NYC first day of school 2024: Calendar, lunch menus and info parents should know
Students across NYC head back to school
All across New York City today, students returned to classrooms for the first day of the city's public schools. FOX 5 NY's Richard Giacovas visited one of 24 new schools buildings across the city to see how students, teachers and parents are enjoying themselves.
NEW YORK CITY - Welcome back! It’s the first day for students at NYC public schools.
When is the first day of school in NYC
Over 900,000 city public school students are heading back on Thursday.
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The year begins without a citywide cell phone ban, though school's chancellor David Banks says more than half of schools have some kind of restriction already in place.
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"You're going to see the impacts on safety in their schools," Banks said. "You're going to see the impact on bullying in their schools. If all of those things were to drop and overall student engagement, we're going to be looking at all of those things as we study it."
New school buildings
Twenty-four new school buildings opened this year, creating about 11,000 new K to 12 seats, the most added in a single year, NYC Mayor Eric Adams says since 2003.
Still, challenges loom. The city was given five years to fully comply with the state law aimed at reducing class sizes and while Banks says the city is in compliance this year, next year and beyond will be difficult.
"You will need 10 to 12,000 more teachers where there's a national teacher shortage," Banks said. "So, the question becomes do you lower your standards to get more teachers or how much more innovative can you get? You know, to to bring on 10 to 12,000 more teachers, It's not an easy choice."
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The teacher’s union points to I.S. 145 in Jackson Heights as a success story, where 6th grade classrooms have just 23 students this year, compared to more than 30 last year.
"You get a better learning environment when you lower class sizes," said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers. "I've taught classes with 30, I've taught classes with 18. When I taught class of 18, I was a better teacher because I got to spend more time with each of my students."
What time does school start NYC
The school day will start no earlier than 8 a.m. and may end no later than 3:45 p.m. for elementary and middle schools.
For high schools, in single-session K-12, 6-12 and high schools, the day will start no earlier than 8 a.m. and end no later than 4:20 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays and 3:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
For more information, click HERE.
NYC schools calendar
You can access the full school calendar online, where you'll find important dates there and links to download the calendar in several languages.
Click HERE for more information
NYC school lunch menu
All students attending school in person are entitled to free breakfast and lunch every day. Your school has details about where and when meals are served.
Click HERE to see what's being offered this year for students.