Manhattan Youth has been stripped of its city contracts at 12 middle schools and local parents are panicked — and rallying. They have started a petition which already has more than 3800 signatures, and are demanding that the city explain the reason for the change in leadership for the afterschool programs after more than a decade. There will be rallies at the middle schools today around 3p.

“Families here chose middle schools based on the strength of the after-school programs,” said one parent who got in touch. “We are now working with the community board and Community Education Council representatives across the city to get clarity on how and why these decisions were made.”

Manhattan Youth founder and executive director Bob Townley said the letter from the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, sent May 14, said simply the proposal submitted by your organization is not being considered for award at this time. “In many schools we started the after-school programs,” Bob said. “I only know that we were ranked very high in these proposals. The process itself seems faulty. We are looking into an appeal.”

The schools affected include:

• Facing History School
• New York City Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies
• Professional Performing Arts High School
• Quest to Learn
• School of the Future High School
• J.H.S. 104 Simon Baruch
• M.S. 255 Salk School of Science
• The 47 American Sign Language & English Lower School
• M.S. M245 The Computer School
• West End Secondary School
• J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner
• Yorkville East Middle School
• The Judith S. Kaye School

I checked with DYCD, the city agency, and this was their statement: “We recognize that transitions are challenging and that parents and youth value relationships with their afterschool providers. Families can be reassured that programs will remain free, activities will continue to be enriching and safe, and the City and school will work closely with the incoming provider to ensure a smooth transition.”

But that is not good enough for parents, who all said those relationships are hard to establish. And they are also worried that some programs, like sports leagues, are in jeopardy.

“Personally, I have two daughters in Baruch Manhattan Youth and I cannot overstate how these counselors are an integral part of their middle school experience,” said Lily Wicker, who is organizing the rally at Baruch and expects it to have big crowds.

The Change.org petition requests that the city reinstate Manhattan Youth and also explain how it got to these decisions in the first place. “This decision was made through a rushed and opaque process that excluded the very stakeholders most impacted by the outcome — students, families, teachers, School Leadership Teams, PTA leadership, and broader school communities,” the petition says. “We are deeply troubled both by the process itself and by the substance of the contract awards.”

It is worth reading.

The new providers are being awarded six-year contracts. The parents did a deep dive on the providers who did get the contract and have the following complaints:

• The Imogen Roche Foundation (IF), assigned to MS104, ASL, SALK, and the Ella Baker School, does not appear to have experience operating large-scale middle school programs or competitive athletics programming.
• Imogen Foundation reportedly does not permit outside partnerships, jeopardizing longstanding relationships with afterschool vendors and enrichment providers.
• Wagner Middle School has reportedly been assigned NYJTL, a tennis-focused organization with limited middle school presence in Manhattan schools
• The Anderson School, Dual-Language MS and The Computer School share a building but next year they will have different after-school providers. This will require duplication of efforts and loss of many shared resources and spaces. For example, Dual-Language participated jointly in many sports teams with the Computer School.

The Imogen Roche Foundation was founded in 2019 by Theseus Roche, currently its executive director. Theseus ran afterschool programs for Manhattan Youth for years; his daughter died from a fall off a Tribeca fire escape in 2018, and he founded the foundation shortly afterwards.

“Manhattan Youth staff members are not interchangeable contractors. Coaches, instructors, and program leaders have become trusted adults and integral members of our school communities,” the petition reads. “They have built longstanding relationships with students, families, teachers, counselors, principals, and administrators over many years.

“This continuity matters profoundly. Middle school is an especially vulnerable and formative period socially, emotionally, and academically. At a time when adolescent anxiety, depression, and broader youth mental health concerns continue to rise nationwide, maintaining consistent relationships with trusted adults should be a priority, not an afterthought.”