New York City has ambitious plans for summer school this year.

For the first time, the free program, called Summer Rising, is open to all public school students from kindergarten through high school. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the goal is to help kids catch up academically after the disruptions of the pandemic, offer families desperately needed childcare, and provide a “bridge” back to school in the fall. 

For elementary and middle school students, it will include a mix of academic enrichment and camp-like recreation. High schoolers can get extra support in subjects they did not pass or find work through the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program. 

Officials have said they will be able to accommodate 200,000 students. 

But while educators across the city are praising the concept, many said they are worried about pulling it off. The program is set to launch in early July, and nonprofit providers said they are still seeking key information on how the program will work. Some principals said they are struggling to staff the academic components, and some parents have reported difficulty signing up.

“Though we were hopeful when the city announced ‘Summer Rising,’ our principals and assistant principals in charge of summer school are still without the information they need to run successful programs,” said Mark Cannizzaro, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators. 

De Blasio announced the program on April 13th. Cannizzaro said, “We have regularly communicated our concerns to the DOE regarding both the shortage of assistant principals and the delay in hiring teachers. Although we’re now at the eleventh hour, the DOE must immediately communicate information to school leaders so that we can provide the summer program our children deserve.”

Summer Rising could mark a new era of summer school. In previous years, the city has supported two separate programs, offering academic support to students who need it and camp for other children, often in partnership with nonprofit groups. This year, the plan is to weave those two elements together, particularly for younger kids, providing academic enrichment in the morning and arts or sports in the afternoon.

But to do so, schools and nonprofits have to coordinate with two city agencies, the Department of Youth and Community Development and the Department of Education, and some leaders said that has made it difficult to plan.

“The intention is right,” said Nora Moran, director of policy and advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses, an umbrella group whose members will be providing Summer Rising programs at 165 sites. “There’s just so many details and logistics to be worked out.”

Moran said she’s concerned about staffing given the burnout from the past year. “I think there is generally a sense of exhaustion entering into the summer and now there is this expectation to have a big program,” she said. “When we ask the city or DOE they generally say we feel very confident. We have a lot of applications from teachers to teach summer school. But we don’t know if that’s the case.”

“It's exciting because it's super aspirational but upon implementation there are a lot of barriers,” said Sandra Escamilla, executive vice president with Children’s Aid society, which will operate many Summer Rising sites.

Escamilla said one of her concerns has to do with capacity. The nonprofits said the school system will be mandating summer school for certain students, but they don’t know who or how many. “My concern is we’re going to be at capacity and then what happens to those kids?”

Other providers have wondered if there will be enough interest to meet the need. 

The Department of Education did not provide a current enrollment figure. “Our school communities are working hard to prepare for Summer Rising, and we’re seeing strong interest from both families and staff who want to participate.” said spokesperson Sarah Casasnovas. We look forward to welcoming students across the City to programs in July and providing them with a holistic summer experience full of learning, enrichment and fun.”

The Biden Administration has encouraged school districts to invest in summer programs this year, and has said they can use stimulus money to help cover costs. Officials said the city is using city funds and federal dollars to pay for the $120 million program, and de Blasio has said this year’s initiative will become the model going forward.

“This ends summer school as we knew it," de Blasio said back in April.

Escamilla said she’s hopeful Summer Rising will be successful, despite a bumpy lead-up. “It’s an opportunity to do what I think is really great, provide holistic services over the summer in partnership with the Department of Education,” she said. “This has never been done before. And we’re trying to exercise grace.”