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The CEC Election deadline has been extended! Apply to run for a seat on an Education Council by Thursday, February 27, 2025!


The Month Ahead (February 2025)

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.


Black History Month Highlight: Lewis Latimer Lights the Way

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.

Learn more about Lewis H. Latimer on Hidden Voices

Sepia-toned photograph of Lewis Latimer wearing a suit and glasses on the right side of the image. The background is pink and orange with a collage of various examples of his patent drawings for different inventions, including the lightbulb.

What We're Reading

February 17, 2025, is Presidents’ Day! Celebrated on the third Monday in February each year, the holiday marks the birthdays of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

These books tell their stories, as well as those of other former U.S. presidents from throughout history. They also include both fiction and non-fiction titles that promote civic engagement and education on a local and national level. We hope you enjoy reading them during your winter recess! 

Image of two students reading.

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Ballots for Belva: The True Story of a Woman’s Race for the Presidency, by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
  • Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, by Hillary Homzie; illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler
  • Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, by Selene Castrovilla
  • The Superlative A. Lincoln: Poems About Our 16th President, by Eileen R. Meyer; illustrated by Dave Szalay 

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Mr. Lincoln Sits for His Portrait: The Story of a Photograph That Became an American Icon, by Leonard S. Marcus
  • The Next President, by Kate Messner and Adam Rex
  • President of the Whole Fifth Grade, by Sherri Winston
  • Speaking of America, by Jared Cohen; illustrated by Vivian Shih

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Exploring the White House, by Kate Andersen Brower
  • Foundations of Our Nation: George Washington and the American Presidency, by Michael Regan
  • The Making of America: Abraham Lincoln, by Teri Kanefield
  • Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher, by Jon Meacham

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty, by Tonya Bolden
  • FDR and the American Crisis, by Albert Marrin
  • The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington, by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch
  • Running, by Natalia Sylvester 

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 Civics for All Collection, Collection, which features even more great titles about how government works, civil rights history of diverse communities, how media shapes our understanding of current events and issues, and how students can get involved to create change in their communities.  

Missed our previous book recommendations?
Check them out in the "What We're Reading" Archive!


SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS

Last week on Wednesday, February 5, schools across the five boroughs commemorated World Read Aloud Day, an international celebration dedicated to highlighting the power of reading! Since 2010, classrooms around the world have been celebrating and sharing their favorite stories aloud on this special day to honor the joy and awesomeness of literacy. 

Check out how some of our schools commemorated World Read Aloud Day, and think about some of your favorite stories—which ones do you love to read aloud? 

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Group of 10 students holding up copies of their favorite books to read aloud
Two young girls standing next to one another while holding a book called "Angelina Ballerina" together. Both girls have cat-like facepaint.
Behind-the-back shot of a class of young students sitting on a carpet waiting for storytime to begin.
An X036 student sitting in a chair next to Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who is seated in front of a library full of students.
Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos standing along an entire class of X036 students at the X036 library.