Climate Action Day Feb 2025 - Photo 6 (PS 68)
Starting Monday, March 3, 2025, learn about the candidates seeking positions on your local Community Education Council or one of the City’s four Citywide Education Councils by attending your district’s virtual Candidate Forum.
Time is running out! If you are a parent or legal guardian interested in shaping education policies and priorities in New York City and within your community, consider applying to run for a seat on your local education council during the 2025 Community and Citywide Education Council Election season. But hurry; this year’s application period ends by the new extended deadline on February 27!
Let us know what you think about NYC’s public schools by completing the 2025 NYC School Survey! Learn more about this year’s Survey, and submit your answers by April 4, 2025!
February is a great time for NYC students to begin securing outstanding learning and earning opportunities for the rest of the school year and beyond, including scholarships, grants, free classes, and even paid jobs. See what’s available for NYC public schools students this month, and register/apply for them today!
Take a look and see what’s in store for NYC Public Schools in February 2025. Key dates and celebrations this month include Climate Action Day, Respect for All Week, Midwinter Recess, our monthlong celebration of Black History Month, and the last days to submit applications for this year’s CEC elections and 3-K/Pre-K admissions.
With winter in full swing, learn more about the resources available to you and your family that can help boost your physical and mental health all season long.
In celebration of Black History Month, we’re sharing the story of Lewis Howard Latimer, who worked alongside some of the most notable inventors of the nineteenth century, achieving great success as a draftsman, patent expert, and inventor in his own right—in particular, contributing to the design of the incandescent lightbulb to make electric lighting more commercially viable.
What We’re Reading
February is Black History Month! Throughout the month, and all year long, we encourage families to dive into a book about Black history.
The suggestions below are just a few of our favorite non-fiction titles for students of all ages, focusing on people and events that shaped our nation and our city throughout history. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)
- The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, by Selina Alko; illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko
- Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13, by Helaine Becker; illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
- Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams, by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illustrated by James E. Ransome
- When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop, by Laban Carrick Hill; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III
- The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist, by Cynthia Levinson; illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Elementary (Grades 3–5)
- 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World, by Charles R. Smith, Jr.; illustrated by Shane W. Evans
- My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey, by Lesa Cline-Ransom; illustrated by James Ransome
- Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Eric Velasquez
- Stitch By Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom, by Connie Schofield-Morrison; illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
- Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas, by Gwendolyn Hooks; illustrated by Colin Bootman
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson’s Flight from Slavery, by Winifred Conkling
- Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist, by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasús Jennings
- Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler, by Ibi Zoboi
- Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York, by Amy Hill Hearth
- This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality, by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy
Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)
- Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the Tulsa Race Massacre, by Brandy Colbert
- Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, A Monumental American Man, by Tonya Bolden
- The Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer Activist, Spy, by Peggy Caravantes
- March, by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illustrated by Nate Powell
- Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater, by Ted Fox; illustrated by James Otis Smith
You can find these books and many more great reads on Sora, our Citywide Digital Library, which provides free access to thousands of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students, including those in the Black History Month: Remembering the Past & Shaping the Future Collection. In addition, check out the Reading List on our Black History Month webpage, where you can also find additional resources to continue your learning all year long.
Missed our previous book recommendations?
Check them out in the “What We’re Reading” Archive!
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS
February 5 was our most recent Climate Action Day! This month, students across all five boroughs participated in lessons and activities that focused on reducing energy use and learning about renewable energy sources. Check out what some of our students have been learning, and get inspired for the next Climate Action Day on April 9!
Community and Citywide Education Councils (CCECs): Your Community, Your Voice
Education councils help shape policies and priorities for NYC Public Schools. Learn all about New York City’s Community and Citywide Education Councils, what they do, and how you can get involved.
Parent University is a free online learning platform for NYCPS families. Start the 2024–25 school year by enrolling in courses you’re interested in today!
Throughout any stage of New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) application processes for 3-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten, middle school, high school, and Gifted and Talented (G&T) for grades 1, 2, 3, and 4, you can use MySchools.nyc—learn how to today!
In the event that weather conditions or other emergencies require the temporary closure of public school buildings, students will participate in remote learning at home. Make sure your family is ready with these tips and answers to frequently asked questions.
With a NYCSA, you can:
- Access your child’s school information on the go
- See your student’s grades, test scores and more
- Complete important forms
- Take classes in Parent University
- Get technology support through SupportHub
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!
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