Dear New Yorkers,
Our students and families speak over 180 languages. 180! To me, this number represents the rich
cultural tapestry of this city, and the countless opportunitiesin front of usto see the world from
new perspectives.
I want to commend the Community Education Council (CEC) of District 9 for doing just that. Last
week, the District 9 CEC held their town hall meeting in Spanish, with interpretation provided for
attendees who speak English and other languages. In doing so, the CEC showed the many District 9
families for whom Spanish is their home language: we see you. It also meant the English speakers
experienced what it feels like to participate in a meeting via interpretation. The experience was eyeopening for me—so much so that we are also switching it up in this issue of PS + You, by sending
the newsletter in Spanish with a linked English translation.
Every family has the right to engage in their child’s education, and for that reason, language access
is a priority across NYCPS. Each of our schools has a Language Access Coordinator, along with
designated funding to support communication with all families. Last school year, led by our Office of
Language Access, we translated nearly 11,000 IEPs into 51 languages and provided interpretation in
93 languages for over 289,000 phone conversations. We also provide interpretation for meetings
and events and translate many other documents and communications. So families, please know:
T- 36504 PS + You Issue 44 – Language Diversity (English)
our schools speak your language! I encourage you to visit our website to learn more or request
language services.
I also want to highlight our efforts to strengthen and expand our bilingual programs. These
innovative programs—we had 557 across the city last year—teach students in both English and one
of 12 languages, ranging from Bengali to Haitian Creole, Japanese to Polish. We’re eager to
continue expanding these programs; as our students build multilingualism, they gain the skills to
lead and succeed in our globalized society.
I believe we have so much to learn from each other, and that opening ourselves up to other
perspectives, cultures, and languages reinforces our shared humanity. I’ve said it before and I’ll say
it again: our city’s diversity is our greatest strength.
Soaring high,
David C. Banks
Chancellor
