February 12, 2026

Dear Families,

This Friday morning at 8:30, we have community coffee in our library.  Please come to speak with other families about the always-complex work of raising children – in our city and in our school.

On Wednesday afternoon, we sent home progress reports for the first half of the year.  Please be sure to read your child’s report carefully.  CPE1 progress reports are an important commitment from the school to families. 

Teachers spend many long nights looking at each child’s work and writing personally about how each child is progressing.  They do this so that each family has a clear, written portrait of their child’s growth. 

If you have any questions or ideas after reading your child’s report, please get in touch with your child’s teacher.

Candy Reminder

Friday is the day before Valentine’s Day.  Please do not send candy to school.

While many of us grew up with Valentine’s candy in school; our school has a no-candy policy. 

Testing Meeting for Families

On February 25 at 6:00, we will have annual meeting about standardized state exams for grades 3-5.  The meeting will take place on Zoom. All families are welcome. 

This will be the first year that all state exams will be taken on computers.  Children as young as third grade will have to bubble in answers with a computer mouse, type in essays, and use a laptop to show their mathematical thinking.  Our meeting will show samples of what that will look like for children.

These meetings always start with facts about state exams, and end with a discussion of opinions.  At CPE1, some families opt into having their child take the state tests, and others opt out.  At the meeting, we will share New York State’s reasons families should opt in, and then hear from a representative of NYC Opt Out about making the opposite choice.  We make space for this discussion so that all families can make a choice that fits them.

Chancellor’s Town Hall Nearby

Chancellor Kamar Samuels’s listening tour is coming to our school district.

On March 11 at 6:30, Chancellor Samuels will be at PS 171, located on East 103 Street at Madison Avenue, to hear from families about our district. 

To attend, you must register in advance at www.learndoe.org/cec. 

Rec Days Return

We will have rec days once again this June.

Most years, on the final three days of school, CPE1 has rec days, where half of our staff take children outside to parks and playgrounds while classroom teachers break down their classrooms for summer cleaning.  Last year, we did not have rec days.  Schools have allowed up to three non-attendance days for students, and we used ours for all staff pitch in for classroom cleaning so that we also could have long sessions of curriculum planning.

This year, schools may not schedule non-attendance days.  The 2025-2026 has exactly 180 school days, the minimum required under state law.  So this year, on June on June 24, June 25, and June 26, we will have rec days again.  Children should be in attendance from 8:30 to 2:50.