Chancellor Klein welcomes students back to school
Across the City, more than one million public school children returned to class on Tuesday.
“I’m not happy summer is over, but I’m excited to start school,” Stanley D’Costa, a seventh grader at IS 61 in Queens, said. “I’m glad I won’t be one of the little kids anymore.”
IS 61 was one of five schools Chancellor Joel Klein visited to kick off the school year. Chancellor Klein began the day at PS 62 in the Bronx, where he joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, and Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernie Logan to welcome back students, teachers, and principals.
“It’s the start of a new school year for some 1.1 million students who are the future of New York City,” Mayor Bloomberg told reporters, parents, and school staff at PS 62. “Because this is a fundamentally different school system than it was in 2002, that future is brighter than ever.”
After the visit to PS 62, the Mayor and Chancellor visited the Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics in Washington Heights, where students celebrated the first day of school in a brand new school building.
Chancellor Klein also visited IS 61 in Queens, Excellence Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and PS 58 on Staten Island.
“I’m truly proud of the work you’re doing here,” Chancellor Klein said at Excellence Charter School, an all-boys elementary school. “Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t get the very best of what this City and this country have to offer.”
If you have a story about a NYC school or student, e-mail us at MyStory@schools.nyc.gov .
Please include a photo with your story. Photos of students require a signed media consent form, which you can fax to (212) 374-5584.