“I was able to focus and redirect my whole education path to school,” Rivadeneira said. Ariana Rivadeneira, 22, graduated from West Brooklyn Community High School in 2023. There was suddenly less of a tradeoff between school and work. She began missing school and fell behind academically.īut after switching to West Brooklyn Community High School, a transfer school, the staff helped line up paid work experiences and training, including solar panel installation. Before the pandemic hit, she took on a job working at a veterinary clinic to help her mother pay rent after her parents split up. “This is also going to cause layoffs of hundreds of nonprofit workers.”Īriana Rivadeneira, 22, said the paid work experiences helped her re-engage with school and ultimately earn a diploma. Without an infusion from the city, “on July 1 these young people lose their support system and lose money they’re paying their bills with,” said Michael De Vito Jr., executive director of the New York Center for Interpersonal Development, which operates three Learning to Work programs across Staten Island and Brooklyn. (The program faced a 25% cut in 2020, but its budget has since returned to pre-pandemic levels.) Nearly 70% of Learning to Work’s budget, or about $32 million, now comes from one-time federal pandemic relief funds, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office. Learning to Work has existed since 2005, unlike other programs funded with federal dollars that were intended to address the pandemic’s fallout, such as Saturday programming for students with disabilities or expanded summer school.īut the city began using federal money to finance most of the program two years ago. Jobs for students and staff could be lost “It’s just someone writing them off again – they’re getting another back turned on them,” she said. If the program’s funding is cut, Delgado said it will be a blow for students who have already struggled with the city’s education system. “They need somebody to take that off their plate so they can be successful with the academics.” The student who gave birth earned a diploma last month and plans to enroll at the Borough of Manhattan Community College this fall. “A lot of is social-emotional,” said Delgado, a program manager at Good Shepherd Services, a nonprofit organization that partners with the Brooklyn night program. It also funds thousands of paid internships, which can give students valuable work experience and create an incentive to attend school rather than dropping out to support themselves. To help get those students back on track, Learning to Work pairs alternative schools with community organizations that provide extra staff who help ensure students show up to school, get connected to social services, and even help craft college and career plans. Those students include those who have struggled to pass classes at traditional schools, are caught up in the criminal justice system, are parents themselves, or are living in temporary housing. That’s because a bevy of counselors, social workers, and internship coordinators, are paid through a city initiative called Learning to Work, which is predominantly funded by federal dollars that will expire at the end of this school year.Įducators and advocates say the services provided through Learning to Work are a lifeline for high-need students who enroll in transfer schools and evening classes. Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to keep up with NYC’s public schools.Īfter one of Clara Delgado’s students gave birth late last year, she quickly arranged a home visit.Ī staffer at Downtown Brooklyn’s Young Adult Borough Center - one of the Education Department’s evening programs for students who are behind in credits or can’t attend school during the day - Delgado arrived with a counselor in tow, donated baby clothes, and made sure the student could log in to Google Classroom to complete assignments remotely.ĭelgado hoped the message was clear: The school would do whatever it could to help the teen finish the two classes she needed to graduate.īut staff like Delgado - along with funding for about 3,000 paid work slots - could soon disappear from a network of Young Adult Borough Centers and transfer schools that collectively serve nearly 15,000 students who have struggled at traditional high schools, are behind in credits, and are at risk of dropping out. Reynolds West Side High School, the transfer school pictured here, moved to a different campus this year. A network of transfer schools that serve students who have struggled at traditional campuses are facing cuts to a key program, known as Learning to Work, which is largely funded with expiring federal dollars.
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