CEO Rachael Gazdick says New York Edge concentrated on providing a vast range of activities — arts and sports, chess and robotics, cooking and career readiness. A fair at the end of the program will highlight students’ achievements. [read more]

New York Edge, which runs after-school and summer programs, kicked off the program with a Read-a-thon. Authors and illustrators met virtually with students to talk about books on Thursday. [read more]

The New York City Department of Education has acknowledged how difficult the past year has been for students as they’ve navigated remote learning, discrepancies in access to technology, and the general uncertainty of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. [read more]

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, a local McDonald’s owner honored a Whitestone educator for New York Edge — the city’s largest provider of after-school programming — for her unwavering commitment to her students and their families, particularly amid the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Megan Basaldua, who teaches visual arts and literacy at P.S. 193, and her students were surprised on Wednesday, May 5, with McDonald’s meals from owner/operator Patrick Miller and Councilman Paul Vallone who joined in the celebration. [read more]

Given his background in nonprofit programming, as the director of finance for New York Edge, Ruben Gonzalez says he has made it his mission to bridge the gap between the sector’s finance and programming departments.

“There’s always this disconnection … one doesn’t understand what the other does and I think that’s extremely crucial to actually grasp what are each other’s responsibilities to better be efficient,” Gonzalez says.

Before switching to the financial side of the nonprofit sector, Gonzalez spent 10 years in nonprofit programming. During his career, he has served as a case-plan manager with the New York Urban League and as a Learning to Work program director with Harlem Renaissance High School. He also provided parenting workshops and school-aged workshops at the New York City Mission Society.

When Gonzalez joined New York Edge, he started as a program manager overseeing seven to eight after-school programs before transferring to the finance department as a budget compliance supervisor, overseeing $33 million in government contract funding.

Recalling his own childhood in the Bronx, Gonzalez says he owes his success to programs like those provided by New York Edge, pointing to the influence of the organization’s Champions Club, which provides a wide range of enrichment opportunities.

“It’s always been a passion of mine to work in the communities that I was raised in,” Gonzalez says.

In the future, Gonzalez says his goal is to build reserves and endowments for the organization to be less reliant on contract funding. [see the full article here]

The seventh grader, who moved to the U.S. a few years ago from Guyana, adopted her father’s love for the sport. She has been playing competitively for two years now and says chess has helped her through these COVID-19 times.

“Teachers assign a lot of assignments and it’s kind of stressful, but, you know, chess gives me something to like depend on. After a long day, I know that when I’m done, like school and everything, I can just go, you know, play a chess game, relax and enjoy it,” Jessica said. [read more]

New York Edge is ramping up efforts to aid working parents who are continuing to struggle with managing their child’s remote learning during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [read more]

For more information on our Learning Labs and how to enroll, please visit newyorkedge.org/learninglabs