personal growth opportunities for students. Expanding after-school programming to all K-12 students who wish to enroll will keep our children safe, encourage academic achievement and inspire participation in extracurricular activities,” stated Treyger, mentioning that the bills would “support students to excel beyond the classroom and deliver kinesthetic learning all year round.”

A universal after-school program would provide academic enrichment and recreational activities for kids, according to lawmakers. Students at McKinley Intermediate School learn coding during school hours under a special program.

BOROUGHWIDE — New York City has universal pre-kindergarten classes. Next up: universal after-school.

A proposal by a trio of city councilmembers, including Brooklyn’s Mark Treyger, to have universal after-school programs in all schools has won praise from organizations that work with young people.

“After-school programs provide our students an outlet to experience non-traditional and non-academic learning opportunities. After a long day of academics, students have the opportunity to learn something a different skill and craft such as our Guitar Ensemble that schools may not be able to provide during the day school hours,” said Jahzeel Montes, executive director of Internal Creations, Inc., an organization that teaches kids how to play classical guitar.

MANHATTAN — City Councilman Ben Kallos is fighting for legislation that would create universal, free, after-school activities for all New York City public school students.

"After-school activities are literally thousands of dollars a year and that's just money most families don't have," Kallos told PIX11 News inside City Hall Tuesday.

"New Yorkers are working longer than anyone else in the country, and that is leaving kids

Councilmember Ben Kallos authored two bills that require the city to meet all after school slot requests for public school students.

An Upper East Side lawmaker authored two bills that would require the city to fill all requested after school slots. (Shutterstock)

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side representative in New York's city council is helping lead the push for universal after school programs by authoring bills that would require the city to offer programming for nearly 600,000 students who want after school but are kept on a waiting list.

Under legislation authored by City Councilman Ben Kallos awith Staten Island's Debi Rose and Brooklyn's Mark Treyger, all public school students between the ages of three and 21 would be guaranteed space in a program through a Universal After School initiative. The bill requires city education officials to keep an annual report on the availability and need of after school slots as well as costs of the program.

The lawmakers are also pushing a bill that mandates annual reporting on funding, applications and demographics of after school programs at city schools. Both bills were discussed Tuesday during a public hearing at City Hall.

“Universal access to after school will increase and equalize educational opportunities, keep kids out of the criminal justice system, and make life easier for parents whose jobs keep them at work until at least 5 p.m.,” said Councilmember Ben Kallos, at an oversight hearing on after-school legislation on Tuesday. The Upper East side pol sponsored a bill in 2018 requiring that the city provide free after-school programs to every public school student between the ages of three through 21.

Kallos was joined by other members of the Youth Services committee including Councilmember Treyger who touched on his own after-school legislation proposed in 2018. Treyger’s bill would require annual reports by the Department of Education and DYCD on the demographics of the students at each after-school program including whether the student has special needs or is an English language learner. The report would also require that the agencies note the eligibility criteria for each program and the amount and source for program funding. 

“I want to wake up in a city where all public students have universal after-school,” said City Councilman Ben Kallos (D–Manhattan), the sponsor of a 2018 bill that would require the city to offer free after-school to any public school student ages 3-21 who requests it.

“Universal access to after-school will increase and equalize educational opportunities, keep kids out of the criminal justice system, and make life easier for parents whose jobs keep them at work until at least 5 p.m., if not longer,” Kallos said.