Oversight – Afterschool Expansion and DYCD’s Concept Paper

Hon. Althea Stevens, Chair

Thursday, September 18, 2025

Thank you for holding this oversight hearing on Afterschool Expansion and the Department of Youth and Community Development’s (DYCD) Concept Paper. 

My name is Kimberly Olsen, and I am the Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable — a nonprofit arts service organization working to improve and advance NYC arts education in partnership with thousands of arts educators and more than 350 arts organizations each year. I’m here as part of the It Starts with the Arts coalition to advocate for the crucial role of arts education in afterschool programs.

Arts are a critical access point for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, critical thinking, career readiness, and literacy development. I have seen firsthand how arts education impacts young people. As a teaching artist in the afterschool space for many years, I’ve had students come to school because they knew we would be working on our original play inspired by Rosa Parks. I’ve seen students with emerging English language skills, stand confidently in front of a room and choreograph a dance for their peers. By integrating the arts into STEAM-based afterschool programs, we can provide safe, inclusive spaces for young people and help them develop 21st-century life skills.

New York City’s existing arts and cultural infrastructure is a vital resource in this work. Existing models like NYCPS Arts Partnership Grants and the City Council’s CASA Program, provide strong examples of how artists and our city’s world-class arts organizations can be partners in creating enriching afterschool programs.

I urge the City Council to consider the following recommendations to ensure arts education is a central component of afterschool expansion:

• Shift from STEM to STEAM: Shift the focus from STEM to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, and Math) to recognize the vital role of arts in student development and engagement.

• Require Professional Arts Instruction in DYCD’s RFP: DYCD’s RFP for afterschool programs must explicitly solicit proposals with robust arts components and recognize the costs associated with providing professional arts instruction (full cost estimated at $20k-30k for the school year). DYCD should also ensure that arts programming is delivered by qualified teaching artists and/or arts organizations to guarantee the highest quality of direct service while offering employment opportunities to NYC’s cultural workforce.

• Encourage Partnership with Artists & Arts Organizations: Require that a minimum percentage of program budgets be spent engaging specialist subcontractors, and encourage partnerships with local arts organizations and artists to fill Activity Specialist roles with highly-qualified Teaching Artists. Uplift available opportunities to subcontract through afterschool matching fairs, target information campaign, and/or partnership with NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. 

• Recognize the Role of Arts in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Arts is a proven medium for helping youth develop SEL skills, with clear documented research on the intersection of arts education and competencies like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision-making.

• Uplift Nonprofits in Equity Initiatives: When uplifting the call to engage Minority and Women Business Enterprises, also uplift nonprofits, many of whom are historically founded and/or led by individuals of color but are unable to earn M/WBE status.

Thank you for your attention and consideration of these recommendations. Investing in arts education is an investment in our future, and a crucial component of a comprehensive afterschool expansion strategy.