The Morning Bell

Opportunities for Students (September 2025)

The 2025–26 school year is only just getting started, and there are already dozens of outstanding learning and earning opportunities available for City public school students this month, including paid internships and free virtual workshops. Check out what's available for NYC public school students and their families this September and beyond, and register/apply for them today!

Did someone say 'Paid Internships?'

Side view of an older teenager writing at a desk

The First Parent-Teacher Conferences of the School Year Begin September 17

On Wednesday, September 17, and Thursday, September 18 and 25, NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) is holding the first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTCs) of the 2025–2026 school year. Check out some of our tips to make your conference productive!

Prep yourself

Have A Smooth Ride Back to School with Your Student OMNY Card

The Student OMNY Card is back this year! NYC Public School students ride subways and buses for free—all day, every day of the week. With up to four daily taps and easy transfers, it’s the best way for students to get around.

Learn more about the benefits of using your Student OMNY Card

Three students walking through a subway turnstile.

Chancellor Aviles-Ramos Welcomes You Back to School

On Thursday, September 4, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos officially opened school doors and welcomed students and their families to the 2025–26 school year. See what has her excited about the new school year!

Find out what NYCPS has in store for 2025–2026.

Chancellor Aviles-Ramos laughs with students

Start the School Year with A+ Attendance

Set a goal for your child to attend school every day during Attendance Awareness Month this September and beyond!

Find out why daily attendance is so important.

The Month Ahead (September 2025)

Time to wave "goodbye" to the summer, and see what's happening in NYC Public Schools in September 2025, including the first day of the 2025–26 school year, the year's first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences, and Rosh Hashanah!

"Fall" in and check out September's school calendar!

Pre-adolescent girl sitting at a desk inside a classroom and writing with a pencil.

Move Past the 'Back to School Blues'

Is your child "feeling boneless" over the thought of their summer recess ending? Are your children having second thoughts about returning back to school? Learn how you can get your children back into learning shape by checking out our suggested ways to help them move past the "Back to School Blues!"

Let's snap our kids back into gear for learning!

Young girl holding up a watercolor painting of a rainbow.

Seven New Schools Set to Open for 2025–26

This fall, seven exciting new NYC public schools will be opening their doors for their first-ever day of school. Learn more about these new programs, and see what almost 4,000 City students can look forward to experiencing this fall!

Nothing like 'that new school smell'

Side view of five middle school-aged children running up a set of stairs that lead into a school

Start the 2025–26 School Year Right at NYC Public Libraries

Get ready to go back to school this fall with NYC public libraries! With more than 200 locations across the five boroughs, there's something for everyone.

Check out upcoming highlights at New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries

Two children standing at a table in front of a bookcase at the library.

NYC Public Schools Are On the Rise

As we look ahead to the start of the new school year, we're also celebrating some of the major strides NYC Public Schools has made in the last year. With record gains in reading and math scores and growing trust and satisfaction among families and educators, our school communities are thriving, and this is just beginning.

Celebrate the wins with us

Students at desks in a classroom with many posters. Two students in the back are excitedly raising their hands, while a student in front of them is looking at a book.

Previewing the Year Ahead (2025–26 School Year)

See what's ahead for NYC Public Schools for the entire 2025–26 school year. Check out our official 2025–26 School Calendar, and start planning ahead for next year TODAY.

See what's in store for 2025–26

Close-up of a hand writing on a dry-erase calendar using a dry-erase marker.

Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight: '¡Su voto es su voz!': Willie Velásquez, Champion for Voting Rights

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are sharing our Hidden Voices profile of Willie Velásquez, the charismatic Mexican American grassroots activist who worked to ensure equal voting rights for Latinos in the United States while also galvanizing Latinos towards participating in the U.S. political process at the local, statewide, and national levels.

Learn more about Willie Velásquez on Hidden Voices

Black and white photograph of Willie Velasquez giving a speech in front of orange background next to text reading '¡Su voto es su voz!'

What We're Reading

This year marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93—also known as Patriot Day, and the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

We encourage students of all ages to check out the reading recommendations below as a way to remember the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost that day, celebrate the heroes that saved countless others, and to better understand the aftermath. We hope that students of all ages can learn something from the multiple unique and valuable perspectives shared in these stories.

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

14 Cows for America, by Camren Agra Deedy; illustrated by Thomas Gonzales
Branches of Hope, by Ann Magee; illustrated by Nicole Wong
Fireboat: The Heroic Journey of the John J. Harvey, by Maira Kalman
Me and the Sky, by Beverly Bass with Cynthia Williams; illustrated by Joanne Stone

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

The Goat, by Anne Fleming
The Red Bandana, Adapted for Young Readers, by Tom Rinaldi
Saved By the Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11, by Julie Grassman; illustrated by Steve Moors
Towers Falling, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

Broken Strings, by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer
Nine, Ten, by Nora Raleigh Baskin
The Places We Sleep, by Caroline Brooks DuBois
Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero, by Saadia Faruqi

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

Ground Zero, by Alan Gratz
In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers, by Don Brown
Love is the Higher Law, by David Levithan
A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Tahreh Mafi

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 Resilience and Reflection: A Collection of 9/11 Books on Sora.

9/11 is also considered a National Day of Service, so in addition to checking out our book recommendations, we encourage you to volunteer for a community service opportunity like those you can find through NYC Service or through the NYC Cares 9/11 Day of Service.

If you are an educator looking for additional learning materials about the September 11 attacks, there are a few helpful places to start, including our “Teaching 9/11” Educator Resources, available via WeTeach NYC, and the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial Lesson Plans, 9/11 Anniversary Digital Learning Experience, and additional Student and Teacher Resources.

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

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS

On July 16, Governor Kathy Hochul joined Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos for a roundtable event at Walton High School in the Bronx to meet with local community and school-based stakeholders to discuss New York State's updated policy regarding students' use of personal cell phones and electronic devices during school days.

During the roundtable, the Governor and Chancellor provided an overview of how the upcoming policy will affect classrooms, learning spaces, and families in school communities across the City and the State. Check out some of our favorite moments during this community event!

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This is a close-up of a pamphlet cover that reads, "More Learning Less Scrolling."

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Governor Kathy Hochul (left), Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos (center), and Mark Rampersant, chief of school safety (right), are standing at a podium together with a banner that reads, "More Learning Less Scrolling."

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Governor Kathy Hochul (left) shaking a man's hand during her visit to one of NYC's high schools in July 2025 to discuss the upcoming Cell Phone and Electronic Device ban for NYS public schools.

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Side view of four District 10 stakeholders, sitting together at a table, listening to the Chancellor and the Governor provide details about the upcoming cell phone policy.

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Two twelfth grade students, Dahlia Diez Chan (left), and Isaiah Tandjung (right) smiling at camera.

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Front view of Mark Rampersant, NYCPS' chief of school safety.

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Dates to Remember

All Month Long: Attendance Awareness Month
September 1: Labor Day; NYCPS schools and offices closed
September 4: First day of the 2025–26 school year
September 12: Waitlists from 2025 middle and high school admissions close
September 15: Hispanic Heritage Month begins
September 16: National Voter Registration Day
September 17: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences for elementary schools and Pre-K Centers
September 18: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences for middle schools and D75 programs
September 19: Waitlists from 2025 3-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and G&T admissions close
September 22: Autumn Equinox; fall begins
September 23–24: Rosh Hashanah; NYCPS schools closed
September 25: Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences for high schools, K–12 programs, and 6–12 programs

Dark blue background with text that reads 'Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month' in white, orange and yellow text in the center. Illustrations of flowers and lines in the same colors surround the text.

Get Ready for More Learning and Less Scrolling

Beginning this September, NYC Public Schools will be implementing its new Cell Phone and Electronic Device Policy across all K–12 City public schools, including charter programs, in accordance with New York State law. Learn more about this "cell phone ban," and start getting ready for distraction-free schools this fall!

Square banner that reads, 'New Cell Phone and Electronic Device Policy'

See what "less scrolling" will lead to this September!

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!

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!