Dear Families,

I am honored and excited to be your new Chancellor. As a lifelong educator and mom of a New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) student, I am eager to work with and serve you.

When I was a child growing up in the Bronx, my mother taught me that education was the ticket to a life of prosperity and fulfillment. I decided to become a teacher in 2007 because I, like my mother, believe in the power of education to change lives.

I began my career in the classroom at Harry S. Truman High School and went on to become an administrator at both the school and district levels. As chief of staff to former Chancellor Banks, I spearheaded Project Open Arms, a multi-agency effort to welcome and support our 45,000-plus newest New Yorkers. In my most recent role, I served as the Deputy Chancellor of Family and Community Engagement and External Affairs, fostering partnerships between families, schools, and communities.

I know this school system inside and out—and with each passing year, I grow even more amazed at the talent of our staff, the innovation in our classrooms, the dedication of our families and parent leaders, and the brilliance of our students. To become the next Chancellor is the culmination of my life’s work.

I want to thank Mayor Adams for this opportunity and Chancellor Banks for his immense contributions to our school system. The initiatives we’ve launched—from NYC Reads to our reimagined Student Pathways—have been truly transformative, and I am eager to continue these programs. Please know that I am committed to stability and consistency in the day-to-day operation of our schools.

As an NYCPS parent myself, I will work my hardest to ensure our schools are safe and welcoming spaces for our children, that they set a high academic bar, and that they provide rich opportunities for learning and growth. I commit to advocating for each of our children just as I would for my own daughter. And I commit to listening to the wisdom of our families and ensuring we are doing our part as an agency to communicate clearly and often.

I’m excited to continue building bright starts and bold futures for the children of our city, and I look forward to all that we will achieve together. Thank you for choosing New York City Public Schools for your children.

In partnership,
Melissa Aviles-Ramos, Chancellor

Translations are available for download at schools.nyc.gov/messagesforfamilies. 

www.schools.nyc.gov/calendar/2024-2025-school-year-calendar 

60% Assessments

15% Classwork

15% Homework

10% Participation

Please adhere to the following visitor policy that will be enforced starting the 2024-2025 school year.

 To ensure that we can provide you with the best possible attention and support, we kindly request that all parents and guardians make an appointment before visiting the school building to meet with teachers, staff, or administrators. This policy helps us manage our time effectively to ensure we can address your concerns in a timely matter. To schedule an appointment, please contact the school office at 718-326-6210 or email the staff member you would like to schedule a meeting with.

Visitor Procedures –

1.   - All visitors must ring the intercom bell on the panel outside the main entrance. Visitors will be asked to face the camera and state their name and the purpose of their visit

2.   - When the door is unlocked visitors must enter the school building, and proceed to the school safety desk to complete the sign-in process providing a photo ID

3.    -All visitors will be given a visitor tag that must been worn at all times in the school building

4.    -All visitors will be escorted to their meeting location and escorted to the main entrance when their meeting is over

5.    -Visitors may not travel throughout the school building unescorted at any time

www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/immunizations 

https://www.schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/enrollment-help/family-welcome-centers 

https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/school-environment/guidelines-on-gender/guidelines-on-gender-inclusion

www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/safe-schools/emergency-readiness 

August 28, 2024                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Dear Parents:

I am writing to provide you with information about the Department of Education’s Emergency Readiness Initiatives that are in place in all NYC Public Schools.

Every school currently has procedures for emergencies. In 2000, New York State Education Law Section 2801 was enacted requiring schools to develop safety plans regarding emergency response. In July of 2001, the law was amended to require that plans include information for evacuation and sheltering. In accordance with this, “schools need to conduct drills and other exercises to test components of the emergency response plan.”

School staff members are trained in various procedures that are outlined in the School Safety Plan and we currently conduct a variety of drills throughout the year to prepare our staff and students. Section 807 of the New York State Education Law requires all schools to conduct a minimum of 12 fire drills each year. Section 917 of the State Education Law states that schools are required to provide and maintain automated external defibrillator (AED) equipment, and drills are conducted during the year to assess the use of AED units in an emergency. In accordance with Section 3623 of the State Education Law, drills are also conducted at schools that focus on safety on a school bus.

In addition to conducting these types of drills, our school has a Building Response Team that is trained to activate and respond to different incidents that may occur at our school. Under the new General Response Protocol (GRP), every school will be conducting specific drills designed to help prepare all school communities for three different types of response to emergencies that may occur: evacuation, shelter-in, and lockdown. Opportunities for parent engagement are available at our school to ensure that families are involved in our school-based emergency readiness program. Parent versions of the School Safety Plan are available upon request in the main office, and information explaining the GRP is included with this letter. Many other important resources for families are also available by visiting https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/safe-schools.

Emergency readiness training in schools takes place in September and continues for staff and students throughout the school year. Student training is appropriate and designed to ensure that students understand the importance of these drills without causing unnecessary alarm. Please review the General Response Protocols that have been given to all students and discuss these procedures with your child.

All families are reminded to update the Emergency Contact Cards that are on file in our main office. This includes providing and updating information indicating phone numbers, and the names of adults to whom the school may release children in an emergency. Families are also encouraged to register with Notify NYC (https://a858-nycnotify.nyc.gov/notifynyc/) to receive information about emergency events and call 311 for additional information about a school during an emergency.

Sincerely,

JoAnn Trani

Principal

www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/staying-healthy 

Dear Families,

We have some important news to share regarding the safety measures at our school. In line with our commitment to enhance security practices, all NYC Public Schools will have a Safer Access system installed during the 2023-25 school years. The Safer Access system is designed to strengthen our existing safety and security practices as part of the overall visitor protocols at our school.

What is Safer Access? The primary objective of the Safer Access system is to ensure that all doors remain locked outside of the morning-entry and afternoon-dismissal periods. When school doors are locked, visitors wishing to gain access to the building will ring the intercom at the main entrance door (or ADA-accessibility entrance if applicable) and identify themselves before access is granted into the school building. Safer Access allows our dedicated staff assigned to the main desk (School Safety Agents and/or school staff) to be able to see and speak with visitors before granting them access inside. Please be assured that all visitors to our school will continue to be treated with courtesy, professionalism, and respect while awaiting entry into our building. In addition to enhancing safety, this system allows for easy access for first responders during an emergency.

Please note that our Safer Access system has been installed and is operating. Our school staff (including the School Safety Agent) are in the process of receiving training on using the system as well as how to support all visitors in accordance with the DOE policy.

Please follow the steps below when entering the school building:

Please adhere to the following visitor policy that will be enforced starting the 2024-2025 school year.

 To ensure that we can provide you with the best possible attention and support, we kindly request that all parents and guardians make an appointment before visiting the school building to meet with teachers, staff, or administrators. This policy helps us manage our time effectively to ensure we can address your concerns in a timely matter. To schedule an appointment, please contact the school office at 718-326-6210 or email the staff member you would like to schedule a meeting with.

Visitor Procedures –

   - All visitors must ring the intercom bell on the panel outside the main entrance. Visitors will be asked to face the camera and state their name and the purpose of their visit

.   - When the door is unlocked visitors must enter the school building, and proceed to the school safety desk to complete the sign-in process providing a photo ID. Please see that one visitor enters the building at a time. Each visitor must ring the intercom bell. 

.    -All visitors will be given a visitor tag that must been worn at all times in the school building

    -All visitors will be escorted to their meeting location and escorted to the main entrance when their meeting is over

    -Visitors may not travel throughout the school building unescorted at any time

www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/policies/data-privacy-and-security-policies/annual-ferpa-notification 

www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/know-your-rights/parents-bill-of-rights-for-data-privacy-and-security 

www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/policies/data-privacy-and-security-policies/annual-ppra-notification