Back-to-school spending nationwide is projected to reach close to $36.1 billion this year, an increase of over 6% from last year.

As costs add up, many parents are looking for ways to make their budgets stretch further. One way families are doing that is by starting their shopping earlier and spreading out purchases. The National Retail Federation says 62% of parents started shopping by early July.

Rachel Herth, a mother in Bay Shore, is waiting for sales and buying what she needs a little at a time.

"I am doing it in bits and pieces, rather than all at once because I am trying to catch up on the sales," Herth said.

For families who may not have the flexibility to spread out those costs, local nonprofits are stepping in to help. At the United Way of Long Island, the organization's Stuff the Bus campaign is returning for its 18th year, with partners and sponsors helping provide backpacks and school supplies to nearly 5,000 students.

Carolyn Eckert of the United Way of Long Island knows how important that assistance can be for children whose families are struggling with the cost of getting ready for school.

"We know that families are struggling, especially at this time," Eckert said. "We know that there are children that can walk in feeling less than."

There may be fewer resources available to those who need help, as some Long Island organizations are facing challenges. At Angels of Long Island in Patchogue, organizers are also working to help families prepare for the school year. They say a lack of financial support could affect this year's back-to-school giveaway.

"Due to the economic downturn, it's obvious that folks don't have a lot to donate," Patricia Peterson of Angels of Long Island said.

Local organizations say they will continue to do what they can to ensure students have what they need when the school year begins.

Labor Day isn't until Sept. 7, creating an even longer gap between the end of most summer programs and the start of school.

Extending programming

Most camps across the Tri-State Area end in mid-August, and most schools don't start classes until after Labor Day, leaving a two-to-three-week gap to fill.

Many camps can't extend, however, because they are staffed in large part by students.

"A lot of those students are going back to college," said Leah Fox, director of Vance Wall Art Education Center. "That really defines how long we can function."

In New York City, more than 100,000 children rely on the city's free Summer Rising program, but it ends Aug.14. Advocates suggest funding from unused seats could help extend.

"Maybe we can take some of that money to support late programming later on in the summer to fill that gap," said Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, president of Community Education Council 4 Harlem.

The 92nd Street Y is also trying to fill this year's extra-long gap with a new program called Summer Send-Off.

The YMCA, JCC and Police Athletic League also have late-summer options with some openings.

"A nightmare for families"

Montclair Art Museum Camp in New Jersey runs until Aug. 21, a week longer than many camps, but after that, parents still have two more weeks of childcare to figure out, and the cost of piecing it all together adds up. 

"The end of the summer is a nightmare for families," parent Katie Wassel said. "It definitely highlights the disparities around childcare."

Parent Keri Setaro said she's trying a camp search website called Camperoo, which finds camps by location, date and availability.

"We still have another week that I have zero idea what I'm going to do," she said.

Where to find late-summer camp programs

The following camps may have programs and spaces still available past Aug. 14:

New York City

• YMCA of Greater NY (ends Aug. 21): ymcanyc.org
• Boys & Girls Club of Harlem: harlembgc.org
• Police Athletic League: palnyc.org
• Park Slope Day Camp (ends Aug. 21): parkslopedaycamp.com
• Movement Climbing (ends Aug. 21): movementgyms.com
• Fastbreak Sports (ends Sept. 4): fastbreaksports.com

Long Island

• Camp W (ends Aug. 28): campw.com
• North Shore Day Camp (ends Aug. 21): northshoredaycamp.com
• Camps 'R' Us (ends Aug. 21): campsrus.org
• YMCA of Long Island (ends Aug. 21): ymcali.org

Westchester County

• Camp Hillard (ends Aug. 20): camphillard.com
• Westchester Parks Nature Camps - Hilltop Hanover (Pre-K/K only) (ends Aug. 21): westchestergov.com

New Jersey

• JCC Camps at Medford (ends Aug. 14): jccotp.org
• Kaplen JCC on the Palisades: jccotp.org; contact Carli Bushoven (201) 408-1409

The $67.5 million investment will help children access the program earlier and closer to home. Specialized programs Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path and ACES will become available in 14 districts across the five boroughs starting in the fall.

The money will also go toward hiring more staff to reduce evaluation wait times, expand bilingual testing options and help families navigate the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process.

Hundreds of new staff members being hired

"Every child deserves to learn and grow in their community, and every family deserves a public education system that meets them exactly where they are," Mamdani said in a statement. 

Preschool Regional Assessment Centers will be getting new employees, including psychologists, social workers, speech evaluators and occupational therapists.

The Special Education Itinerant Teacher Program will also grow with special education teachers being placed in general classrooms to help students with IEPs learn alongside their peers. 

"This investment is about strengthening the foundation, and when we get early childhood education right, we set children up for a lifetime of success," said city Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels.

Families react

Erica Cabrera's son, 4-year-old Erian Rivas, is in pre-K. He has autism. 

"He was at risk of going to a classroom with much more children," Cabrera said. "And it's conducive for him. He thrives in a small setting." 

Cabrera thanked Mamdani and other city leaders for the $67.5 million budget investment. 

"No family has to go without just because their child needs a little extra help and it means having an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP, that does not deny their child the same opportunities as their peers to get a strong start in life," Mamdani said. 

Districts included in expansion

• District 2: PS 042 Benjamin Altman 
• District 5: PS 133 Fred R. Moore 
• District 6: PS 005 Ellen Lurie 
• District 7: Academy of Exploratory Arts 
• District 9: PS 028 Mount Hope, P.S. 058, P.S. 070 Max Schoenfeld, P.S. 063X Author's Academy, and Lucero Elementary School 
• District 10: P.S. 310 Marble Hill, PS 023 The New Children's School, Rose Hill Pre-K Center 
• District 11: P.S. 068 Bronx, P.S. 111 Seton Falls, P.S. 121 Throop 
• District 12: P.S. 006 West Farms, Samara Community School 
• District 14: P.S. 147 Isaac Remsen 
• District 15: P.S. 015 Patrick Daly, P.S. 024, P.S. 958 
• District 20: D20 Pre-K Center 
• District 21: P.S. 212 Lady Deborah Moody 
• District 30: P.S. 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School, P.S. 171 Peter G. Van Alst 
• District 31: P.S. 054 Charles W. Leng 

"I just want justice served for my daughter," Portia Duncan said. 

Mother claims 7-year-old never should have been taken away

Breaking her silence through tears, the Mastic mother called her daughter her best friend.

"She was such a smart, sweet, fun, girly girl," she said.

Jor'Dynn Duncan was removed from her mother's custody because of substance abuse and mental health concerns, but was then placed in the home of Emily Kelly, where the 7-year-old allegedly endured torture.

"They need to do more protecting of our kids because there are no other hands she should have been in than mine," Portia Duncan said. "I might have been an addict, but I was ... I was a damn good mother." 

Here's what Portia Duncan alleges  

Portia Duncan filed a notice of claim accusing Suffolk County of failing to vet Kelly, failing to monitor Jor'Dynn, and accusing her school district of failing to report chronic absence. The lawsuit claims when she did attend, she wore heavy makeup to hide her injuries.

"All they had to do was look at Jor'Dynn that was in plain sight," attorney Derek Sells said.

The lawsuit also alleges racial bias in the decision to remove Jor'Dynn Duncan from her biological family and place her with Kelly, the fiancée of her incarcerated father, and missing red flags.

"There were two deaths under watch that were very suspicious in nature," Sells said.

"[They] took her from the place where she never missed any school, was getting swimming lessons, and put her into a house of horrors and death," said Lowanda Williams, also an attorney for Jor'Dynn Duncan's estate.

Neither Suffolk County nor the Bayport-Blue Point School District would comment due to the litigation, but County Executive Ed Romaine has blamed the placement on a judge -- not Child Protective Services.

The commissioner of the New York State Education Department annulled the results of the Hempstead Union Free School District's May 19 trustee election and ordered a revote be held within 60 days.

Video allegedly shows clerk ripping up ballots

Randy Stith, former Hempstead Board of Education president, said video and photos show the school district clerk smuggling absentee ballots for the incumbent candidate. The clerk later allegedly ripped them in half and threw them into the garbage.

"There's always been suspicions that, you know, the elections were being tainted by voter fraud, but here's the proof," Stith said. "We have video footage. We have still pictures."

Both the clerk and the incumbent candidate declined comment.

In a statement, the district said, in part:

"The Board appreciates the Commissioner's expeditious review of this matter, which enables the District to move forward with the revote in accordance with the Commissioner's ruling. The Board is committed to ensuring that the revote is conducted fairly, transparently, and in full compliance with all applicable legal requirements, while facilitating a seamless Board transition prior to the start of the 2026–2027 school year in September."

In a statement, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office said, "NCDA has received a referral from the Hempstead School Board and is reviewing the allegations. We decline further comment."

A 51-page petition has been filed by the district with the state.  

Revote to be held in Hempstead

Candidate Caprice Rines said she and the two others vying for the seat have been cheated.

"This is a definite conspiracy of voter fraud," she said. "We are disenfranchised in this situation."

The Hempstead school board president said they are committed to ensuring the revote is fair, transparent and in full compliance with all legal requirements.

"We want the community to know that we're gonna do our very best to ensure that this election runs correctly," school board trustee Lamont Johnson said.

"The great thing now is students have a voice on the Boards of Education as student ex officio, so they're even closer to the process," Hempstead Schools Superintendent Gary Rush said.

"Please tell your loved ones, tell your elders, your mothers, your fathers, your grandparents, step out to the polls," Hempstead Board of Education President Jeffery Spencer said. "Help them to the polls. That way, your vote counts."

She said it's not just an effort to prevent drownings.

Principal hopes to provide opportunity she didn't have herself

When Jamie Hendrickson learned to swim as an adult, she found herself taking lessons alongside children.

"I learned to swim in my early 40s, and I swam and learned with 8-year-olds. So looking at how they navigated the water within weeks, I said it makes sense for us to get our students in the water," said Hendrickson, principal of Meyer Levin School for the Performing Arts in East Flatbush.

The experience inspired Hendrickson to launch a partnership swim program using the high school's newly renovated pool with two colleagues:  Sanatha Alexis, principal of Cultural Academy for the Arts and Sciences, and Linton Atkinson, principal of Richard R. Green Elementary School.

The goal is to provide students with access to swimming instruction, both during and after the school day, that Hendrickson said was unavailable to her growing up.

"I grew up in the projects. I grew up in East New York. We didn't have access to the pool. My parents did not take us to the beach," she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14. The CDC also reports that for Black people younger than 30, drowning rates are 1.5 times higher than for White people of the same age.  

But for Hendrickson, the program is about more than water safety.

"It made sense to capture them early in elementary school, get them over their fear of water," she told Brooklyn reporter Hannah Kliger. "They'll love to swim in middle school. And as we continue to build out the initiative, they'll learn to swim and become lifeguards."

"You just feel, like, free"

Since the start of the year, certified instructors have been teaching students swimming fundamentals and water safety skills.

"It's really risky to go in a pool or a beach without learning how to swim," said 13-year-old Wynter Williams.

"People who do know how to swim might help the people who don't know how to swim," 12-year old Crissan Broadbelt said.

Students realize this is an opportunity that would otherwise be unavailable to them. 

"I'd never been to a school, or heard of a school, that takes you to a different school to swim," said 13-year-old Chelsea Toussaint.

As New York City students head into summer vacation this week, participants say they are eager to put their new skills to use during the season's hottest days.

"You just feel, like, free," said 13-year-old Jasmine Clement.

"It's also like exercise, so that's good, too," Toussaint added.

The program's organizers hope the initiative will continue expanding next school year.

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From the moment the switch was flipped in January of 2025, this endeavor has grown exponentially. Rows of fresh vegetables, from cucumbers to kale to basil to arugula, are all grown there, and the kids are responsible for it.

"There's not a lot of healthy alternatives to eat in schools"

"I've been working with the hydroponics clubs since freshman year, and in the beginning we had a much smaller operation upstairs in a classroom with, like, only two little towers. And now to have this much expansion is really impressive, because it just shows how much the scale can move towards, you know, increasing production. And then also it's much faster at growing," student Winter Collin said. 

The students recognized a nutritional void. 

"Usually in a lot of schools, especially in New York City, there's not a lot of healthy alternatives to eat in schools or not even just in schools in your community. There's not lot of healthy alternatives," student Fama Sall said. 

"Everyone deserves a chance at good, high quality, healthy, clean produce"

At the school, the definition of a "maker" is "when we see a human need that is not being met, we make things." The hydroponic farm will grow 10,000 pounds of produce annually for free community distributions with their partners at Gotham Park, which provides fresh produce to NYCHA houses. They fill the cafeteria salad bar, and for families of Maker students.

"One of our key things that we have to keep in mind whenever we're doing this kind of work is food justice. And it's the idea that no matter who you are or where you are, everyone deserves a chance at good, high quality, healthy, clean produce. So in a city where, as I said before, inequality is visible, it's definitely valuable. And it makes me happy to do this kind of work," student Marcus Perez said. 

"Twice a month, we get produce [to] the entire campus. So all four schools, staff, janitors, the police guards, anybody can come and get a full bag of produce. Every single Thursday, we give to Gotham Park, which is our community partner. They run the park right underneath the two bridges, and they give away to the elderly, the seniors, anyone with assisted living in the neighborhood. And we also do after school programming," student Francesca Whitecross said. 

"A great opportunity for expanding what we're learning"

The deep-rooted level of interest and involvement of the students, the ability to see a problem and fix it is the kind of growth Maker students experience. On the big harvest day. The bags of fresh vegetables on the move seem endless. The assembly line of fresh produce is then en route to those in need. 

"It's incredible. I think having a resource like this is really impressive and very unique for our high school, but also a great opportunity for expanding what we're learning outside of just typical math, science, history," Collin said.

Instead, they are making history. The in-school hydroponic farm has grown rows of produce and greens as far as the eye can see, and all of the students see to it that no one is left out. 

"It makes like all these students, I feel they can make a change, like, especially through harvesting," said Sall. 

"It's honestly astounding the amount of progress that we've made in this school as, you know, an educational institution. It is great to give people from all across this city this type of opportunity," Perez said. 

"We got a lot of interesting takes about kohlrabi, or collards, or arugula, and then coming out of the classroom saying, hey, actually, I'm going to come back during lunch and get some more. Or I'm gonna come back after school and take some extra basil to bring home to my family and show them how I cooked it in class. And that's felt really good," said Whitecross.