New York City Middle School Afterschool Program Expansion Initiative

Mayor de Blasio and his administration have made a commitment to increase access to afterschool programs by New York City’s middle school students. These programs provide youth with the support of caring adults and engaging, fun activities that can help them address the challenges of early adolescence.

In accordance with its mission to support the City’s youth and their families by funding high-quality youth and community development programs, DYCD launched its Out-of School Time (OST) initiative. The OST system offers students in grades K-12 a mix of academic, recreational and cultural activities. The programs are free of charge and located in neighborhoods across all five boroughs.

DYCD is seeking qualified nonprofit organizations to operate OST programs in each public school (including charter schools) serving grades 6-8 and currently lacking comprehensive afterschool services (“Eligible Middle School”). For charter schools to be eligible, they must have a regular dismissal time of 3 p.m. and lack a comprehensive afterschool program.

The new programs will operate for 15 hours per week during the school year for a total of 540 hours annually. At least 9 hours per week will be devoted to structured, goal-oriented programming, with the remaining 6 hours being available for drop-in activities. Of the total 540 hours, 216 hours of activities may be unstructured and offered during the school week or on school closing days.

All programs will provide academic enrichment, leadership development and physical activity. Providers will work in close collaboration with the host school to recruit and retain struggling students, enhance the program design, and align structured activities with school-day learning.

Schools, in turn, will make in-kind contributions to the programs, such as teacher time and curricular resources, in addition to providing classroom space and access to school facilities such as the gymnasium, computer labs and library. The procurement for the OST Middle School Expansion initiative will be organized into 32 solicitations, one for each school district with a cohort of Eligible Middle Schools.

Agency: Department of Youth and Community Development Status: closed