Parents push for clarity on COMPASS funding

Eleanor J. Bader

Parents push for clarity on COMPASS funding
Students and parents rally on the steps of City Hall in September to demand COMPASS funding for PS 516. Photo by Jody Avirgan.

When Deputy Mayor Ana Alamanzor spoke to PIX 11 News shortly before the start of the 2025–2026 school year, she was effusive, touting the fact that 331 million City dollars had been added to the 445 million that had previously been allocated to the 20-year-old Comprehensive After-School System of New York City, or COMPASS program. Subways ads are equally ebullient, citing the program’s reach and informing riders that thanks to this unprecedented investment, 184,000 public school students are now eligible for free school- and community-based after-school programming, including homework help and a chance to participate in organized sports, cultural enrichment, STEM, and arts instruction five days a week, on 13 school holidays, and for between four and seven weeks each summer.

The COMPASS program is run by the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), a City agency whose mission is to “alleviate the effects of poverty and to provide opportunities for New Yorkers and communities to flourish.” According to DYCD’s Rebecca McDonough, 890 COMPASS programs are currently operational, with 285 in Brooklyn, 219 in the Bronx, 188 in Queens, 165 in Manhattan, and 33 on Staten Island.

This is, of course, impressive, but residents of Sunset Park want to know which schools and agencies are eligible for funding and how eligibility is decided.

These questions dominated a public hearing on October 28, convened by the local Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) of DYCD. Parents, education advocates, and community members used the hearing to make clear that they are befuddled and angry that schools such as PS 516, a bilingual Spanish-English pre-K to third-grade program, have never been able to compete for COMPASS funds.

Jhodessa Reimer, program supervisor at the Center for Family Life, told the Board that after years of advocacy, 10 new schools have opened in Sunset Park, but noted that the City has not kept pace with the demand for after-school care. “When DYCD issued a new Request for Proposals this spring, none of the new schools in the neighborhood were listed as eligible for funding,” she began. “PS 516 is the oldest of the new schools. We have advocated since it opened in 2013 for COMPASS money. We want to be included.”

Others at the hearing agreed that the need is urgent, but acknowledged that the situation at PS 516 is different from that of other community schools.

This is because, at present, PS 516 has CFL-run after-school and summer programs that are funded by federal 21st Century Community Learning grants. The school is now in the fourth year of a five-year funding cycle and CFL staff and parents fear that funding for next year will be reduced or eliminated.

This is not a hypothetical concern. On July 1, program funding was temporarily frozen by the Department of Government Efficiency as part of an intended seven-billion-dollar cut to public education. Although the money was restored on July 28, it underscored the fiscal precarity of all federally funded projects. Moreover, the impact of cutbacks has already been felt: federal AmeriCorps funding has been slashed, and approximately 70 CFL staffers have been furloughed.

It’s clearly a tense, uncertain time, and according to everyone who testified at the hearing, it demands good communication between impacted parties and government agencies.

Jody Avirgan, co-president of the PS 516 PTA, told The Sunset Post that many of his neighbors want their kids to attend the school because of its dual-language curriculum and free, high-quality after-school program. “When we learned of possible federal cuts, we made a concerted push for COMPASS funding,” he said. “The City has added 5,000 new after-school seats this year. We’re asking for 200 of them. When we learned that PS 516 was not eligible to apply for a grant, we protested on the steps of City Hall. We testified at hearings. We engaged the press, and we repeatedly spoke out. City Council Member Alexa Avilés called DYCD on our behalf. There is no reason we can discern for being left off the list of schools that are eligible to apply for a grant. It’s frustrating because we have no idea how the process works or how DYCD decides which schools can apply. There is no transparency.”

Johanna Bjorken is similarly frustrated and told the Board that the process should ensure that every child has access to after-school programs in their school building. “Right now, many schools have a lottery for available slots,” she said. “This causes anxiety. Parents should know that their child has a place in a well-staffed program until six each evening. This should be a DYCD priority.”

Sarah Brooks, a 516 parent and teacher at PS 169, reiterated the point, stressing that enrollment uncertainty can cause stress and trauma for parents. “At the start of every school year, caregivers come to me crying because their kids are on a wait list. It's not feasible for most people to pick up their kids at 2:30 in the afternoon. They have to work. Giving every student who attends a public school a seat in a publicly funded after-school program should be a given.”

As she spoke, heads nodded in agreement.

Throughout the evening, the five NAB members who attended the hearing paid close attention to every speaker. But whether this will result in PS 516 and other neighborhood schools being able to apply for COMPASS funding or will force DYCD to become less opaque remains to be seen.

“We need to know the nuts and bolts of how decisions are made by DYCD,” Jody Avirgan said. “Once we understand the process, I am confident that we can make it work. It’s all about having the right information.”