READY TO KICK OFF ANOTHER SEASON OF ITS SUMMER RISING PROGRAM THIS MORNING. MORE THAN 100,000 NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL KIDS WILL HEAD BACK TO THE CLASSROOM. WELL, KIND OF. EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER MEDGIE LIVE IN OZONE PARK, QUEENS, WHERE I'M FROM. REAGAN. THAT'S WHERE I'M FROM. SHE'S RIGHT OUTSIDE EVA 210. YOU'RE ACTUALLY AT MY MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT I GRADUATED FROM. OH, YOU DID WELL, IT SAYS HELLO, SHIRLEEN AND IS SO PROUD OF YOU FOR MAKING IT TO THE BIG LEAGUES. >> SO YES, WE ARE IN OZONE PARK, ALL REPRESENTING OUT HERE. SHIRLEEN ALLICOT GRADUATED FROM THIS MIDDLE SCHOOL A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. JUST A HANDFUL. SO SUMMER RISING IS STARTING TODAY. THE FIRST OFFICIAL DAY, MORE THAN 100,000 STUDENTS HAVE APPLIED. THEY'VE GOT IN. AND THEN TODAY IS DAY ONE. NOW THE SUMMER RISING PROGRAM IS THE CITY'S VERSION OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL PROGRAM. NOW, THIS YEAR CONCERNS, THOUGH, WERE ABOUT THE SUMMER RISING. IF IT WOULD LOOK THE SAME AFTER THE CITY MADE SOME CUTS, BLAMING THE ASYLUM SEEKER CRISIS AND THE PANDEMIC. BUT THE MONEY WAS RESTORED TO ALLOW THE PROGRAM TO RUN FULLY AND FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE IT BEGAN IN 2021 UNDER THE DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WILL COVER ITS ROUGHLY $80 MILLION PORTION OF THE TAB. SUMMER RISING COSTS ABOUT $350 MILLION TO OPERATE, AND EACH YEAR MORE STUDENTS ARE APPLYING. SO TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THIS YEAR ALONE, OUT OF 138,000 STUDENTS, 110,000 GOT IN NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS. CHANCELLOR DAVID BANKS SPOKE TO BILL RITTER FOR UP CLOSE, THE BIGGEST INITIATIVE THAT WE PUT IN PLACE WAS NYC READS. >> GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR KIDS ARE ON GRADE LEVEL FOR READING. SO WE NOT ONLY INCREASED OUR READING THIS PAST YEAR, BUT WE ALSO INCREASED IN MATH BY DOUBLE DIGITS. AND, AND WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO, BUT ENROLLMENT IS UP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN EIGHT YEARS. READING IS UP, MATH IS UP, WE FEEL LIKE IT'S A REALLY RECONNECTING BACK WITH SCHOOL AGAIN. >> AND SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR, YOU JUST HEARD DAVID BANKS. HE WILL BE HERE AT MISS 210 HERE IN OZONE PARK LATER ON THIS MORNING TO WELCOME ALL THE KIDS FOR THIS NEW SESSION AND SEASON OF SUMMER RISING. AND PLEASE