Okay, good night everybody. It's 6:05, so we're going to get started. Thank you everybody for being at uh special education subcommittee for CC20. Um my name is Tamara Stern. I'm um the chair of this committee and John Vatona is our
co-chair. Say hello, John. >> Hello everybody. Okay. So, tonight we have an Angelo. Is it filet? >> Hey, you got it. Follow you. Follow you.
Close. >> Okay. I was trying, girl. I was trying. And Mary and Dicker, they're both here to um discuss um summarizing and we welcome. We want you guys to take the floor. Do you need um to co-host an
ability to share your screen at all? >> Yes, that'll be helpful. Okay, we'll do that right now. So, take it away, Angela. >> Fantastic. So, now I want to understand how many people are here today. So, I know how intimate I can be with the presentation. Is it just the six of us,
>> girl? Yes. All right. But we are recording we are recording the meetings. But like all the um the questions that I sent you were questions that were brought up um throughout the year on summarizing the application went out. So, we wanted to make sure that like
those questions and some of those people are here as well. So, we like I said, they might hop on, you know, but we wanted to make sure that the the information is at least being able to share it. So, this recording will be shared. Oh, we're getting more people.
>> Go ahead, Angela. You could continue. Sorry. >> Okay. No worries. No worries. So, my name is Angela Falo. I am the senior director for summer programming for New York City public schools. I'm joined by my esteemed colleague who is also the senior director at um the special
education office. Uh her focus is ESY. Uh so basically we are here to share what we know. You know, we don't know everything, but we are here to share what we know about summer rising. One thing we can tell you is that we work hard for summer programming to be
remarkable, to be amazing, and we want it to be a win-win for all stakeholders. So, if anything, we hope you get that gist. Um, so now I do invite um Maryanne to actually kick us off with a wonderful introduction.
>> Sure. Hi, I'm Maryanne Dakar. I run the ESY program, the extended school year program for the special education office. So I work very closely with Angela and I also support the uh accommodation plan process as well. So
uh we um the ESY program is you know a specific IEP driven program uh that is also colllocated with summer rising uh and then another option for our families is the summer rising program itself. And so are we gonna do you want to look at
the slides or uh do you want to just sort of chat with folks? >> But I need um permission. So if you can please give me the request so I can share. Okay, now I can. Okay, bear with me. All right. So do you see the slides?
>> Yeah, we do. Okay, >> perfect. All right. Um so yes so go ahead Marian with the introduction and then I'll go through the slides. >> Sure. I think so uh when Angela I were Angela and I were talking earlier just to sort of think about what kind of information do families are families
looking for? Uh and I know that you know summer can be very tense. Everybody wants to get a program for their child and so uh one of the issues that came up is I I suspect is a concern which is what are the criteria? Why do some students get placement get a a
summarizing spot? Why do some students not? And so we wanted to be prepared to talk to to some of those issues. And uh from I also I thought I would start off with some of my perspective since is this we are this is the community uh
education council so dealing with special education families. uh and that I thought I would just sort of frame uh since Angela's gone right to my slide which is just to sort of talk about what what summer rising is and offers our students with disabilities and just to
be clear about what the ESY program is and the reason I bring this up is because the ESY program is a very specific program. It is recommended on students IEPs and in the ESY program we provide all IEP mandates. So a student,
it is only for students in special class and they have are students who are considered at risk of regression or we're concerned that they will lose too much ground over the summer that it will take them too long to recover when they come back to school. So we want to keep them engaged in schooling all year
round. So it is mandated students get all of their services uh that are also on their IEP. So they get speech, they get OT, they get counseling. So it's a full like it's a 12-month program. the students. It's it's it's a contin somewhat of a continuation of what they
had at school. Um and uh in contrast, summer rising is a much broader program. It is a general education supplemental enrichment program and what that program offers all of our students. It's open to all students. So students with IEPs are
not turned away and we make efforts to ensure that they can participate in the program. But it really is a unique opportunity for some of our students with disabilities to actually get to participate in a general education program and that we want and part of
what we try to do in designing the supports we provide for students with disabilities is to enable them to be part of that program. So we do provide uh supports for students like we do there are paras available to support students. We do a lot of work with our
CBO partners to help them be prepared to support students with disabilities. Um and uh that you know but and but with the goal that a a child who might typically be in special class who's participating in summer rising gets this opportunity to actually be part of a
group of kids. Uh and summer rising is also a different kind of place. It it's happening in a school but it's not really school. It's really a combination. The academics are uh are there, but they are less stressful, I think, for most students. They're not
assessed. They're not being counted. There's no homework. A lot of things that make school stressful are are are not there in the summer rising day. There's a lot of enrichment even within the academic portion of the day. So there's it's it's a very different kind
of um academic program and so many students may not need as much support to participate in it because they're more engaged and they're they feel less stress, less anxious. Um and so that's that's the AC the academic portion and then those students get the opportunity
to participate with our CBOS who provide a wide range of activities of en and it's all enrichment. And it might be working in some with some kind of sports or arts uh or um developing certain kinds of skills that they so the students get to participate in that. And
that also is a little bit more like a summer camp feel. So again, the students who might typically be um in in a class with only other kids with IEPs can really function in that environment with relatively low levels of support. And by
low levels I mean there might be paras around if a child does struggle uh to to provide that help but part of the idea I think or the value of a program like summer rising is that it really lets children have that opportunity to be
included. Um and so um we try as we think about the supports it's really aimed at making sure students can feel included with the least restriction. So, we don't want an adult following a child around all day because it's really hard to be part of that pro to be part of the
program with the other kids when there's an adult who's following you everywhere. Uh it's very isolating actually for kids to have onetoone paras for example during the school day. Um, and that can, you know, so when you're in a play situation, it's it could be even more
confining because you really it's really hard to play with the other kids, uh, when when you're you're you know, you have an adult holding your hand, for example, when you maybe don't need it just to play. So, that's part of, I think, an exciting possibility that
summer opens for some of our students with disabilities. And I know I've spoken to families who have said their kids have had very wonderful experiences and during the school year they have onetoone paras and they get a lot of support but they have had very positive experiences in the summer rising program
in part because these they get to be with the kids they get to be like they get to be with their peers in a way that they just so uh rarely get to do. So I think that that's just to sort of frame how these programs are really different.
Um, and they offer really different things to our students with disabilities. I mean, both valuable. So, uh, I don't know if we want to just >> you want to just pick it up from here, Angela, and then we could take questions, I think. >> Yes, I will. Thank you. That was
excellent. Thank you, Marian. Okay. So, now, um, we do it's an intimate setting. you know I will start with the general overview but then we will now take questions because I do want it to be targeted to meet your needs to hear from
you um so okay now I'm sure many of you know summarizing you know what it is but you know for those who are new to the process and just want to hear about other things you know I will go over what summarizing is as you know it's a collaboration between New York City
public schools and it's a free full day um program for New York City residents and the students should currently be in grades kindergarten through 8 as Marian mentioned you know we have enrichment as well as academics and even within the
academic day we also provide enrichment you know in fact we just hosted a vendor fair where vendors such as Lego vivid imagination McKenzie adventures you know so many vendors offering fun STEM
activities attended and um you can see the excitement from principles working with these vendors. So that again during the academic portion in addition to math and ELA because we need math and ELA we need to reduce summer slide but in addition to that we have amazing
enrichment. My favorite you know would be math and hip hop as well as uh there's even financial literacy as well. So long story short is that we really want summer to be summarizing to be remarkable. Okay. Now, this is very
important cuz folks ask all the time. So, what are the numbers? How do you prioritize? Um, this year and last year, we received over 150,000 applications for 110,000 seats.
And believe it or not, many of these application go to a few favorable sites, you know. So, you do have sites where, you know, you have if not 2,000 people on the wait list. So um that's something that we we hope to work on to have more
favorable sites but we do have um some sites where a lot of applicants you know um want that to be their summarizing site. So long story short is that when we have a situation where we have more demand than supply obviously we can't
give it to everybody because we have only 110,000 seats. So we need to prioritize and we can never get it you know all the way right we try our best you know uh but somebody will not be satisfied. So I do want to start off by saying when we prioritize no one is
guaranteed a seat. There is no subgroup that is guaranteed a seat. But you know when even predating me when senior leaders came they said you know what let's prioritize students that are vulnerable students that it might be
challenging for them to get a summer program elsewhere. Students who their families could not afford summer programming. so on and so forth. But you know we would love to give everybody who applies a seat but so many um
restrictions even with capability. Do we even have enough CBOS for 150,000 seats? So um those are some of the gaps that we are facing that do not allow us to give seats to everybody to all
150,000 plus applicants. So we prioritize again vulnerable students starting with those in need of academic intervention. So that's the first and then we now go to 12 month IEP and 12 month IEP you know that is ESY that is
autism and that is um D75 chapter 683 and what this means is you should go to your um morning or ac you know mandated program and then in the evening or afternoon you go to your colllocated
um CBO um so we have many sites especially if all ESY all autism sites are colllocated with a DYCD CBO. So that's the premise is you know students in these um 12 month IEP go to the CBOS
afterwards and like I said we prioritize these students because we believe it's challenging for them to find a comprehensive summer program that meets their needs. So that's why we prioritize the students. Next would be, you know, students who might have issues affording
summer programming but really needed um students in temporary housing, students in foster care. And then we also want to make sure that we are prioritizing students who applied to their affiliated school as well as to their affiliated
CBO program. So I know I've said a lot um but at the end of the day we hope we could provide it to everyone but that is how we prioritize. Um let's see now we have important dates. The wait
list is open. The wait list is open up up until probably the last week of summer rising. You know you go into my schools. My schools is where you apply. My schools is where you get your offer. My schools is where you put yourself on the wait list. Um, so and now for those
who are just putting themselves on the wait list, there's a filter for sites with available seats. Um, not too many, but that's the way to go. I wouldn't just um I mean, of course, apply to where you want to go to. You never know,
but also look for sites with available seats and then apply there. So that's my recommendation. Um right now where we are on this timeline is next week. Guess what? Next week summer writing starts
and of course the ESY program and um many of the 12 month majority of the 12-month IP program. So next week is it. Um it ends August 7th for middle school and August 14th for elementary. to see
the dates for the 12-month IP program, you can go to the summer website. I'll put that link there. Um, but this is what we have for now. And of course, bear with me. I'll get through the presentation and then answer your question. Okay. Um, I do want to explain
that we work hard to provide a high quality program and I want to empower you as families, you know, as stakeholders. When you go to a summer rising site, I want you to feel confident that you're supposed to see um these types of components. If you do
not, please escalate to summer at schools.nyc.gov. I also want to use this opportunity to let you know that um we are paying for supports. We are if the special education team, you know, believes it is
needed. This is not um it's an add-on. Let me just I think addon is is the correct word and Marian please correct me and use a better suited word but when it comes to par professionals this is something that is
not based off of especially if you're not a 12 month IEP this is based off of what the special education team feels is best after reviewing the child's accommodation. Um, I'm letting you know that we New York City public schools pays for it, but it's not an
entitlement. And um, if for whatever reason a CBO tells you your child cannot attend because they don't have a par, immediately email summer at schoolsnyc.gov. We've made it very clear that we do pay
for it, but it has to be at the discretion of the special ed team and the CBO has no right to dismiss a student because they do not have a power. In fact, the CBO has no right to just dismiss any student. So, if you know somebody who is being dismissed or
that is your case, immediately email summerschools.nyc.gov. But, okay, let me go back to the components. Um, you should see evidence-based curriculum. You should see we do assess because students come from all over and many times the teacher
is working with the students. So they want to know whether students stand to tailor instruction. So um it's nothing that it's not a scary process. It's just it's for information purposes and to also assess impact. That's the way to
look at it. And then mindfulness. We work very hard to center the child. We know it's important that the child comes into an environment where they feel at peace. I like to use the word zen, you know. So, we do offer mindfulness. Then we offer physical activities. We
encourage physical activities. In fact, built into the curriculum, you know, we've encouraged many sites to use what we call move to improve. You know, if you watch some of the videos, they are reading and doing jumping jacks at the same time or reading and, you know,
squatting. And I'm like, wow. You know, I've gone at those days where I could do all those, you know, all those types of activities. But it's fun to see the students, you know, incorporating exercise during the academic day. And then um enrichment
opportunities like we've discussed and then field trips. So if your site does not have this, escalate. We don't have time for a lowquality program. We don't have time for sites that are not going on trips. If that is you and hopefully
that is not you know but you know nobody's perfect but you should be seeing these components you do not see these components immediately escalate. Okay so now I just want to reiterate what a noteworthy program is what these are programs that I visited or my
colleagues visited and you know they found to be fantastic. Um so this gives you insight as well. Um so the first was at 04M we use DBN so bear with me. Let me just say East Harlem. So the first was at East Harlem and um basically what
how they started the students started off with swimming and then after swimming social emotional dancing and as you can imagine this just centered the students and you know whatever stress they were feeling before they came as you can imagine I I you know that
subsided and then from there they talked they did the academics and even during the academics they provided financial literacy and climate change. So that was that site and then the next um site was in Crown Heights. What I liked to me the instruction was engaging. It felt like a
Broadway show. I always say that you know and um they also offered civics climate change and then even before the program started they they started with affirmations. I am worthy. I am kind you know so many you know kind words to
prepare the students so that they are in a better state of mind. So these are the things you should be seeing in a summarizing program. Of course, not all sites have a swimming pool. So that's not what I'm saying, but I'm saying you know fun activities and so if this is
not happening again escalate. Now I do want to say that with anything in order to continuously get funding impact and the way stakeholders see impact is through attendance. Um, so right now historically summer attendance
is not I would say 100%. So I want to plead to you to let your stakeholders know that attendance matters um in order to continuously get funding. You know folks at city hall and other stakeholders need to know that you are
enjoying the program and you are attending. So attendance matters. Showing up consistently makes a difference. And um in fact, we now have data. We have several years of data showing that the more students attend,
the the better they'll be prepared in math and in reading in the fall. Let me read this. The more you attend, the better prepared you'll be to succeed in math and reading in the fall. Um so so many other um groups such as ELLL
special ed you know they actually do well you know because of attending summer rising but they have to attend summer rising for at least 20 plus days. In fact, we did see statistically significant impact on stemming summer
loss for students in grades K through 8 in math and K through K through two in reading, especially for English language learners. So, um we want to encourage you that yes, we're having fun, but we want to reduce learning loss. We want
students to shine in the fall, and the only way they can do that is to attend consistently. Um, as Marian mentioned, we have accommodation plans. We tell schools to let us know what's going on. Um, Marian, let me know if you want to
touch on this slide. >> You're mute. >> Yes, thank you. Sure. U, thank you so much for um, setting that up. Yes. So, one of the ways we help students who have either health concerns or IEPs is that every school fills out an
accommodation plan for that student for the summer if they are attending summer rising. So, they tell us, for example, does the student have any health concerns? Do they need a nurse? Do they need uh do they have a 504 plan for diabetes or
allergies or anything that would help us make sure that that the students health needs are met at their summer site? Uh we also ask for information about uh the learning needs that a student might have or the management needs that a student might have and we ask teachers to
identify the kinds of strategies that work particularly well for a student uh with an IEP for example and then uh we we then consider we look at the data that we have on from IEPs from uh we uh
from anticipated attendance we kind of pull pull a lot of that together and we I we we allocate a number of paras to every summer rising site on top of that information. Some of those paras are health paras. So for students who have
to have an adult prepared and trained they that is one way we identify them. We also work with the healthy office of student health who helps identify uh nursing needs as well as students who may have a 504 plan uh for their health
needs. So we do want to make sure that kids are getting health supports that would be like as they get it at school. We want them to have what they they need. Obviously we want them to be safe and healthy. And then in addition we allocate Paris to every site. And then the the site team, the folks who are
working directly with children determine where do we need these paras most? where are the places where we either have students who uh need a lot of extra support or um you know just we think there's a a a a need in a certain area so they then can allocate those paras to
where they are needed. So those are just the range of supports and that really comes out of the accommodation plan process. Um so that's just another layer of how we make sure that everybody can really access summarizing. >> Thank you for that Marian. Okay. Um so
Marian, do you think we should touch on this to give confidence that we understand there are some students who might have behavioral issues and how we cater to that? >> Sure. Uh yeah, I think that it's helpful for for families who may be anxious about how a student who is maybe
typically in a 12:1 class um is going to respond. So one of the supports that we have started offering is that we make sure that we have a behavior intervention specialist. This is a trained behaviorist uh who is a specialist in helping
support students who are struggling with uh behavior in class. And so they are available in every burrow. And then if a site, whether it's the CBO or the academic program, um, anyone who needs that extra help would like someone to
come in and look at a student and help them figure out the best way to support that student, these behave, we do have these folks available to come in and provide that support. And they're very good. They're I I watched them work with a a school site last year and they were
really giving guidance. This is what the parah can be doing in the classroom. this is what the teacher could be doing. This is, you know, these are ways that this student needs to be supported. These are kinds of things you should let him do uh that you may be tempted to not let him do, but these are things you
shouldn't let him do. And this is, you know, this is how like they, you know, using timers, time, you can be on the phone for five minutes and then you have to participate, you know, that you sort of set up structures so that you're uh working with the student as opposed to
kind of lock, you know, you know, getting into conflict that just escalates. And the behavior interventionists are great at actually identifying those things we do without thinking. We don't think we're doing anything. We don't think we're escalating a situation. and they're really good at actually identifying
things that might be and then offering real strategies to the team. And again, this is available to both the CBOS's in the afternoon and to the school staff in the morning. So, I think it's actually a a really helpful support for especially for those students who really may end up
in some kind of um distress or dysregulation. >> Thank you for that, Marian. Okay, let's see. So transportation for those who are eligible that information will be on the
NIX account. Um and um so if you're looking for a timeline the goal is all programs summarizing 12 month IP they will get busing by their first
educational day. Let me say that and so I put the time on the screen for you. It's also on the website. So, long story short is that they get busing. The last bus leaves at 3:00 p.m. So, for those who want a bus, the last bus leaves at
3:00 p.m. Now, we do have right share for those who wish to stay up until 6 p.m. Right share I mean lift Uber for eligible eligible students. Um, so again, look at your Nixa account. So now we made it very clear to schools that
they should have programmed their students by May 13th. And um so for sites that did not program their students by May 13th um it will be an on on an ongoing basis. But in order to get um transportation on the first day, you
have you should have been programmed by May 13th. But long story short is that check your NIX account by the 26th. The data should be there in your Nixa account by the 26th. Okay, I'm going to quickly move forward again. You will see
if you're eligible for a boss or for Omni cards. That information will be there. All right. So, I think this is a good time to pause and to get feedback from the team. So, I understand Marian and I understand you know if there are
additional questions or how we can better serve your needs during this call. Okay, we see Mary. Marie, go ahead. >> Hi. Um, I'm going to introduce myself. I'm Marie Batista. I am a a parent uh of
a type 1 diabetic child and um I've been advocating for the past two years because I feel like a summer horizon is not um is missing a you know a group of students that um in the priority
seating. I understand that there are students that are mandated that will automatically attend summer horizon that also the priority tends to go to uh children with autism and children attending uh D75 programs which
rightfully so they should um get priority seating but I also feel like some horizon is missing a group and that group of children are children that need um their par you know uh paraprofessional support
and whether it's you know for medical reasons whether it's diabetes whether it's um for severe allergies whether it's epilepsy they are not being viewed as priority so uh I've been advocating for that and I also want you to realize
these children in this in this type of group do not have other you know very um low uh opportunity to attend um summer camp because they need that power professional, the medical par professional, especially with diabetes. If a child is too young and they don't
self-manage and also the other children that have to other conditions have to receive, you know, the you know, be monitored for their medical condition, there is across uh the burrow there is not options for them. Even though there's a nurse um it's not it's not
enough it's not enough um safety net for them to attend. >> They need the paras. So, I've been advocating since last year. I'm sure I I emailed the world. Summerris and received several um emails uh from me.
Also, when you state um children with IEPs, um I think your wording is too broad. Um you're saying IEPs, speech, whatever, but it's 12 month IEPs. Is that am I correct? >> Yeah, we we do. We make it very clear.
Um I even stated it that we made it clear that we mean 12 month. We actually don't say IEPs. We say 12 month. If and if if you see anywhere that has just let me know so I can update it. >> Right. And that's very confusing for regular parents especially when there is
English uh language barrier. I understand it because I'm a PTA president. I'm on uh several committees so I understand the coding and the the wording of it. But a lot of our parents have brought up that um that you know my
child has an IEP for speech my you know regular they don't understand that it has to be 12 months >> also. Yeah. Also you know uh my son received speech last year you know he had a 12-month IEP but um the district
only offers those uh services in only certain sites in the district. It doesn't ma it doesn't mean that if your child's attending a summer horizon uh location that they're automatically going to get their speech services there. That is not true. The district
only offers ser certain services in certain locations. And uh I also feel that um although it's a wonderful program, you do not offer equality to everyone that applies especially that the enrollment is not
handled by our principles in in their in their own sites that it goes to a general office in the DOE and that the it's CBO driven. I'll give you an example. My son's school is a site. We are combined with three schools. The CBO
that is running it is not our CBO. Let's let's example only 20 of our kids got in because it's mostly the kids in CBO. I feel that summer is discriminating against kids with other medical issues
besides autism by giving students uh a seat priority over them just because they're in the CBO or a sibling of someone in the CBO. So I feel that summer horizon discriminates against a certain amount of students by ju just
for them being in a CBO program. Ch I feel that children that need a medical par or for or for any reason a parah should have priority outside of D75 program and outside of autism. Also why
are we not letting our principles handle the enrollment? They do it all year long for their schools. They're very capable. Why is it done in a central office in the DOE? And why are we letting it be CBO driven and not not driven by our
principles? If you have 300 seats and three schools involved, there should be equality. Each school should get 100 seats for their students. the percentage the past couple of years have been so unfair because it's been going to all
the whoever's in the driven CBO and not broken out to uh the the three schools that are involved in certain sites. So there there needs to be structure changes. It's a wonderful program. Yes. But you're not offering equality and
you're actually discriminating against certain students with certain medical conditions which I was told like >> Thank you Mar if you don't mind me. So I like I think now is a good time for me to interject. Um so everything that you have said we will take back. I do have
senior leaders who you know make certain decisions and so my role is definitely to take it back. I can tell you though that we our goal is not to discriminate. Our goal is to ensure that um we are providing services to New York City
residents. Um nobody not one group is going to be satisfied if your child doesn't get a seat. Um you will not be satisfied. Um but the data does show that in comparison to um school year and citywide data we offer seats more to
vulnerable students and that's the intention you know vulnerable students everybody finds it subjective to theirs and um again I said it predates me and I do have senior leaders above me who have said this is their definition so the
best I can do is to take it back to say hey you know there's this addition group that find it challenging you know to get um high quality summer programming and you know it's for them to now say okay you know what they agree and and they
provide that I will also take back you know your points regarding um the enrollment can be CBO driven based off of how we prioritize you can find sites that in some cases are skewed towards a certain priority group you know we go
down the line we start from the top. So if a site has all um academic students in need of academic intervention, you know, that's how we start. So you know, we definitely have improvements there to take a look at because at the end of the
day, you know, we want to meet the needs of vulnerable students, but we have to take into account if things are skewing, you know, to one group. So these are great points that we would take and I just want to make it clear that no person, no student, no group is
guaranteed a seat. We prioritize, we try our best but again no one is guaranteed a seat. You did say something though. We do enrollments based off of the central office because they handle all enrollment for New York City public
schools. And this is so that not one entity has the right to accept a certain student or decline a certain student. And remember over the summer we are providing choice so that is somebody who lives in the Bronx but works in
Manhattan and wants to leverage a summer program in Manhattan can do so and without any form of prejudice. So um again that's the premise of summarizing prek K any form of admittance high
school it is manage it's you know of course maybe in some instances it's in collaboration but to my clear understanding any form of admission into New York City public school is managed by the office of student enrollment and
they go through an application process which is used by the software my schools. So, we're not doing anything differently. Um, in fact, majority of the summer rising process, first of all, it's a very small team and we don't even
have the luxury to do a lot of the work streams on our own. We literally have to align majority of the work streams with what New York City public school does. So, trust me, we go with what New York City public school does for every
process. And again, enrollment is not we're not doing anything different when it comes to enrollment. >> Can I just chime in to say um Angela's right um because I'm one of the parents that have had an issue with how the office of enrollment chooses the
enrollment number that they have because a lot of it is not based on accurate updated information. Sometimes sometimes it's based on information that was like prior years that happened and they're not they're not taking into account a lot of things that happened that
previous year like whether or not we had a lot of students that were that migrated. It it's like a lot of things. So, you know, just be mindful to take that into account because like a lot of the times the numbers from enrollment does not match the numbers that the
principal has for their enrollment numbers. it never matches. So you also have to to you know just take that into consideration. Go ahead. >> And one thing I do want to keep in mind is so yeah we have the first round but the second round the weight list and
just even to put things into perspective over 10,000 uh you know or close to 10,000 students decline their offers. So when we now go to the second phase which is the weight list principles
and CBOS's now accept from the weight list. So it is just the main round that goes into a central port which is aligned to what New York City public school does but the principal now has the opportunity to take students off of the weight list. You know I've seen it
many times where we have sites with available seats. So now we when we see it being consistent where a site has 100 available seats we now go in and you know auto extend offers but we don't want to do that you know we want to
provide autonomy to the principles and when we give principles the opportunity in some cases they don't extend the offer. So and if that is going on during the weight list what would have happened during the enrollment. So again we see
it we see situations whereby we have said here is a weight list extend seats when they become available to those on the wait list. And we're staring at sites with 50 seats with 60
seats. Nobody has extended offers. If we did not come in to now say you know what principal what are your gaps you know or should we do it for you the seats will be staring and nobody will be using it. So um don't feel like we are doing
things out of thin air. Again we work with a small team. We want to provide autonomy to stakeholders but these things are in place because we need to move things along. We need to give offers. In fact, I remember, you
know, last summer I spent my Sundays looking for sites with available seats and just extending offers. Of course, going in line with the priority structures. Um, and we had sent out many emails to principles to CBO saying, "Hey, extend those offers." But they did
not. So, if I did nothing, you would have hundreds of seats being on you. So, that is why we step in centrally, you know. So again, understand that the main round we do it centrally because we are in line with New York City public schools. But during the wait list where
we have over, you know, 9,000 seats to disperse, we typically don't see movement. And this is the time where we say schools take it away and we don't see movement. So that's why we step in. Don,
>> hi, my name is Sonia. Um, our kids are based out of PS 204. We have been applying to this program for this is the fifth year in five straight years we have not gotten a seat. Um, this
particular year we were weight listed. My son got an offer, my daughter did not. How does sibling priority or lack thereof work? Because if a parent needs their children, I I feel like you're forced to give up the
seat anyway. So why extend the offer for one if both are not going to get placed? >> So when it comes to extending offers from the weight list, we go by what is available. So maybe it meant I mean I can't specifically speak to if I don't
see what is on ground, but the goal is we go by what is available. So maybe at the time you just didn't have enough but they felt you know one of the siblings was in line was higher and they gave that sibling but we tried to place siblings together but I believe um Marie
brought that up that you know why should um a sibling take priority over you know a diabetic student. So, >> well, I'm not No, no, no. They should not take priority, but if you're going to give one a seat, then I feel like
both should be given a seat. How do you split up your children? You you can't. So, ultimately, you're you're giving that seat with the expectation that you're going to give it right back because what parent's going to put one child in and one not? No, I think the expectation is I mean first of all we
are hoping that you'll be happy with one but the expectation is that as a seat becomes available they will and if they're able to they will extend it you know but they just have to go in order um they're not thinking oh because that might not work for you but it can work
for another family you know but yeah just to add on just to clarify too that one of the challenges is that the seats are by grade so there might have been seats in the fourth grade, but there were no seats in kindergarten. And you had a fourth grader and a kindergartener. So, your fourth grader
came up. It doesn't mean your kindergartner won't get a spot or that they're only giving one, but there was no kindergarten spot at that time. Um, and that >> but and and in fact, I think once a sibling is in the program, the other
sibling does move up in priority. So, it sometimes is it's a waiting game, which is very stressful and I can understand the frustration. Absolutely. You know, I hear the I mean, I I I I'm a parent who it is a frustration, but I think just to understand that that's why sometimes
it's not like they had 10 seats and we're going to give it to this one and not it's that there was a fourth grade seat or a third grade seat and that's part of that's part of the challenge of filling the seat. Sometimes there are lot there are extra fifth grade seats. There's empty fifth grade seats, but no
kindergarten seats. So that's a that's just a a reality too that we're >> do they carry over to other grades if certain grades aren't being fulfilled. >> Uh you mean do they like make bridge classes or something? >> Well, yeah, sort of.
>> Um I I don't think so. >> No. Well, I mean at the end of the day, you know, if they have available seats, we would extend offers and with the intention that if we need to open up an additional um class for that grade, we
will. But we the first step is to go by class to see where the seats are and go in priority by grade as Marian has said. Many times too um you're looking at if especially a very um popular sites maybe
just three seats open up and so they go by grade you know and who is at the top for each grade. So maybe it just happened that one of your children was at the top for that next grade for that grade and they go in line to the next grade that has availability. So you know but they when they give it to a
particular sibling they still have to prioritize but there is that intention that um we want to keep siblings together and when a seat opens up you know we will if we're able to we will extend an offer >> okay and how long into the curriculum do
offers get sent out from the list >> till till like I said it's open last week of summarizing Maybe the question is you know do I have is there opportunity for me at any point in time we continuously make it clear
that um if by July 6th a student does not show >> and there are three outreach attempts >> you can decline that seat and extend it to those on the wait list and then let's even in addition to that if a student
does not show three times consecutively. So meaning they didn't show on Monday, they didn't show on Tuesday, they didn't show on Wednesday and the school did try to reach out to the family without success, they can decline, you know, that seat and then give it to somebody else. So there are lots of opportunities
over the summer. So that's why if they're able, they'll give the seat and then when there's more availability, then they try to extend, you know, to the same family if possible. >> Okay. Thank you. Yeah, go ahead, Maren.
>> Okay. My my question is about the weight list like last uh last summer. Um my question is how come the numbers on the weight list goes up instead of goes going down? Could you explain that besides the mandated students being pushed forward on the waiting list?
>> That really is it or other um vulnerable students are high. example now a student who doesn't fall within the priority group that I mentioned but more um students in that vulnerable group keeps being added on then they take more
priority and they keep pushing down the numbers that's why >> and also um the final question is um when you're looking at the the enrollments is there coding that tells you that the whether the IEP is 12
months or it's an IEP just for services. >> Yes, but I'll let Marian uh take that question, but the answer is yes. >> Yes. So, um I mean it's not it's uh actually I pull all the data on students who have
12 month special class which is uh students who are in a 12 to1 class for 12 months. I pull that data. I place those students in one of our ESY sites. We have about one ESY site per district because we don't have the numbers to offer it everywhere because we'd have to
be offering a special class, you know, in every, you know, for kindergarten, first grade, second grade. So, um, I place them and then I actually provide that data to my schools to upload. So, in terms of dis distinguishing between
um a regular IEP and a 12-month IEP, the regular data flow doesn't, but the way that they that my schools knows who's in an autism program, who's in district 75, and who's in the ESY program is that we upload we say these are the students
we've placed or have places in our programs. And and for ESY students, they are only high priority at their ESY site. So, if I'm if a student is uh placed at this the the ESY site in
district 20 uh and the family wants to go to their local school, they're not high priority. They they're go to a regular priority if they decline their ESY placement. So, they only get that priority because they're attending in part because they're attending a school
they have no priority at they would not have any relationships with. They would be at the the lowest priority. So um that that's all that is the only way and and so it is handone in that sense that we the programs themselves say these are the students we are serving in our
12-month program and that's how it knows who has the 12-month priority. >> Okay. And that's why I previously said I feel the wording is too broad. Um what what you put out there uh it needs to be clarified because this is very this
comes up in many PTA meetings that I have that parents say my child has a IEP you know but it's IEP for services like it has to be clarified you know. We do we do clarify. We do clarify. Um
and again if you see any kind of wording that does not clarify, let me know and we will update. But we do clarify. >> But it it is comp I mean I understand it is complex and it is hard to find the wording because you're right. There are folks who have related services as a
12-mon service. Um and um >> it should be >> and they are that's >> so we we make it very clear. We say extended school even in this this >> it's on right and we specific you've been saying special class. Yeah. So we try to but it it it still can be confusing to families that you know
that's I mean we understand that we try to be really clear >> but I know I get I get a million questions about it. So I know it's confusing >> right? That's maybe >> one thing to put into perspective though at least I can speak to last year because we're still ongoing this year. I
can't really speak to this year's numbers until we finalize, but I can speak to last year and previous years. We prioritize 12 month IP students, but they are under 4,000. It's I don't even think it's, you know, they're not a
large number. So, in the grand scheme of things, we have 110,000 seats and um in fact, last year it was it was under 3,000. So, I want people to understand the grand scheme of things here in terms of who we why we prioritize them because
hey, they're not up to 3,000. At least I'm talking about last year. And again, if we have 110,000 seats, the folks that received seats that were prioritized for 12 month, they're not taking seats away from anybody. Again, three, not even
3,000. 3,000 in comparison to 110,000. So I don't want folks saying, "Oh, I'm not getting a seat because um you know of 12 month IEP." No, that small percentage of students that we give offers in this group are 12 month IP.
Again, last year we're looking at under 3,000, >> right? >> No, that's that's about right. We have about a thousand ESY students at most. >> Okay. >> Attending it and then that >> Yeah. an ESY student is not stopping in the grand scheme of things. Maybe there
are some select site and again it's because they can only go to that site if they if as Marian has said if they decline that site that's it they're not prioritized. So again, um, an ES in the grand scheme of things, an ESY student, an autism
student, a D75 students is not taking seats away from people because again, under 3,000, >> right? And that's that's not what I was stating. And you know, also uh you know, rightfully so, they should get priority, but there's also another group because
there isn't there isn't slim uh chances. There is zero zero opportunity within the district for children with diabetes to attend a camp. Summarizing is it and it's not it's not only diabetes it's uh you know other like I said other medical
issues it should be any student who is in need of a medical par should be uh be should considered you know in that that missing group that we were speaking about. >> Definitely. Thank you for that, you know, and I can imagine I empathize with
you, you know, so again, it's for me to lift up and that's what I would do. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Is there anybody else that wants to speak or ask a question? So, inside the chat, I put a resolution
for that we actually um voted on and it was passed. In regards to that resolution, it was in regards to um a child that was trying to get into summer horizon that had diabetes and New York City public schools stated that diabetes is only a 10-month program and it's not
a 12-month program. when it's the person's whole life and this child's whole life that they had to endure. They had a nurse that was willing to work with the child at summer horizon, but they weren't accepted only because they're saying it wasn't a 12-month program. So, that's one of the things
that I would like you to come back and speak about or to bring it to somebody's attention. And also, I saw in the chat that you just presented for students participating in the summer autism program. Do you know if there's
any in um CC20? >> Oh, I'm sure. But let me confirm. So, is your question is there any autism program in your district? Is that your question? >> Yes, correct. >> Bear with me. Let me quickly check for
you. So again um no students is guaranteed a seat and it's not a 12 month versus 10 month it's for vulnerable students and students who find it challenging to get meaningful um summer programming and
again we will lift up um now even 12 month I students >> they could actually be declined >> a seat in a program you know what I mean if they just to because no matter what we don't have unlimited seats in a
program. So if for whatever reason you just have more for example the top of the um priority is in need of academic intervention. If you have 100 seats okay
and 150 students apply and the first 100 are students in need of academic intervention. That's it. We're not even going to go down the at least with the way it's structured now, we're not even going to go down to 12 month IP. So, it
really is about starting with the most vulnerable. And I I can't say it enough that even if we do institute um to say okay, we prioritize students in need of a health par or health situation. Even if we prioritize, I I keep saying this,
it doesn't mean that student will get a seat. No student is guaranteed a seat. The priority is just there so that we can think of what a vulnerable student is and we're not being you know subjective but there's it doesn't mean oh I'm a 12 month IEP I'm a I'm in need
of um academic intervention I'm you know I fought it. It doesn't mean now I have a seat. We do have many situations whereby we don't even get through the priority structure because you just have an overwhelming amount. So this is not a
golden ticket. So again, if tomorrow we now have new priorities, that is not a golden ticket at all. No one is guaranteed a seat. So Marian, I see you nodding. Feel free. >> Yeah, I I know. and to just I think um I I I just wonder if there's just some
confusion, right, which is that um I'm not so I'm not privy to what conversations the parent had or who told the parent that that that because when we're referring to 10 month versus 12 month, those are the the the dates of an
IEP. Is your IEP in effect for 10 months from September through June or is in effect effect from September through August? So those that's that's a that's the distinction. So I'm just not clear like for example I just don't know enough about the case but um a student
admitted to summer rising who has diabetes gets those supports and that was one of the things I wanted to be clear about when we're dealing with health issues those students if they need a an a onetoone parah and when we try to actually identify the specific
identification number for the student so we can tell the principal in charge this is the student who acts has to have a para who has to be trained so that they can be supportive. So there it is diabetes is not or any other
>> asthma, epilepsy, any of these kinds of chronic medical conditions that students have that can interfere with their um ability to participate in programs that that is not a barrier to summer rising. So, I think there's like a I'm I'm not
sure about what what the particular issues were around this case in terms of the student family being told you're not entitled to the 12-month priority because the 12-month refers to specific the specific uh kinds of programs of students enrolled in and if the student wasn't enrolled in that, they were not
enrolled in that. But um that wouldn't have affected as Angela said the the impact of 12-month IEPs on the overall um number of seats is very small. So I don't know the specifics of your case, but um the I
mean if the family was turned away in some way or discouraged because of the diabetes, that's probably something we should have a you know that should have been escalated because that's not that's not okay, right? like we don't allow that. And we do when we learn of families being told, oh, you can't come
to the program because if you know, we need this, this, and this, and you know, um, we intervene right away. They must be admitted. So, I I not knowing the specifics of the case, just to be clear that students with diabetes are in no way discriminated against. If they're admitted to the program, they get the
services they need and they get them until six o'clock. That that is paid for. Um, and so, uh, we make a distinction between that. In fact, a 10-month IEP, we may not serve exactly what's on your IEP in the summer because it's a 10-month IEP, but for a health
situation, it is considered a 12-month. You know, if a student has uh has diabetes supports on their IEP, that even though it's a 10-month IEP, the diabetes supports carries through. We don't leave children um you know uh
collapsed from low blood sugar. You know we we don't do that. We don't let that happen. Um you know we we you know I mean so so just to be clear about some of that but again I don't know the specifics of the case and so I don't know you know where where things might have gone south for this family. Um,
>> what I do encourage before Marie comes online is as Marian has said besides 12 month IEP meaning ESY, autism and D75, we give you services wherever you are.
So wherever a student with diabetic needs goes to for summerrising wherever they admitted. So they don't have to be admitted to their homeschooler. So if you find a site that is convenient that has availability that site we will
provide adequate services so that the students thrive. So um it's not receiving you know a health par is not you don't is not specific to your home school. If you get admitted into a site
with seats that is convenient for you and they fall into this category, they will get that. I also want to go back to I think it was John that asked the question. So, we do have um five sites in district 20 that have autism
programs. Um so, if that answers your question, again, there are five summarizing sites um with autism programs. Thank you. Would you be able to um connect with Tamara or myself with the sites that have the autism?
>> I can. I'll put it in the chat now. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And also, do you know if um the school safety cuts, is that going to affect any uh summer programs? >> Oh, no. What do you mean? First of all, no. All summer rising sites.
>> We'll have Thank you very much. In fact, we just did a huge presentation, an impactful presentation on safety. We don't joke with safety at for any summer program and of course summarizing. So,
we operate a highly functional site with adequate security. And this is thank you for asking that question. If you see something that is otherwise and is not sounding like what I'm saying, please escalate. But every summering site will
have a school safety agent. >> Thank you very much. >> Marie, you could unmute yourself. >> Okay. I just wanted to add um yes, one once your child is accepted, they do get their medical par and nursing services,
but that's the but that's the issue. They don't they don't always get accepted. And that's why I say that there's a need for for that group to be added and it was escalated all the way to the chancellor office last summer and
went nowhere. So that's why there's a that's why I continue to advocate not only for my child for other families because there is there is a need and that statement felt very discriminating against uh families with uh children with type one
when it was stated last last summer. So um and I feel that you know it's that there's a need for advocating for for this. I mean if I for for sure and one thing I will not turn down is advocacy.
I believe in it and again thank you. One thing I know for sure though and even for myself with a lot of the improvements you see I when it wasn't the first time that I advocated that I got the results. Um there are many times where I've written over five proposals
and met with people over 10 times before I see the results. So I advocate seriously. I encourage people to advocate and you know when you do it it might not seem like it's moving fast enough. We all experience that. I
experienced that but it doesn't stop me. Let me let you know that. So um and I applaud you. So again you know this is something that I will definitely take back you know to my senior leaders but I do want you to know that um with so many things it can take time but keep
advocating again even if it is implemented no one is guaranteed a seat >> right and we understand that it's like a lottery >> it's not a golden ticket that okay now
you know this group because you We did. Not all 12-month IP students received a seat. Not all um students in temporary housing, students in foster care received a seat that applied. So, you know, yes, again, we do have priority
and we want to meet the needs of vulnerable students, but it's not a golden ticket. And but I do applaud you and keep doing so. And like I said, things don't magically happen, but this is >> No, I know. I've been I've been
advocating since 2013. My son is uh my second child with type 1 diabetes and I've been advocating from 2013 from the first day my first son was diagnosed whether it's through and I have to say that the board of ed is um the most
difficult that um that other uh other organization other comp you know that um we get priority at um amusement parks we get priority boarding planes but you know we don't get priority through the board of ed they don't recognize this
lifethreatening condition of our children that they are they do fall underneath the dis disability act and that needs to be recognized >> but Mar we do so because we are recorded and even if we're not recorded you know
we do which is why Marian made it very clear that when we give a seat to a student in this category immediately automatically they get a health power the nurses made aware all the train all the staffs that need to be trained are
so that the student can thrive so we are not discriminating we in fact we want to make sure that students in this category thrive um but again what you're advocating for I will raise up and continuously advocate and um I'm letting
you know that advocacy is not um I would like it to be an easy thing but like >> no it's not >> myself I many if you should see my my proposals and my you know all the hard work I've done again all a lot of the improvements
you you see today I didn't just call one person or have one meeting or send one email it happened from many years many emails many meetings many proposal but again like I said we hear you and we will take it you know to senior
leadership >> okay thank you for your time >> thank you so much um there's a question in the chat from Tamara Yeah. So, it's not a policy. However, you know, if schools can implement it and they have the means, why not? So, I
think the right word is optional. It's not mandated for the summer. Optional. >> Okay. No problem. Thank you. >> And um the enrichment, what was the second question? >> Uh um >> it says and the enrichment program after >> answer. So, the summer for the Oh, I
see. I see. I see. So, it's um No. So, it's not mandated and it's optional. >> Thank you. >> Um, Donna, Lebrono, Fabiola, Maggie, you have any questions? >> Yeah, she say it's optional.
>> No, no questions for me. Thank you, John. >> Thank you, Fabio. Thank you so much, Angela and Marian, for being here to answer all our questions. Um, this was very informative because like I I end up coming up with questions that I didn't even think about
until other people started talking and the presentation they had was very clear and and so like parents understand if your child isn't getting a program or you see something escalate situation.
All right, you that that's your job now. Got to pay attention. All right. So, um, if anybody doesn't have any other questions, it's 7:15. Um, I would like to say everybody have a good night and I hope everybody have a wonderful summer.
>> Thank you so much. Thanks everybody. >> Thank you for being here everybody. Good night. >> Good night. >> Bye. >> The next meeting. >> Our next meeting probably be sometime in August. We because I'm I'm going be honest. I need a break from meeting like and my birthday's in July. So, I would
like to have a break for July and then we'll come back in August. And just pay attention. All the information will be going out cuz we might end up choosing to have the meeting after our um CC20 meeting just to give everybody enough time to come back from vacation and
stuff and just, you know, get ready for September. All right. >> Thanks. >> Thank you, Tamara. Thank you, everybody.