Students Urge Dept. of Education to Restore Afterschool Arts Provider
Robert F. Wagner Middle School students rallied on May 21, urging city officials to reconsider the removal of Manhattan Youth from afterschool programs.
| 27 May 2026 | 01:56
Middle School Students seek signatures to a petition to the Department of Education, urging the city restore the provider of its after school arts program. The DOE is switching from Manhattan Youth to another provider, irking parents. (
)
QR code to sign the petition and read more information about what’s going on with the after school program. Some students are protesting the switch by the Department of Ed. to a new after-school provider. (
)
Students, parents and community members rallied outside Robert F. Wagner Middle School at 220 E. 76th St. on May 21, protesting the decision by the Department of Education (DOE) to replace longtime afterschool provider Manhattan Youth at several Manhattan middle schools.
The rally was part of a broader wave of demonstrations organized after families learned the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development had reassigned afterschool contracts for the upcoming school year. Parents and school leaders said the process lacked transparency and did not include meaningful input from school communities.
A May 23 email from PTA leaders criticized the decision-making process, calling it “a rushed and opaque process that excluded the very stakeholders most impacted by the outcome.”
At the Wagner rally, students said they were concerned about the impact the changes could have on long-standing programs and relationships within their school communities.
“This new program, IF, is coming, trying to take Manhattan Youth away from us after we already established a community here,” said Ava, a student at Wagner Middle School. “It’s not OK with our school.”
Families and PTA supporters of Manhattan Youth said the organization has provided athletics, arts, tutoring and enrichment programming at several schools for more than a decade. Parents expressed concern that incoming providers may not offer the same range of programming or familiarity with middle school communities.
The dispute centers on contracts awarded through the city’s COMPASS afterschool program. Parents questioned why some schools retained Manhattan Youth while others were assigned new providers.
According to organizers, rallies were held at Wagner Middle School and at J.H.S. 104 Simon Baruch, at 330 E. 21st St. Community members, alumni, incoming families and students attended.
A petition calling for the reinstatement of Manhattan Youth partnerships had gathered nearly 5,000 signatures by May 26. Organizers also circulated a QR code at the rally that links directly to the petition’s Change.org page, encouraging attendees to sign, share and follow updates on the effort.
The city has said afterschool programs will remain free and continue to provide safe and enriching activities for students during the transition.
Still, families said the issue extends beyond programming, pointing to the relationships built between students and afterschool staff members over many years.
Our Town has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.