The Month Ahead (December 2021)

It’s almost time to close the book on 2021.

December 2021 is upon us, and with the arrival of the twelfth month of the calendar year, New Yorkers across the five boroughs are busily preparing for the holiday season. Regardless of where you go in the City, you’ll experience colorful seasonal decorations, countless ads for this season’s hot new merchandise, and the timeless sound of Mariah Carey’s voice now that she’s been freed from her 11-month slumber.

For City public school families, Winter Recess (December 24–31, 2021) is the main event this month. In addition, families with students who registered for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) by the November deadline have testing dates to factor into their schedules this month. Finally, families seeking admission into City elementary schools in fall 2022 can look forward to virtual events where they can learn more about this year’s admissions process.

So without further ado, let’s check out what’s happening in NYC public schools in December 2021, courtesy of our official 2021–22 NYC Schools Calendar.

NYC Schools Calendar — December 2021

Some notes about this month’s schedule:

Virtual Elementary School Admissions Events

This month, the DOE is hosting two events online for families with children born in 2017, 2018, and 2019 in order to discuss kindergarten, pre-K, and 3-K admissions, respectively. During each event, attendees will learn how to create and access MySchools accounts, explore school and program options, and get ready to apply for NYC elementary schools. After the live presentation, attendees will be able to hear their questions answered.

Please note that both December events will cover the same information, but each event offers different interpretation options.  A captioned recording of this event will be posted on our website later in December.

Information about accelerated learning for all through Brilliant NYC will be shared during separate public engagement events.

To attend these events, please register online on Zoom at the designated dates listed on the calendar above.

SHSAT Dates in December

Students who registered to take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) by the November deadline should log onto their MySchools account or speak with their school counselor to get their test ticket. Test tickets include a student’s test date, arrival time, test location, and testing accommodations (if applicable).

If any testing accommodations or information is missing or incorrect on your test ticket, please speak with your school counselor right away.

For more information, visit our Specialized High Schools page.

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And that’s all for this month! On behalf of the NYC Department of Education, we wish all of our families a wonderful and safe December!

Banner photo by cottonbro. Used under Creative Commons license. Original can be found on Pexels.