At P.S. 51 in Hell’s Kitchen, staff walked parents through the process of signing up for Summer Rising, in English and in Spanish.

“The person who helped me, she is very nice, and has patience about me looking at the schools, the best school,” Solangel Perez, a parent of a student at P.S. 51, said.

It’s part of a push to ensure the city’s most vulnerable families have a chance to apply to for the voluntary summer program.

What You Need To Know

  • Applications for the popular Summer Rising program opened Monday — and by Tuesday, about 50,000 students had applied for a seat

  • The city is changing how it will match students to programs — asking families to rank three locations that could work for them instead of using a first-come, first-served approach

  • Students in temporary housing, in foster care, and with disabilities will be given priority access to programs

“It was a wildly successful program because it coupled academic enrichment and rigorous academic programming together with a lot of the fun stuff,” Schools Chancellor David Banks said.

It’s so popular that just a day after applications opened on Monday, about 50,000 students had signed up. That’s nearly half the program’s 110,000 slots.

In the past, that popularity meant some students who needed the program the most could not get a spot, or had to travel too far for a seat.

“Some of our students and our families who face the most difficult challenges, families and students in temporary housing, in foster care, students who have 12 month IEPs, students with special needs, many of them and their families, we did not really prioritize them and we wanted to make that adjustment this year,” Banks said.

The program will no longer be first-come, first-served. Instead, families can rank multiple programs that could work for them, and vulnerable populations like Banks mentioned will get priority. That will help many families at P.S. 51, Principal Stephanie Lukas says.

“Last year if you didn’t sign up on the first day, you didn’t get a spot at your preferred location and this year that should not be the issue,” Lukas said.

Her school has seen a surge of students living in temporary housing, with the arrival of families seeking asylum — over 140 new students have enrolled since October. The school has rallied around them, offering services like transitional bilingual classes, and holding clothing and food drives.

The school also made sure parents could sign up for Summer Rising right in their courtyard.

“Families are here. They came because they want to make sure that they keep coming this summer,” Lukas said.

Banks says events like the one at P.S. 51 are vital for families that may not have steady internet access, or know how to navigate the web portal.

“If you don’t even have that kind of access, our schools and people like Principal Lukas are here to ensure that those families are going to get the access they need, so that we can get those kids signed up — because they matter just as much as every other child.”

For parents like Solangel Perez, having access to Summer Rising means opportunities for her child — and for herself.

“I can to go to work, and for my student, he learns more, and socializes with another person,” she said.

The program is open to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The application process closes May 1, and families will find out their placements about a week later.