The Continuing Appropriations Act of 2021 and Other Extensions Act reauthorized the payment of P-EBT food benefits to households with children who would have received free school lunches under the National School Lunch Act, if not for a reduction in in-person learning due to the pandemic. These temporary food benefits are being provided to help cover the cost of meals children would have otherwise received at school during the 2020-21 academic year.

Because New York City is a universal school lunch district, all public school families regardless of income will receive the benefits! Families will soon receive up to $1,320 in food benefits to help cover the cost of missed school meals while students learned remotely during the COVID pandemic. You do not (and cannot) apply for Pandemic EBT food benefits. P-EBT food benefits will automatically be issued to eligible children. Read more about it on the NY State announcement and Chalkbeat.

The Early Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (Early RAPP) provides free, interactive workshops that help NYC middle schoolers identify unhealthy behaviors, build healthy relationship skills at a critical time in their development, and create space for students to reach out for help when they need it. This summer Early RAPP is hosting an exciting summer program that will bring middle school students from schools all over NYC to explore together concepts of healthy relationships. The program is free and open to all DOE middle school students.

See this flyer for details and register here.

This summer, any New Yorker who wants them can get free "grab & go" meals across the city starting June 28th.

• No registration, documentation, or ID is required to receive a free breakfast or lunch

• Locations will be available for search on 6/25/2021 after 5pm

• Meals Hubs are open for children and families Monday–Friday

• Breakfast and lunch service times will be 9am to 1pm

• Vegetarian meals are available at all locations

• All meals are Grab and Go, not to be consumed on site

• Kosher and Halal meals are available at select locations

• There will be no service Monday, July 5th (Independence Day Observed) and Tuesday, July 20th (Eid-ul-Adha)

• Community Based Organizations may call the Office of Food & Nutrition Services Accounts Receivable department at 718-707-4371, 718-707-4382 or 718-707-4383 for additional information

The slogan and artwork above—created in 2018 by a New York City high school student, Jillian Roed, for the 2018 School Wellness Campaign Contest—represent a creed that is foundational to our work to build healthy schools, students, and communities that respect diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In this spirit, we are proud to celebrate Pride Month in June, a time dedicated to commemorating the Stonewall Uprising that occurred in our City on June 28,1969, and to honoring the brave individuals who fought together to advocate for justice and foster empowerment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer people—thank you Audre Lorde, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and countless others. This month we unite as a resilient community to highlight the people and organizations who continue to speak out publicly against LGBTQ+ injustice today. To those who continue to struggle in silence: We hear you, we see you, we love you.

The Office of School Wellness Programs continues to work hard to ensure our students, families, caregivers, educators, and staff always feel safe and celebrated.

The NYC Unity Project is the first-ever focused, citywide commitment to supporting and empowering LGBTQ young people.

Through the project, you can find organizations and city services supporting LGBTQ youth in the following areas:

• Family supports

• Health care and wellness

• Housing

• Employment

• Healthy relationship

Statistically, NYC’s LGBTQ youth fare better than their peers in other cities. But even in NYC, many vulnerable LGBTQ young people fall through the cracks and continue to struggle as a result of discrimination, rejection, and mistreatment.

Even while facing these struggles, LGBTQ young people remain brilliant and resilient. The NYC Unity Project’s goal is to build and strengthen our city’s programs so that LGBTQ young people are free to not only survive, but grow and thrive.

Summer is about to get a whole lot more exciting for students!

For the first time ever, the City will use the Community Schools strategy to integrate the New York City Department of Education’s (NYCDOE’s) academic supports and DYCD’s school-based enrichment programming to create a comprehensive summer program: Summer Rising.

This will be the City’s free, summer plan for any child in grades K-12 including students with disabilities, who wants to participate. Applications for free Summer Rising in-person programs (grades K-8) are now open. Families can sign up through the Discover DYCD website

• Summer Rising programs are full day and in-person experiences for students K-8.

• Students with 12-month IEPs will be contacted about participating in their IEP-recommended programs and about their learning preferences (remote or in person).

• High school programs may be in-person or remote, depending on the subject area and community needs. High schools will design programs locally to meet the unique needs of older students. High schools will reach out to students in the coming weeks to discuss participation.

You can find the Summer Rising Calendar, Commonly Asked Questions, and more information on the Summer Rising Program on the DOE website.

Read the full announcement for more details.

The "Get a Shot to Make Your Future" vaccine incentive is a public outreach campaign to increase awareness of the availability and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and provide incentives to New Yorkers 12-17 years of age to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Parents or legal guardians of any New Yorker, ages 12 to 17, can enter their child who has received at least their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, for a chance to win one of 50, four-year full-ride scholarships (including tuition, fees, room-and-board, and expenses) to any New York State public college or university.

The drawings will be conducted weekly, for five (5) weeks, beginning on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

Ten weekly winners (for a total of 50 winners) will be announced each Wednesday.

Additional information is available at: https://www.governor.ny.gov/programs/vaccination-scholarship-incentive.

Parent University seeks to educate and empower families as partners, advocates, and lifelong educators in their student's education through free courses, resources, events, and activities.

Parent University serves all families, from early childhood through adulthood. Even if you are not a parent, we encourage you to become involved with Parent University. With an expanding course list Parent University is ready to support you. Register and enroll for a course today!

To register for a course:

• Visit parentu.schools.nyc

• Sign in with your NYC Schools Account or create a new account

• Choose a course from the Course Catalog tab

• Click Enroll

• Check your email for confirmation!

For more information about Parent University, including flyers in different languages, please visit the Office of Family and Community Empowerment page on the DOE website. To get started, watch this short video tutorial and learn how to create an account. Then, go to parentu.schools.nyc .

We hope to see you on Parent University!

Yoga & Mindfulness Courses: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 pm

June 22

June 24

June 29

What is the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program?

The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households. If your household is eligible, you can receive:

• Up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals
• Up to a $75/month discount if your household is on qualifying Tribal lands
• A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)

Only one monthly service discount and one device discount is allowed per household.

The FCC has announced that consumers can begin applying for and enrolling in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program on May 12, 2021. The program will end when the fund runs out of money, or six months after the Department of Health and Human Services declares an end to the COVID-19 health emergency, whichever is sooner.