NYC parents slam after-school shake-up for dropping long-standing providers

New York City re-bid contracts for community-based organizations running the COMPASS after-school program for more than 100,000 elementary and middle school students. The re-bidding expanded the program by 10,000 seats and changed provider pay rates to about $4,000 to $7,000 per student depending on age. Contracts run through 2032. Some schools lost providers that had worked with them for more than a decade, despite support from principals and families. In Manhattan, multiple middle schools assigned new providers starting this fall, prompting a petition and protests. City officials said most of the 927 schools with after-school contracts would keep their existing provider, with 71 schools opening programs for the first time next year.

"Making sweeping changes to successful and trusted afterschool programs without transparency, stakeholder engagement, or demonstrated justification does not serve students or families. Parents said some schools were separated from long-standing providers that had support from principals and families, and they staged protests Thursday afternoon. The changes were tied to the city’s re-bidding of contracts for community-based organizations that operate COMPASS after-school programs for more than 100,000 students."

"Re-bidding the contracts allowed the city to expand the program by 10,000 seats and make long-needed changes to providers' pay rates, which now come out to around $4,000 to $7,000 per student depending on age, city officials and providers said. The new contracts, which were announced earlier this month and run through 2032, in some cases edged out providers who have been working with schools for more than a decade, and had the support of principals and families."

"In Manhattan, multiple middle schools that have long worked with the organization Manhattan Youth were assigned new providers starting this fall, according to a petition and joint letter from parent leaders across the schools. Parents said the changes were made without transparency, stakeholder engagement, or demonstrated justification. Some of the parents staged protests Thursday afternoon, and it was not immediately clear how many programs citywide were turned over to new providers."

"Chantal Alba, a spokesperson for the Youth and Community Development Department, said "most" of the 927 schools with after-school contracts are continuing on with their existing provider - 71 schools are opening a program for the first time next year. The department’s position was that long-standing afterschool relationships matter to families. The spokesperson’s comments suggested the contract changes would affect only a subset of schools, even though some schools were reassigned to new providers."

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