What to Know
- "Summer Rising," New York City’s first-ever summer school and summer camp hybrid open to any child in grades K-12 who wants to participate, officially kicked off Tuesday.
- New York City announced in April the groundbreaking new initiative that seemingly combines summer school and summer camp -- as a means to further help children deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in their schooling, emotional health and their socialization.
- According to city officials, it is a student-centered comprehensive programming that is integrated with social-emotional learning and available for all students, not just those who may need further academic support with a particular subject matter.
"Summer Rising," New York City’s first-ever summer school and summer camp hybrid open to any child in grades K-12 who wants to participate, officially kicked off Tuesday.
New York City announced in April the groundbreaking new initiative that seemingly combines summer school and summer camp -- as a means to further help children deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in their schooling, emotional health and their socialization.
The Summer Rising Initiative is a free program that combines the NYC Department of Education's academic support and the Department of Youth and Community Development's programming. According to city officials, it is a student-centered comprehensive programming that is integrated with social-emotional learning and available for all students, not just those who may need further academic support with a particular subject matter.
According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the idea for Summer Rising came up following ongoing talks with students and their parents.
"A lot of parents wanted this summer opportunity for their kids to reacclimate to school, to get ready, catch up, but also have a lot of fun this summer," de Blasio said Tuesday, adding that the program is the first time in over a year that some students will be in a school environment due to the pandemic.
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As the program kicks off Tuesday, the city shared its preliminary Summer Rising enrollment numbers indicated that more than 200,000 students are enrolled across grade levels at over 800 sites in all five boroughs across the city.
About 86,000 students in K-8, 80,000 high schoolers, and 23,000 D75 and Extended School Year students have enrolled in the program. Additionally, 12,000 3-8 students were mandated to enroll in the program.
K-5 and 6-8 students, including those who are mandated to attend, will participate in academic and enrichment programming from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. respectively. D75 and extended school year students will receive instruction and related services based on their IEPs from 8:10 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. and 8:10 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. respectively, followed by enrichment programming with their peers.
For high school students, program hours vary by school; however, every student has access to academic and social-emotional supports, with time to participate in internships and gain work experience.
All Summer Rising programs will follow rigorous health and safety protocols, including social distancing and mask-wearing. In addition, random testing of 10% of students and staff will be conducted every other week.
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Parents and guardians interested in signing up a child for Summer Rising can still do so this week by visiting schools.nyc.gov/summer.
"Every parent should know this is there for you and your child. This is how we build a recovery for all of us. It's helping every child, every family come back strong," de Blasio said.
