City aims to ease summer program application

New York City’s free summer school and camp initiative for elementary and middle school students is overhauling its nail-biter application process that required parents to act fast for spots, officials announced at a City Council hearing Wednesday.

Summer Rising will pivot away from a “first come, first served” enrollment model that in prior years shut families out of the program — and added to the stress that many parents experience looking for child care in the summer months.

“To address this, we are planning to improve the process,” said Keith Howard, commissioner of the Youth and Community Development Department. “This summer, families will be able to apply any time during the enrollment period process.”

Last year, the majority of the program’s 110,000 slots were grabbed within the first week of applications opening, and 90% of programs were already full. The run on seats led the education news site Chalkbeat to call Summer Rising “the hottest ticket in NYC.”

Under the new process, parents will be able to rank multiple programs by preference. Last year, parents could select only one program per child.

Still, the city appeared to have no plans to expand the number of spots in Summer Rising from last year, when many children in the younger grades, and in Queens and Staten Island, were shut out of the initiative within days of the enrollment period beginning.

Officials will try to promote year-round programming by giving priority for summer programs run by the same providers.to kids who participate in department-funded after-school.

The summer program will also continue to prioritize students mandated to attend summer school because of their grades, as well as kids who are homeless or have disabilities that require they receive year-round support.

“I have a high level of confidence that enrollment is going to be better and improved this year,” Howard said.

Summer Rising offers a mix of academics in the morning and recreation and enrichment in the afternoon. For the third year, it will be open to both kids mandated to attend summer school because of their academic records, plus those who sign up by choice.

School locations are currently being finalized, and will then be paired with selected community-based organizations, Howard told the City Council.

Applications open next month.