RIOC Announces RI Racquet Club Managing Partner Bringing NYC DOE Learning Bridges Child Care Program To Roosevelt Island - What Happened To Island Kids Application For Program?

 Reported last Saturday on a petition drive and virtual rally organized by Island Kids

to bring NYC Department of Education Learning Bridges child care program to Roosevelt Island including statement from NYC Council Member Ben Kallos in support of these efforts. According to Mr. Kallos:

Families and public school students at PS/IS 217 on Roosevelt Island serving 632 students rallied for a “Learning Bridges” - remote learning center - where there currently is none. Island Kids had been working since August to become a Learning Bridges site to serve 45 children, but was rejected on October 27, 2020 with a form letter that included no explanation. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, and Acting RIOC President Shelton Haynes joined Council Member Ben Kallos and more than 40 families for a virtual rally with signs drawn by children calling for the city to open Learning Bridges on Roosevelt Island. An online petition for Learning Bridges started on October 30 has already exceeded 100 signatures....

... Mayor de Blasio must provide more than one hundred Roosevelt Island families with Learning Bridges on Roosevelt Island and work with the providers we’ve lined up on the Island to serve our families and children...

This evening, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) tweeted that the managing partner of Roosevelt Island Racquet Club was bringing a Learning Bridges Program to Roosevelt Island.

 

DOE’s Learning Bridges comes to Roosevelt Island! Approval has been given to HCK Recreation, managing partner of RI Racquet Club, to provide a Learning Lab program. Space will be used at Sportspark, RI Racquet Club & Firefighter's Field. For info, go to https://t.co/hTfiZ1MCqI pic.twitter.com/lkQm7NDlNE

— RIOC NYS (@RIOCny) November 6, 2020

Not known at this time if local child care organization Island Kids is involved in the new Roosevelt Island Learning Bridges program. Stay tuned for more.

More on Roosevelt Island seeking a Learning Bridges program at this prior post.  

UPDATE 11/8 - Statement this evening from Island Kids Executive Director Nikki Leopold:

Dear Parents

By now, most of you have heard the news that a large non profit organization has been awarding a Learning Bridges contract. Island Kids was completely shocked by this news. We received a call from Councilmember Kallos office last Thursday saying that DYCD had deemed our application “not viable” and that the contract had been awarded to another provider. On Friday night, a few hours before the RIOC press release, I received a call from Shelton Haynes, RIOC Interim President with the same news. It would be speculation on our part to suggest which parties knew about and helped plan and implement the program with the new provider. It is clear however that it would be impossible for Island Kids to compete with them.
Of course, we are glad that there will be a Learning Bridges site on the Island to fill the childcare gap that exists for so many working parents. Had anyone at any time approached us with the news that another organization was awarded the contract, we would have accepted the decision, as we did when we were not chosen for the Beacon or Youth Center contracts. We would have been happy to support, and possibly partner with the new provider in any way possible to ensure that the program was successful. We are confused and disappointed that we were kept in the dark.
Thank you so much for your support, for attending the rally, and for signing the petition which now has almost 200 signatures. We will continue to stand with families as this new program is implemented, and act as advocates to ensure that the new provider is held accountable for providing a high quality program that reflects the needs of the community.

Here's the November 6 RIOC Learning Bridges announcement:

HCK Recreation Inc. recently received approval from the City of New York to provide a Learning Lab program for up to 200 seats through the Learning Bridges Initiative. This City funded program will provide, at no charge to families, academic support and enrichment activities from 8 AM to 3 PM weekdays when public schools are in session. The target start date for enrollees is November 18th continuing through the end of the school year (June 23, 2021). Details about enrollment eligibility, which is determined by the Department of Education, are expected to be announced on or before November 10th.

The program will utilize space in the Sportspark facility, located at 250 Main Street, and surrounding outdoor space, the north bubble of the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club, and Firefighters Field. The facilities were thoroughly inspected by the City, culminating in an approved air quality test. 

HCK Recreation Inc., which is the managing partner of the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club, was approved by the City as a qualified provider based on the combination of excellent facilities it could provide as well as HCK’s 20 plus years of experience operating summer day camps licensed by the NYC Department of Health (DOH). Skip Hartman, CEO of HCK, has past experience as the CEO of two charities, NYJTL and Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation, now named New York Edge, that are together the largest (160 schools) provider of afterschool sports, arts, and academic support programs in New York City public schools. 

Shelton J. Haynes, Acting President & CEO of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) stated, “RIOC is in full support of any qualified entity efforts as a provider in securing Learning Bridges programs for Roosevelt Island families and will provide space to make this happen. We understand the challenges that parents are facing with blended learning and are committed to assisting with this effort to bring higher levels of accessibility during this pandemic.” 

Council Member Ben Kallos expressed, "Thank you to the parents and community leaders who organized and have succeeded in getting the City to give them something they need and deserve. The 'Learning Bridges' program has been a huge help to many parents around the City, allowing them to work while their children attend school remotely. Now you can finally add Roosevelt Island parents to that list as well. I am glad we held a rally, and I am proud we made a difference that will benefit families including that of essential workers who fought Covid-19 during the worst moments of this pandemic. Thank you to Mayor de Blasio and to Acting RIOC President & CEO Shelton J. Haynes for putting the community first and getting this done."  

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) said, “As a former teacher, I cannot stress enough the importance of education in a child’s formative years. New York City’s parents should not have to worry about going to work or having their child learn remotely. Learning Bridges solves just that problem and decreases the burden on families so that parents and guardians can go to work, and children can learn.” 

Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (NY-12) said, "I am proud to have joined the rally last Sunday with concerned parents and community leaders including Nikki Leopold, Executive Director of Island Kids to secure 200 seats for the Learning Bridges Program on Roosevelt Island. As a former PTA activist and a public school parent, I understand the importance of no-cost childcare, which is essential to the economic recovery of our city and state during the COVID-19 pandemic. The service provided by the Learning Bridges program to families is invaluable as we return to work and school in the blended model. We fought for this on a unified front to help make the program more accessible to each part of our borough, including Roosevelt Island.”  

Skip Hartman, CEO of HCK stressed that, “The key to success will be our ability to provide sound academic coordination and motivating enrichment activities while maintaining a safe environment for the children and the staff. We do have, thanks to RIOC’s collaboration, fabulous spaces.” HCK has qualified staff on board and is also actively seeking approximately 25 additional staff, that include licensed teachers in math, stem, literacy and technology, college grads, and college students taking a gap year. 

Interested job applicants should contact Paul Fontana at pfontana@advantagetennisclubs.com.