A school in Howard Beach is set to get a new program just in time for the next school year.
PS/MS 146, on 159th Avenue in Howard Beach, will get a new after-school program that will start on Sept. 10, 2012.
According to Cathleen Collins, deputy chief of staff at the Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD), the city agency requested proposals last fall for organizations to provide Out-Of-School Time (OST) programs to elementary and middle schools throughout New York City.
As a result of DYCD’s request, PS/MS 146 stands to benefit with a new program.
The organization that is funding the program at the Howard Beach School is called Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation Inc., which is a Woodside-based non-profit organization that provides after-school programs in New York City and the surrounding region.
Although much of the specific details are not yet known, James McKeon, principal of PS/MS 146, said that it will likely be centered on sports, arts and help with homework. He also said that what the after-school program will offer will depend on what the school can accommodate in its building.
According to Brad Grimm, a spokesman from Sports and Arts Schools Foundation, the programs that the organization generally offers are academic help, including help with homework, tutoring and test preparation, sports programs like basketball, floor hockey, flag football and flag rugby and arts programs like acting, dancing and painting.
What the program at PS/MS 146 will offer, Grimm said, will heavily depend on what the school itself wants.
Collins said that the new OST programs, like the one that will be in Howard Beach, will serve more than 25,000 students in elementary and middle schools in high need areas. It will come at no cost to the families, according to Collins.
According to Grimm, details about how much the program itself will cost are unavailable as of this week.
By Luis Gronda
