On September 5th, the first day of the 2024-25 school year, 900,000 students in New York City returned to school under the clear autumn skies, marking the beginning of a new academic year. At Public School 20 in Flushing, a diverse group of students, including many Chinese students, along with their parents, eagerly gathered outside the school to welcome the start of the new school year, brimming with anticipation.
Teachers at PS 20 warmly greeted the returning students. Students lined up by class and entered the school premises in an orderly fashion. Parents helped carry school supplies for their children, some offering words of advice while others had tearful goodbyes as their children hesitantly parted from them.
Flushing is home to a large number of Chinese immigrant families, and many locally born students are fluent in Chinese. PS 20 also enrolls a significant number of immigrant students. Parent Crissy shared that when her eldest son first arrived in the U.S., he initially attended P.S. 32 where there were mostly Caucasian students. Despite the high academic performance of the school, her son struggled to adapt. Communication between parents and the school was difficult. After transferring to PS 20, where many teachers speak Chinese and offer guidance to students, including bilingual classes, her child gradually caught up and adjusted. Due to the supportive environment and access to Chinese translators, her second child, who was born locally, also attends PS 20.
On the same day, the New York City schools Chancellor, David Banks, visited students at P.S. 257 in Brooklyn and the newly opened Motion Picture Tech High School in Queens, encouraging and inspiring the students.
The NYC Department of Education provided resources for students and parents returning to school, offering advice such as not missing important school information, filling out emergency contact forms, preparing learning supplies with labels, establishing regular and healthy meal and sleep schedules, and preparing for remote learning in cases of weather emergencies or school closures with internet-compatible electronic devices, learning tools, access to DOE accounts for online homework assignments, and more.
A new trend this year in NYC public schools involves restrictions on student cellphone usage. While official bans on phones are still pending, about 350 schools have already implemented limitations, with another 500 schools planning to do so in the coming months. Chancellor Banks stated that regardless of formal directives, over half of the city schools would enforce some form of cellphone restrictions on students.
Additionally, the DOE X platform allows parents to view daily lunch menus for students online at: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/menus