Submit Your Child's Kindergarten Application By January 19

Have a child turning five years old in 2024?

Then remember to submit your kindergarten application by Friday, January 19, 2024! City families with children born in 2019 can apply to kindergarten for the 2024–2025 school year.

Although every five-year-old City resident is guaranteed a seat in an NYC public school kindergarten program, choosing up to 12 options for your child might be overwhelming. There are resources that can be helpful during the application process—take a look!

  1. Sign up to receive emails with the latest alerts, updates, and reminders about NYC Public Schools, including admissions events. Go to our Sign Up page (schools.nyc.gov/SignUp) now.
     
  2. Visit our Kindergarten page (schools.nyc.gov/Kindergarten) for the most up-to-date information about kindergarten admissions.
    • Watch our "Elementary Admissions Video Series: Kindergarten" video series, embedded near the top of the Kindergarten webpage, to walk you through various stages of the application process, including how to create a MySchools account, search for programs, and submit your application.
    • Read the 2024 NYC Public Schools Admissions Guide at the bottom of the webpage. Available in 10 languages, this book provides an overview of NYC's public school admissions processes and resources for all NYC public schools.
  3. Use MySchools (myschools.nyc) as your main tool for exploring and applying to kindergarten programs. After you create a MySchools account and log in, you can:
    • Explore elementary schools and learn about their kindergarten programs. Did you know there are four program types that a school can offer, and that many of our public schools have more than one program?
    • Find and register for in-person and virtual events listed in the MySchools events calendar, including open houses and information sessions. There are hundreds of events in all five boroughs, and they are scheduled during mornings, evenings, and weekends to accommodate family needs. There are also two information sessions hosted by NYCPS enrollment staff before the application deadline (there will be more after).
    • Finalize your choices and submit your child’s application! If you need to make changes afterward, you have until 11:59 PM on Friday, January 19, 2024, to update and submit again. Please note that only your last and final application will be used.
    • Cue the confetti (literally, you’ll see this once you hit the “Send” button!)

We hope these tools and suggestions help make applying to kindergarten a smooth process for you and your family! On behalf of NYC Public Schools, we wish all our families success throughout this exciting time!

 

Apply to Kindergarten by Jan 19 graphic

 

Jewish American Heritage Month Hidden Voices Spotlight: Judith Heumann

In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, we’re sharing the story of activist Judy Heumann, a daughter of Holocaust survivors whose advocacy would earn her the nickname “the Mother of the Disability Rights Movement” for her important role in the fight for equal access for people with disabilities.

Learn about Judith Heumann on Hidden Voices

Photo of Judy Heumann in front of a sign reading Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Books of the Week

May is Haitian American Heritage Month in New York! In celebration of New York City’s large Haitian American community, we’re sharing some of our favorite stories that feature Haitian characters, settings, and culture at the forefront. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

  • Goodnight Goat/Bonnwit Kabrit, by Elizabeth Turnbull; illustrated by Erin Vaganos
  • Haiti A to Z: A Bilingual ABC Book About the Pearl of the Antilles, by M.J. Fievre; illustrated by Anastasia Khmelevska
  • Sélavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope, by Youme Landowne

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

  • Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings, by Francie Latour; illustrated by Ken Daley
  • My Day with the Panye, by Tami Charles; illustrated by Sara Palacios
  • Open the Door to Liberty: A Biography of Toussaint L’Ouverture, by Anne Rockwell; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

  • Behind the Mountains, by Edwidge Danticat
  • Serafina’s Promise, by Ann E. Burg
  • The Year I Flew Away, by Marie Arnold

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

  • American Street, by Ibi Zoboi
  • Dear Haiti, Love Alaine, by Maika and Maritza Moulite
  • Hold Tight, Don’t Let Go: A Novel of Haiti, by Laura Rose Wagner
Image of two students reading

For even more great reads, check out Sora, our Citywide Digital Library, which provides free access to thousands 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!

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31R055 PS 55 Henry M. Boehm CAST
01M184 PS 184M Shuang Wen School
03M333 PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
21K525 Edward R. Murrow High School
18K233 PS 233 Langston Hughes
22K193 PS 193
30Q010 IS 10 Horace Greeley

Dates to Remember

  • All Month Long: Asian American/Pacific Islander and Jewish American Heritage Month
  • May 6–10: Teacher Appreciation Week
  • May 7–17: NYS Math Exams (Grades 3–8)
  • May 9, 16, 23: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • May 13–24: NYSELAT for ELL and MLL students (Grades K–12)
  • May 14: Pre-K Offers Released for Fall 2024 Admissions
  • May 15–17: NYS Science Exams (Grades 5 and 8)
  • May 16: 3-K Offers Released for Fall 2024 Admissions
  • May 27: Memorial Day; schools closed

Click here to see more of The Month Ahead (May 2024)
AAPI Heritage month square graphic.
Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month square graphic.

Submit Your Child's Kindergarten Application By January 19

Have a child turning five years old in 2024?

Then remember to submit your kindergarten application by Friday, January 19, 2024! City families with children born in 2019 can apply to kindergarten for the 2024–2025 school year.

Although every five-year-old City resident is guaranteed a seat in an NYC public school kindergarten program, choosing up to 12 options for your child might be overwhelming. There are resources that can be helpful during the application process—take a look!

  1. Sign up to receive emails with the latest alerts, updates, and reminders about NYC Public Schools, including admissions events. Go to our Sign Up page (schools.nyc.gov/SignUp) now.
     
  2. Visit our Kindergarten page (schools.nyc.gov/Kindergarten) for the most up-to-date information about kindergarten admissions.
    • Watch our "Elementary Admissions Video Series: Kindergarten" video series, embedded near the top of the Kindergarten webpage, to walk you through various stages of the application process, including how to create a MySchools account, search for programs, and submit your application.
    • Read the 2024 NYC Public Schools Admissions Guide at the bottom of the webpage. Available in 10 languages, this book provides an overview of NYC's public school admissions processes and resources for all NYC public schools.
  3. Use MySchools (myschools.nyc) as your main tool for exploring and applying to kindergarten programs. After you create a MySchools account and log in, you can:
    • Explore elementary schools and learn about their kindergarten programs. Did you know there are four program types that a school can offer, and that many of our public schools have more than one program?
    • Find and register for in-person and virtual events listed in the MySchools events calendar, including open houses and information sessions. There are hundreds of events in all five boroughs, and they are scheduled during mornings, evenings, and weekends to accommodate family needs. There are also two information sessions hosted by NYCPS enrollment staff before the application deadline (there will be more after).
    • Finalize your choices and submit your child’s application! If you need to make changes afterward, you have until 11:59 PM on Friday, January 19, 2024, to update and submit again. Please note that only your last and final application will be used.
    • Cue the confetti (literally, you’ll see this once you hit the “Send” button!)

We hope these tools and suggestions help make applying to kindergarten a smooth process for you and your family! On behalf of NYC Public Schools, we wish all our families success throughout this exciting time!

 

Apply to Kindergarten by Jan 19 graphic

 

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