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Announcements

• Updated Message From Chancellor Carranza regarding Parent Teacher Conferences, Pre-k-3k & "Weekend Wellness" activities for families.

  Last Friday, I shared that I will be stepping down later this month, passing the privilege and responsibility of being Chancellor to Meisha Porter, a 20-year veteran of the DOE currently serving as Bronx Executive Superintendent. As Executive Superintendent Porter and I work together on the transition, I want to make sure you are aware of some important opportunities coming up over the next few weeks.

  First, I’m beyond thrilled that we have finally reopened our middle schools for in-person learning. This is a milestone I have been looking forward to and I was excited to visit middle schools to see our students and teachers hard at work in healthy, safe, and supportive classrooms. As with our elementary grades, all middle schools have 20 percent of students and staff randomly tested on a weekly basis. Just as in our elementary grades, middle school students must also provide consent for COVID-19 testing by their first scheduled in-person learning day. You can do this through your NYC Schools Account at mystudent.nyc

  We are all-hands-on-deck to reopen our high schools as quickly as possible. Our main focus continues to be making sure we have every safety precaution in place, and we will announce a timeline soon.

  As we enter the last few months of the school year, I’m pleased to offer several programs and opportunities to further support you and your children. In this Update for Families, you will find important information and resources on:

  • Preparing for Parent Teacher Conferences
  • Applying for Pre-K and 3-K for Fall 2021
  • Participating in “Weekend Wellness” activities for families and communities 

  I realize we’re all experiencing pandemic fatigue, but when I see what our students are accomplishing—both in-person and remotely—I am reminded of why we have all worked so hard these past 11 months. My pledge to you is as true today as it was when I began leading the most innovative school system in the nation: that all of us at the Department of Education will continue to deliver the best possible education to all our students, in the safest possible environments. 

  Preparing for Parent Teacher Conferences

  Beginning Wednesday, March 3, public schools across the five boroughs will host this year’s second round of Parent Teacher Conferences remotely. Your child’s teacher will work with you to schedule a conference at a mutually convenient time. Your child will be dismissed three hours early on the date of their school’s afternoon conferences.

  Parent Teacher Conferences provide families with great opportunities to talk with teachers about what their children are experiencing and learning in school. These short meetings also give families and teachers the chance to discuss how to support student learning outside of the classroom. 

  We encourage you to use this time to focus on any challenges or concerns your child might be facing in school as we approach the final months of the school year.

  Here is the schedule for the spring conferences:

  • March 3: Elementary and K–8 schools, Evening conferences 
  • March 4: Elementary and K–8 schools, Afternoon conferences 
  • March 10: Middle schools and D75 schools and programs, Evening conferences 
  • March 11: Middle schools and D75 schools and programs, Afternoon conferences
  • March 18: High schools, K–12, and 6–12 schools, Evening conferences
  • March 19: High schools, K–12, and 6–12 schools, Afternoon conferences

  Please note: 

  • These dates and times may vary by school and grade level. We recommend reaching out to your child's teachers or your school's administration to confirm your school's conference dates and times this month.

  Applying for Pre-K and 3-K for Fall 2021 

  Children who attend 3-K and Pre-K for All get a strong start in school and life. They learn to problem-solve, ask questions, and explore the world around them. Now more than ever, 3-K and Pre-K for All programs are here to provide children across the city with a safe, nurturing learning community. 

  The Pre-K for All application for the 2021– 2022 school year is now open, and the deadline to apply is April 7, 2021. All New York City families with children born in 2017 can apply. There is a pre-K seat for every four-year-old; submit an application for your best chance at getting an offer to a program you want. Learn more at Pre-K.

  Participating in Weekend Wellness for Families 

  The Office of School Wellness Programs is partnering with Hip Hop Public Health (hhph.org(Open external link)) for a free, three-part, monthly Saturday morning event series, Weekend Wellness: Self-Care for Communities and Families. We encourage everyone to join us for these Saturday-morning events from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.:

  • March 20: Mental health and physical activity 
  • April 24: Racism and the connection to health/stress 

  For more information and to register for these events, visit conta.cc/3u8lqOU

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• Message from Chancellor Carranza

   

  Dear Families, 

  I hope you and your families are keeping safe and healthy. I’m writing today with some important news.

  After three years leading the DOE, I will be stepping down as Chancellor in March.

  I am full of mixed emotions to leave the DOE family. It has been the honor of my career to serve you, and help your child’s school and our whole system get closer to reaching its full potential. The strength and resilience of your children—our 1 million students—is awe-inspiring. It is what drove me through this unprecedented crisis, and it is what I take with me as I leave this post. The commitment and support you have shown to your children, and to your school communities, is incredible.

  Throughout my career, my guiding light has been the belief that public education is the most powerful equalizer for children. Public education anchors communities. Public education makes it possible for a child who is poor, or who lives in temporary housing, or—in my own case—who doesn’t speak English when they enter the public school system to develop their dreams, and then to chase them. Truly, it is public education that expresses the highest ideals of our democracy. My time in New York City has only strengthened this belief, as I have seen it play out time and again, in schools all across the boroughs.

  And together, we have seen proof. Our seniors kept breaking their own records as graduation rates and college enrollment kept rising higher, and the dropout rate kept getting lower. We also made true progress in dismantling the structures and policies that are the products of decades of entrenched racism in the city and country. We have worked to undo segregation and turn “equity” from an esoteric concept to a reality. Every school that no longer screens children for admission, and every district that uses DOE resources to create more space for low-income students, or English language learners, is making this mission real. We finally brought the mental health of our children into the spotlight and made it a major priority so that every child can feel welcomed, comfortable, and safe in their classroom and school community—especially now, when so many of our students are dealing with unforeseeable trauma. And, of course, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic we transformed the nation’s largest school system overnight in order to protect the health of our students, staff, families, and communities. We have reinvented what it means to teach and learn in New York City public schools.

  All throughout, I have been proud to prioritize what’s best for kids over what’s politically popular. I have never been afraid of hard conversations. I have always believed that we need to set a high bar for every student—and then do what it takes to help them meet it. You, your children, and the dedicated staff who serve you deserve both continuity and courageous leadership from your next Chancellor. You need someone who knows firsthand the reality on the ground at our schools, and has the talent and leadership to finish the school year out strong and drive towards bringing every child back to buildings in September.

  That is why I am so proud that one of the most important leaders in this work will take on the privilege and responsibility of being your next Chancellor: Meisha Porter. Meisha is a 20-year veteran of New York City public schools, and currently serves as Bronx Executive Superintendent. In this role, she leads community school districts 7-12, covering the entire borough and its 361 schools and 235,000 students. She is a lifelong New Yorker and product of our public schools who first joined the Department of Education as a teacher at the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice—a school she helped conceive. After 18 years at the school, where she became Principal, Meisha spent three years as Superintendent of District 11, serving the Pelham Parkway, Eastchester, and Woodlawn neighborhoods of the Bronx.

  She has been Executive Superintendent since 2018, and in that time, the students of the Bronx have achieved significant academic gains, and schools have gotten stronger and stronger. Meisha is an unparalleled warrior for our students and our schools. She attended them, she taught in them, she led them, and now she will be Chancellor for ALL of them. None of the last several Chancellors—myself included—have been actively working with our schools, day in and day out, at the time they were appointed. Meisha will break the mold, bringing all her experience, past and present, to support you and your children. You will be hearing much more from Meisha soon, and I will be working with her over the next several weeks to ensure a smooth and productive transition. More than anything, I am proud to have served you, and so proud of the strides we have made. I don’t know what’s next for me, but I know I will take the spirit and richness of New York City with me anywhere and everywhere I go. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your Chancellor. I am grateful to each and every one of you.

  Sincerely,

  Richard A. Carranza

  Chancellor New York City Department of Education

   

   

   

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• February 2021 Newsletter

  Check out our February 2021 Newsletter 

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• Sign Up For Your Childs New York City School Accounts!

  Did you know you can access your child's: Grades,  Attendance, IEP & NYS Test Scores.

  Have you ever needed your child's? COVID form, Report Card, Transportation Information, Transcript, Summer School Information.

  It just takes 5 minutes  to sign up!  Please Contact your Parent Coordinator Rramirez9@schools.nyc.gov  to obtain your account creation code. Parents please visit NYC Schools Account Sign up.

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• Take the Fall 2020 School Experience Survey!

  Please complete the Fall 2020 School Experience Survey.  Please visit 2020 Survey  to complete one today. The survey period will end on February 5,2021.Thank you in advance for your continued support. 

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• 5th Grade Parent Workshop: How to complete the Middle School Application

  Attention 5th grade Parents, please join us for a parent workshop on "How to complete the Middle School Application ". This meeting will be held from January 19-22 via google meets from 3:00pm-4:00pm. We look forward to meeting with you. Please join us: https://meet.google.com/cii-imuj-bcr

  Learn About: MySchools Account, Middle School Directory, District 10 Virtual Open House, Application Deadline.

   

   

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• The Kindergarten application deadline has been extended to this Friday, January 22, 2021.

  NYC DOE's Kindergarten Application has been extended

  The Kindergarten application deadline has been extended to this Friday, January 22, 2021. Here's how to apply:

  1. Choose up to 12 schools that you’d like your child to attend.
  2. Add these programs to their kindergarten application.
  3. Order these school choices in the application from favorite to least favorite, with your favorite school at the top as #1. 

  Your child will get an offer to your highest possible choice considering the factors discussed in the “Learn How Students Get Offers” section above.

  Please note:

  • Some elementary schools also offer Dual Language program or programs. To apply to a Dual Language program, add it to your child’s application. 
  • If you’d like your child to attend your zoned school, be sure to add it to your application; however, you don’t have to place it as your first choice. 
  • Submit only one application per child. 

  You can submit your kindergarten application one of two ways:

  • Online with https://www.myschools.nyc/en/ in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Haitian Creole, Korean, or French. 
  • By phone at 718-935-2009. If you are applying by phone, interpretation services are available in more than 200 languages.

  Kindergarten admissions is not first come, first served—all applications submitted online, by phone, or in person by the deadline will be treated the same based on admissions priorities.

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• NYC DOE's Kindergarten Application is Now Open

  The kindergarten application is open! The deadline to apply is January 19, 2021. Here's how to apply:

  1. Choose up to 12 schools that you’d like your child to attend.
  2. Add these programs to their kindergarten application.
  3. Order these school choices in the application from favorite to least favorite, with your favorite school at the top as #1. 

  Your child will get an offer to your highest possible choice considering the factors discussed in the “Learn How Students Get Offers” section above.

  Please note:

  • Some elementary schools also offer Dual Language program or programs. To apply to a Dual Language program, add it to your child’s application. 
  • If you’d like your child to attend your zoned school, be sure to add it to your application; however, you don’t have to place it as your first choice. 
  • Submit only one application per child. 

  You can submit your kindergarten application one of two ways:

  • Online with MySchools in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Haitian Creole, Korean, or French. 
  • By phone at 718-935-2009. If you are applying by phone, interpretation services are available in more than 200 languages.

  Kindergarten admissions is not first come, first served—all applications submitted online, by phone, or in person by the deadline will be treated the same based on admissions priorities.

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• Middle School Applications Open January 11, 2021 !

  The middle school application for students entering middle school in fall 2021 will open the week of January 11, 2021 and the deadline to apply is February 9.

  When the application period is open, you will be able to access your child's personalized online application. Then, when you're logged in to your MySchools account, you can see and explore every middle school program where they are eligible to apply. From these options, you can add up to 12 middle school programs to your child’s application. Add the programs that interest you and your child the most and rank them in your true order of preference in the application.

  • Consider adding the programs where your child has an admissions priority or guarantee, such as their zoned school(s) or continuing school. You do not have to place any of these programs as your first choice to keep your priority.
  • Make an appointment to talk to your child's school counselor. Discuss your child's middle school application choices and how you plan to rank them.
  • Use MySchools to explore your child's middle school options

  This year, DOE public middle schools that used to screen applicants will not use academic records, auditions, or other screens or assessments to evaluate or admit students. Screening will be paused for 2021 admissions, meaning for students applying to middle schools this winter and entering middle school in fall 2021.

  • If any middle school program has more applicants than available seats, offers will be made to that program using admissions priorities and randomly assigned numbers (as in a lottery). This is how most middle school programs in New York City already admit ted students.
  • We will initiate further talks with school communities to help inform the use of screens for future years.

  Questions? We're here to help.

  • Talk to your school counselor
  • Contact the DOE at 718-935-2009
  • Contact a Family Welcome Center

  Sign up for the middle school admissions email list and the DOE will notify you when the application opens! You will also get updates, key date reminders, and tips throughout the admissions process.

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• January 2021 Newsletter

  Check out our January 2021 Newsletter !

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