It’s been a challenging year for Yessica Covar and her two children. The family moved here from Venezuela to seek asylum amid an influx of similar newcomers. They don’t speak English, and they live in a shelter in Manhattan. But there’s one bright spot at this difficult time: the children’s school, PS 30, in Harlem.

“The children are progressing, and they love to come to school,” said Covar in Spanish through a translator. “As soon as you enter the building, you’re greeted with a smile. There’s high-quality education and high-quality personal attention,” she said.

Covar’s children, in 1st and 4th grade, were two of the 76 new students that PS 30 enrolled in October, successfully averting a $260,000 enrollment-based budget cut.

The school launched its student recruitment drive in early October, when a budget consultant hired by the school informed the principal, Leonna Austin, that the school was going to lose funding because it had 30 fewer students than projected in July. Through the pandemic, schools were held harmless when actual enrollment was lower than projected. But this year, the Adams administration reverted to the prior policy of cutting school budgets midyear if enrollment did not meet projects.

PS 30 is in East Harlem, a neighborhood with the highest concentration of charter schools in New York City. It shares a building with a Success Academy Charter School.

PS 30 Community School Director Ronald Thomas said his school loses students at a high rate to nearby charters with their flashy marketing campaigns, “but a lot of families come back.” 

Families are drawn to PS 30’s wraparound services, community partnerships and warm, welcoming culture. The school offers dentistry and vision programs, after-school and morning care, food giveaways, clothing drives and parent engagement events like book giveaways and cultural festivals. 

Spearheaded by Principal Austin, the school launched the “30 by the 30th” campaign to attract 30 new families with the school’s offerings.

School staff started by speaking with families outside nearby charter schools, inspiring five students to enroll.

Then, an asylum-seeking family from a shelter about five miles away enrolled their child at PS 30.  “We said, ‘Hey, you’re coming from very far’,” said Thomas. The mother, he said, told him that the commute seemed worth it after she heard about “all the great programming” at PS 30.

Inspired by her story, the school started reaching out to nearby shelters housing newcomer families. After PS 30 staff assured shelter social workers that the school would prioritize bussing and other support for the families, the social workers relayed the message to their residents, who began enrolling their children.

“We’ve welcomed them with open arms,” said UFT Chapter Leader Rudine Wright of the new families. The school, she said, has helped parents with clothing drives, translation assistance and other support.

By the end of October, PS 30 had 76 new students — more than double its goal — and now a budget increase of $85,000.

How will it use the additional funds?

“More Spanish-speaking paras and more curricula in Spanish,” said Principal Austin.