Family Resources
Parent Coordinator
Parent coordinators are an important part of your school community. They are responsible for:
- creating a welcoming school environment for parents
- working with the principal to address parent issues and concerns at the school
- conducting outreach to engage parents in their children’s education
- strengthening parent involvement in their children’s education
As a member of the school staff supervised by the school principal, the parent coordinator partners with and supports the work of their Parent Association/Parent Teacher Association, School Leadership Team, community groups, and parent advisory councils.
Homework Help
- Public Library Homework Help Website: This site is dedicated to providing information on teen use of social networking, how to help teens be safe in social networking environments, and how to integrate social networking into teaching and learning.
- Dial-A-Teacher: The UFT sponsors a homework help program for elementary and middle school students called Dial-A-Teacher. Classroom teachers answer homework questions at 212-777-3380, Monday through Thursday, from 4 to 7 p.m. during the school year. They can also answer parents' questions and give advice on how you can help your child at home. The staff speaks 12 languages.
- NY Times Learning Network: The Learning Network provides teaching and learning materials and ideas based on New York Times content.
- Educational Resources Information Center: ERIC - the Education Resources Information Center - is an online digital library of education research and information.
Bus Eligibility
General Education Transportation
General education transportation eligibility is based on a student’s grade level and the walking distance between home and school. Based on a distance calculation, students eligible for full fare transportation may receive either stop to school transportation or a Student MetroCard.
Exceptions to Transportation Eligibility
Sometimes we make an exception for a student who would not ordinarily be eligible.
Parents and guardians, along with their child's school (and a physician in the case of a medical exception), must complete an exception request form related to the reason for the request. Ask your school's transportation coordinator for the form you need.
You can submit an exception request for the following reasons:
- Medical
- Hazard
- Emergency
- Temporary Housing
- Distance Disagreement
For more information, please visit the Office of Pupil Transportation website and Student Transportation Overview for Families.
NYC School Bus App
Introducing the city's new way to track your child's bus rides to and from school.
MetroCards
Schools distribute Student MetroCards to eligible students at the beginning of each semester of the school year. Student MetroCards are different from regular MetroCards.
Use of Student MetroCards
Student MetroCards are:
- Only to be used by the student it was assigned to
- For traveling to and from school and school-related activities between 5:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
- For traveling only on days when the student’s school is open for classes.
- Good for three trips each school day. This allows a student to travel to school, from school to an after school activity, and from that activity to home.
- Valid for one school semester.
Types of Student MetroCards
- Full-fare Student MetroCards allow students to travel to and from school and school-related activities by bus and subway at no cost.
- Half-fare MetroCards allow students who live close enough to school to walk to take the bus to and from school and school-related activities. The student must pay half the fare each bus trip. Students can request a half-fare Student MetroCard from their school’s transportation
coordinator. - There is a special four-trip Student MetroCard for students whose trip to school requires more than one transfer each way. You must request this type of card at your school.