Become a Chalkbeat sponsor
By Amy Zimmer
Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to keep up with NYC’s public schools.
The wait is over: New York City’s 2023-24 school calendar is live.
The first day of classes will be Thursday, Sept. 7, according to the calendar posted on Friday. Teachers are expected to report two days before that, education department officials said.
The state requires a minimum of 180 instructional days, but this year’s calendar has 182 days for students since several holidays fall on weekends. Under the teachers union contract, however, the end date remains unchanged. (Next year, the last day of school is Wednesday, June 26.) Because of this, many teachers are complaining about having to work more days than usual.
Families and educators across the five boroughs have been eagerly awaiting news on the calendar, expressing frustration with the delay. Last year’s calendar was released slightly earlier, on May 31.
Before the pandemic, New York City’s school calendar was released in March or April. Other school districts that start after Labor Day approved their calendars in March, including Newark, Philadelphia, and Boston.
*angry mob outside of Tweed returns home* https://t.co/lupNYRE4ey
— Nathaniel Styer (@necs) June 2, 2023
Here are some other calendar quirks to be aware of:
- Unlike in some years that are filled with days off in September, the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah falls on a weekend, so the only day off that first month is for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on Monday, Sept. 25.
- As in this school year, Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, is a day off for kids. (The year before that, students were supposed to be learning remotely that day.)
- Veterans Day falls on Saturday, Nov. 11, so will not be observed as a school holiday.
- There’s been a push to make Diwali a school holiday, but that holiday —observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists— falls on Sunday, Nov. 12, so it wouldn’t overlap with school regardless. (The state legislature has yet to approve that.)
- Winter recess is from Monday, Dec. 25, until Monday, Jan. 1.
- Lunar New Year once again falls on a weekend, on Saturday, Feb. 10, so there’s no day off for that holiday.
- There will be days off sprinkled through spring for various holidays: Schools will be off for Good Friday on March 29 and for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday, April 10. Spring break, which coincides with Passover, is from Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26. Schools are open for last two days of Passover, however, and some educators are worried that those who observe may have to take extra time off. (Education department officials said spring break doesn’t always cover the entire Passover holiday.) Some teachers also were upset about not having off for Holy Thursday and Easter Monday.
- Similar to this year, schools will be closed for students on Thursday, June 6, and Friday, June 7 for “Anniversary Day” and “Clerical Day.”
- Eid al-Adha falls on Sunday, June 16, so it will not be a day off for schools.
Under New York State law, federal holidays that fall on a Sunday are observed the following Monday, but if they fall on a Saturday, they are not observed on a weekday. When holidays that New York City schools observe but are not federal holidays fall on a weekend — such as Rosh Hashanah, Lunar New Year, and Eid al-Adha — students do not get a day off during the week.
The city is continuing its practice of going remote for snow days, though this year, the lack of snow meant no cancellations.
Teachers union president Michael Mulgrew expressed concern about the calendar in an email to his members, saying that the education department released it without having completed negotiations about how teachers should use extended time during the week. In recent years, they used an extra 155 minutes each week for professional development and family engagement. Without an agreement in place, Mulgrew said, that time will revert back to a prior agreement of using 37.5 minutes on tutoring or small group work after school on Monday through Thursday.
Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy atazimmer@chalkbeat.org.
The Latest
CPS principal, staff stymied police investigation of mass shooting at Pilsen high school, emails, interviews show
In the first crucial hours, police could not get access to video surveillance, a witness, and other key information in a shooting that left two students dead, two wounded. CPS says it cooperated.
By Peter Nickeas
How a Denver counselor plans to keep students on track to college this summer
Denver Scholarship Foundation counselor Federico Rangel said advisers worry that graduates won’t have the support they need to show up on campus in the fall.
By Jason Gonzales
I directed ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at my high school. But I worried about telling my cast I am Jewish.
Amid rising antisemitism and a devastating war, I wondered how the community would respond to this unmistakably Jewish play.
By Samantha Alexander
Philadelphia students who want to discuss the experience of Palestinian people say they feel ‘censored’
Over 100 students, educators, and parents rallied outside the Board of Education meeting on Thursday demanding the school district do more to support difficult classroom conversations about the rights of Palestinian people.
By Carly Sitrin Emily Rizzo
New musical ‘SAFE’ highlights NYC student experiences with police, school safety
The theater production will run for one day only through a partnership between the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
By Julian Shen-Berro
Hochul considers smartphone ban for New York schools, citing student mental health concerns
Hochul said smartphones should not be available to students during the school day, to help shield them from the potential harms of social media.
By Julian Shen-Berro
