Show Love to NYC's Educators During Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6–10)
Join us all week long as we celebrate teachers across the five boroughs for their extraordinary service on behalf of City students! Use our official DOE All Stars web tool to send a note of appreciation to the teachers who have made a difference in your life!
The Month Ahead (May 2024)
With the last full month of the 2023–24 school year upon us, take a look at what's happening in NYC Public Schools in May 2024! Highlights include our month-long heritage celebrations for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Jewish Americans, as well as Teacher Appreciation Week, parent-teacher conferences, State exams, and Memorial Day.
Deadline for the G&T Application (Grades 1–4) Extended to May 10
The deadline of the Gifted and Talented (G&T) application for children entering grades 1, 2, 3, or 4 in the 2024–2025 school year has been extended to Friday, May 10, 2024! If your child is eligible and you're interested in applying, submit your child's G&T application today.
In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we're sharing the story of Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first-ever Chinese American movie star, who captivated audiences, earned critical acclaim for her performances, and dared to break free of Hollywood’s early to mid-twentieth century typecasting practices for nonwhite actors.
Books of the Week
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6–May 10, 2024! To celebrate, we’re sharing some of our favorite books with fictional and real-life teachers at the center of the story. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do, and don’t forget to thank your teachers this week (and all year long)!
Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)
- A Letter to My Teacher, by Deborah Hopkinson; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
- Dear Teacher: A Celebration of People Who Inspire Us, by Paris Rosenthal; illustrated by Holly Hatam
- Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and her Secret School, by Janet Halfmann; illustrated by London Ladd
Elementary (Grades 3–5)
- Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball, by John Coy; illustrated by Joe Morse
- The Teachers March! How Selma’s Teachers Changed History, by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace; illustrated by Charly Palmer
- Thank You, Mr. Falker, by Patricia Polacco
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea
- Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech
- Sahara Special, by Esmé Raji Codell
Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)
- Between the Lines, by Nikki Grimes
- Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey, Akiko Higashimura
- Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels who Helped Spark a Revolution, by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner
For more great reads, check out our citywide Digital Library, Sora, which provides free access to hundreds of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students!
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS
Last month on Wednesday, April 17, we celebrated our third Climate Action Day of the year. Check out the photos below to see how some of our schools embraced the day's theme of “Health, Wellness, and Green Space,” with fun and creative ways to care for the environment in their community and beyond!
Ready to Read: Literacy Resources for Families
NYC Reads is reshaping the way that we teach our students to read, but the learning doesn't have to stop at the classroom door! Whether it's a family book club or a phonics-based 20 questions game, you can bring the "science of reading" home by using any of our helpful resources that will help your children continue to develop their literacy skills, like:
- Reading Games
- Phonics, Vocabulary, and Storytelling Practice
- And more!
