Hundreds Rally at I.S. 89 to Save After-School Programs
A boisterous and passionate crowd turned out at Battery Park City’s I.S. 89 Wednesday afternoon in an effort to save—yet again—the school’s free after-school program.
“You are pawns in a budget game and a budget dance," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to the cheers of 150 middle schoolers in the auditorium. “You shouldn’t have to take it.”
“Last year it was unreasonable and unacceptable that we had to protest the cuts and this year we have to do it again,” said Councilwoman Margaret Chin.
Funding for the school’s many classes and activities, which serves 200 students from 3-6 p.m., has been cut by the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development. Just a year ago the programs were saved from another round of budget trimming.
Wearing white caps with the words “Save our After School” emblazoned in red, the students and many parents cheered as I.S. 89 principal Ellen Foote joined the chorus of demands.
“I have a message for the Mayor, the Governor and even the President,” she said. “After-school is vital in preparing our children for the world’s challenges ahead.”
The event showcased the best of what the after-school program has to offer. The rock band “My Mental Brother,” which honed its skills in after-school sessions, performed to raucous applause and the after-school comedy club brought the house down with a series of skits. The program, run by Manhattan Youth since 2001, also includes the school’s basketball, soccer, track-and-field and wrestling teams as well as classes in art, Lego robotics and creative writing. Homework help is also offered.
“I would just cry if I couldn’t go to after-school,” said 8th grader Chynna Basso who plays on the Cougars basketball team. “It taught me how to be a leader and how to be a team member.”
The decision to cut the entire $105,000 grant for the program, according to a spokesman for the Department of Youth and Community Development, was based on a needs assessment of zip codes where schools are located. The department identified 77 city zip codes with high levels of youth poverty, low levels of high school graduation and high youth unemployment. The numbers of English language learners, single parents and families who rely on subsidized childcare were also taken into account in deciding where to eliminate funding, according to the spokesman.
Elisa de la Roche, I.S. 89’s PTA co-president, is one of many at the school who call the youth agency’s decision process flawed. “Some communities are more affluent but many of the children here don’t come from the immediate neighborhood so you can’t tell what they need based on this zip code,” she said.
Bob Townley, the executive director of Manhattan Youth, agreed.
“Kids here come from 40 different zip codes but regardless of income, people pay taxes and they need services.” He added that the funds cover about 75 percent of the costs, with the rest coming from PTA contributions, Manhattan Youth itself and from other sources. Despite the location, 40 percent of I.S. 89’s students qualify for free school lunch—the key indicator of a school population’s relative wealth.
Currently, the city plans to cut funding to more than 30 after-school programs. P.S. 150 in Tribeca will also see funding for its after-school program eliminated in a separate round of cuts by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
“‘Do you have after-school?’ is the first question parents ask when they tour our school,” said P.S. 150 Principal Maggie Siena. “We need after-school; we don’t need cuts.”
Paul Hovitz, chair of Community Board 1’s Youth and Education Committee, said after-school is essential for keeping teens out of trouble. “If we don’t provide activities they will find their own, the kind you might not want.”
More than the fiery rhetoric from local leaders at the event, it was arguments by students that were most compelling.
“After-school is productive fun,” said 8th grader Rae Buttenweiser, who will move on to La Guardia High School in September. “I would never have gotten into high school without the theatre program in after-school. It breaks my heart that some kids won’t have after-school.”
By Juliet Hindell