NYC opens applications for public summer school and enrichment program

Just one day after applications opened for Summer Rising, roughly 50,000 students have signed up for NYC’s free summer school and enrichment program, Schools Chancellor David Banks and Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Keith Howard said Tuesday.

In past years, that would have meant nearly half of spots in the program were already claimed. But due to changes in the enrollment process that pivoted away from a “first come, first served” model, families can throw their hats in the ring through May 1.

Students with disabilities, in foster care, or who live in temporary housing — including many migrants from the South American border — will be prioritized for sites at the schools they attend year-round.

“It’s a bigger challenge for them if they get access to a summer program, but it’s on the other side of town,” said Banks at an elementary school in Hell’s Kitchen.

While many families apply through an online portal, school and youth staffers helped parents who may lack access during drop-off Tuesday morning at P.S. 51 The Elias Howe School, where an estimated 92 migrant students from the southern border have enrolled since the fall, according to the Project Open Arms Census, a parent-led database using budget materials.

“A lot of times our parents, particularly asylum seeking parents, face greater challenges to do that [sign up],” Banks told The News. “We are actually putting manpower on the ground to meet the families where they are.”

“One of the things that we realized last year,” said Banks, “we did not really prioritize them, and we wanted to make that adjustment this year.”