The New York City Department of Education released the 2022-23 school calendar Tuesday. It gives time off for a number of holidays, including the Jewish holy days Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The academic calendar also includes the week-long breaks for winter recess, mid-winter recess and spring recess. It also includes a handful of non-student holidays such as Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Jr. and Memorial Day — as well as Election Day on Nov. 8, 2022.
First Day of School
New York City public school students will return to class on Thursday, September 8 in the 2022-2023 academic year. It’s the first day of the new school year and the first day of classes in the nation’s largest public school system.
Despite the pandemic, many schools in the city are still struggling with budget cuts. Those issues are likely to continue through next school year, as well.
A bill aimed at helping schools meet class size requirements is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul later this week.
The bill, which was approved by state lawmakers in June, aims to cut class sizes in grades kindergarten through 12 from 25 to 32 per class. This will help the city’s public schools meet state requirements for how many students can be in a classroom.
Banks said the new rules shouldn’t be a problem for most schools. But some will need to cut or add seats.
There are also other changes coming to the school calendar. In addition to cutting the number of snow days, the DOE has renamed some holidays. Among them are Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, formerly Columbus Day, and Juneteenth.
The New York City Department of Education released the 2022-2023 school calendar on Tuesday. The department typically releases this information in March or April, but it was released early in the month this time around.
Holidays
In New York state, public school students get 10 days off during the winter recess, which begins this year on Friday, Dec. 23 and lasts through Jan. 2, 2023, according to the Department of Education’s online calendar.
In addition to the holidays that are legal, like Christmas and Memorial Day, there are also additional ones that cater to the city’s diverse population. For example, South Asian and Indo-Caribbean families have long fought for the inclusion of Diwali on the district’s calendar.
The Mayor’s Office worked with local Asian community leaders to organize school celebrations and teach lessons on the cultural significance of the holiday. Now, elected officials are attempting to make it an official city holiday.
But some Chinese-American and South Asian community members are worried that making Lunar New Year a school holiday could jeopardize its status as an important part of their culture. That’s why they’re demanding the DOE change its mind.
“We’re going to have to fight for this,” said Nishant Mittal, a concerned Hindu who lives in Manhattan’s Battery Park. “We’re going to have to be very vocal about this.”
Rajkumar’s bill proposes that the Legislature enshrine Diwali as a school holiday and swap out Anniversary Day — formerly known as Brooklyn-Queens Day — for the event. That means it will fulfill a campaign promise from Adams, who had previously pledged to include the festival on the city’s school calendar during his first term in office.
But state education laws require schools to have at least 180 days of instruction during a school year, so the move would only be possible if the city found another holiday to substitute for the one it had already added. The law also requires that students receive a minimum of five days of instruction in any given month, so it would be impossible to add two additional weeks of class on top of that.
Winter Recess
Winter recess is a time for New York City kids to have some fun. According to the Department of Education’s online calendar, schools will be closed from Friday, Dec. 23, to Monday, Jan. 2 — which gives students 10 full days off from school during the holiday break, including weekends.
In addition to the holidays that are on the official school calendar, some cities and states have their own special days of observance. In NYC, the most popular are New Year’s Day; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Easter; Lincoln’s Birthday; Washington’s Birthday (President’s Day); Memorial Day; Flag Day — which is June 14th; Columbus Day and Election Day, among others.
Some schools may also take time off for Chancellor Conference Day; High School Scoring day; Clerical Shortened Days; Regent’s Rating Day; and early dismissal on the last day of school, to name a few. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important for families to be aware of these holidays and to plan ahead if possible. The next time that New York City public schools will see some serious downtime is during mid-winter recess from February 20-24. For more information on the upcoming holidays, check out our New York City holiday season event guide!
Spring Recess
The new york city public schools calendar for the 2022-23 school year has been released, giving students time off for various holidays and weeklong breaks. The calendar includes the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as well as weeklong breaks for winter recess, mid-winter recess and spring recess. It also gives time off for Christmas, Easter and Passover.
The city has a policy that allows students to take part in remote learning on snow days or school buildings being closed due to weather emergencies. This will help ensure that all students and families have access to education in case of severe weather or an emergency, according to the Department of Education.
The school calendar also has a section that includes religious and cultural observances, as well as fasting practices. These are negotiated as a part of the collective bargaining agreement, and are meant to address inclusivity with respect to religion and other traditions. It will not include every observance or tradition, but is intended to be a general guideline for schools and teachers to consider when making schedules or accommodating students. Parents should also be aware that some observances or traditions may have an impact on students’ abilities to perform at their highest level, or may require the use of excused absences.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-teacher conferences are an opportunity to communicate about academic progress, build a positive partnership with your student’s teacher and provide him or her with important information about your child. Conferences are held a few times a year at progress reporting periods (usually at the end of each trimester), and last about 10 to 30 minutes.
If you need a meeting with your child’s teacher, make sure to register for the event online. This will help save time and make it easier to find a mutually convenient appointment.
Your student’s teacher will use a variety of resources to help you understand how your child is doing in their classes. These include classwork and homework samples, tests and quizzes, and standardized testing results.
Discuss how your student’s work compares to others in the classroom and what you can do to support their learning. You might also share your evaluation of their grades, including your opinions about whether they are on track for promotion to the next grade level and if they should be receiving additional support from a counselor or tutor.
Remember, however, that schools have their own grading policies, which will determine what your child needs to do to earn high marks and be promoted. Your child’s teacher or principal can give you more information about your school’s grading policy and how it affects your family.
To prepare for a conference, take some time to talk with your student about what they like and dislike about their school and classroom experiences. This will help put them at ease and let you know what to expect from the conversation. You can also ask them to share anything they would want you to tell their teachers about them, such as their strengths or areas of growth.
