Opportunities for Students (May 2025)
The final full month of the 2024–25 school year is here—time to lock in your late spring and summer plans! Check out all the learning and earning opportunities available for NYC public school students this month and beyond, including scholarships, free access to cultural institutions, and paid internships, and register/apply for them today!
Reminder: NY State Math Exams Begin May 6
Beginning Tuesday, May 6, elementary and middle school students across New York State (grades 3–8) will take the State's annual Mathematics test. Learn more about this year's Math test, and consider having your child click through our official Question Sampler for a preview of this year's testing format and question types!
The Month Ahead (May 2025)
With the last full month of the 2024–25 school year upon us, take a look at what's happening in NYC Public Schools in May 2025! 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.
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Highlight: Eugenie Clarke
May is AAPI Heritage Month! In celebration, we’re highlighting our profile of Eugenie Clarke, a fish scientist from New York City who earned herself the nickname, "Shark Lady," thanks to her trailblazing research on fish and shark species around the world as well as her personal dedication to protecting sharks and their ocean habitats from extinction.
Jewish American Heritage Month Highlight: Edie Windsor
In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month in May, we’re highlighting our profile of Edie Windsor a computer programmer and pioneering LGBTQ+ activist best known for her role in the landmark Supreme Court case, United States v. Windsor, that helped lead towards the eventual legalization of gay marriage in the United States.
What We're Reading
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! During this time, we celebrate the culture, history, and achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New York City and across the country.
The book suggestions below include works of fiction and non-fiction for every grade level, with titles that feature characters and perspectives that are often not reflected in other popular works. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)
- Cannonball, by Sacha Cotter; illustrated by Josh Morgan
- Love in the Library, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall; illustrated by Yas Imamura
- Meena Can't Wait, by Farida Zaman
- The Most Beautiful Thing, by Kao Kalia Yang; illustrated by Khoa Le
- The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story, by Tina Cho; illustrated by Jess X. Snow
- Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom, by Teresa Robeson; illustrated by Rebecca Huang
Elementary (Grades 3–5)
- Dara Palmer's Major Drama, by Emma Shevah
- Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi; illustrated by Yutaka Houlette
- Front Desk, by Kelly Yang
- Lei and the Fire Goddess, by Malia Maunakea
- Samira Surfs, by Rukhsanna Guidroz; illustrated by Fahmida Azim
- A Thousand Questions, by Saadia Faruqi
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- Amina’s Voice, by Hena Khan
- The Best at It, by Maulik Pancholy
- Dear America: The Story of an Undocumented Citizen (Young Readers’ Edition), by Jose Antonio Vargas
- The Legend of Auntie Po, by Shing Yin Khor
- Troublemaker, by John Cho
- When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)
- After the Shot Drops, by Randy Ribay
- Dragonfruit, Makiia Lucier
- Himawari House, by Harmony Becker
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo
- The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen
- The Weight of Our Sky, by Hanna Alkaf
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. You can also find even more great recommendations in the Asian American, Native Hawai'ian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Collection on Sora!
You can also visit our AAPI Heritage Month webpage for more book suggestions, in addition to other resources, events, and more to learn from and enjoy throughout the month of May.
Missed our previous book recommendations?
Check them out in the "What We're Reading" Archive!
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS
Since 2018, the New York City Public School Film Festival has highlighted student filmmakers' creative and diverse works. Check out how this year’s event, now in its seventh year, celebrated the 2024–25 honorees.
A MySchools.nyc Tutorial: Learn the Basics
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!
Stay Informed with a NYC Schools Account (NYCSA)
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
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!
