City Rebrands Pgms. To Attract Pupils
City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Commissioner Bill Chong announced that the city’s Out-of-School Time afterschool program has been renamed COMPASS NYC (The Comprehensive After School System of New York City) and the expanded middle school initiative as SONYC (School’s Out New York City).
The marketing campaign will include a new SONYC website, social media, customizable marketing materials, subway advertising in multiple languages beginning in August, and wristbands, t-shirts and other promotional items available as incentives to engage young people.
“Afterschool programs help our kids thrive academically, explore their interests and have fun-all while staying safe,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Lilliam Barrios-Paoli. “Thanks to the massive expansion in the availability of these programs, more New York City students will be able to participate than ever this fall. With the rebranding of COMPASS NYC and SONYC, we are working to make sure parents and kids alike know about these exciting new options.”
“Out-of-School Time has become a generic name used nationally that doesn’t necessarily reflect the diverse and unique offerings of the New York City afterschool experience,” added Chong. “Like DYCD’s Beacon and Cornerstone programs before them, COMPASS NYC and SONYC will become recognizable brands that are more appealing to young people, and will help increase overall participation and make it easier for providers to recruit and retain young people in their programs.”
COMPASS NYC-which targets parents, community-based organizations, principals, private funders, policymakers and public officials-reflects the entire afterschool system’s goal of providing “direction” to the city’s young people.
SONYC (pronounced “sonic”) was selected following extensive research, focus groups and testing among New York City middle school youth who are current afterschool participants, who have left afterschool programming, or who have never joined.
COMPASS NYC and SONYC were chosen in partnership with Rescue Social Change Group (Rescue SCG), which also helped promote afterschool programs in Providence, Chicago, San Diego and Los Angeles.
As part of the marketing research, a contest asking New York City young people ages 10-18 to submit new names for the middle school program generated nearly 400 submissions.
Beginning this fall, middle school students will have access to SONYC programs in 562 schools (including 60 in District 75), a 143 percent increase over the previous 231. In FY15, the number of seats citywide will jump 76 percent to more than 79,300. Enhancements include programs being open five days per week for 36 weeks during the school year, and a higher price per participant to cover the additional hours and enable providers to hire and retain qualified staff and provide high quality programming.
A separate RFP for non-public schools and community sites will be issued this fall.
“What an incredible opportunity SONYC will be for students as they choose to be engaged in fun, interesting and diverse learning experiences after the school day,” said Bob Monahan, president of the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council. “Whether it is creating their own video games, learning to play a musical instrument or participating in robotics competitions, students will creatively expand on school day learning.”
The SONYC programs will mirror the Summer Enrichment programs being offered at more than 300 middle schools and Beacon and Cornerstone sites across the five boroughs through Aug. 29. This summer, the number of Summer Enrichment seats available was doubled to more than 34,000. Activities range from dance, music and sports/fitness to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), literacy and service learning. Partners include Chess in the Schools, New York Harbor Foundation/Billion Oyster Project, Project NOAH, Staten Island MakerSpace, the Salvadori Center, Urban Arts Partnership and others.
The enhanced afterschool and Summer Enrichment programs are part of an unprecedented $145 million (FY15) investment to increase educational and recreational opportunities for New York City students ages 11-13.
Middle school can be an especially challenging time for students, parents and teachers, with young people undergoing extraordinary changes and facing obstacles to becoming successful adults.
Afterschool programming helps develop new skills and interests; prepare students for high school, graduation, college and beyond; encourage young people to pursue their passions during the challenging years of early adolescence; keep youth out of trouble between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m.; and help reduce the achievement gap among diverse communities.
