The Definitive Guide to New York Education & Parenting

Empty school hallway with cleaning equipment

Justin G. Jul 1, 2026

The Building Only Looks Empty: What Actually Happens at School All Summer

A school in July looks abandoned, but it is running its busiest season. Inside the summer that decides your fall: closing the books and the external audit, capital projects and inspections, curriculum planning, professional development, staffing, and the board work that happens while nobody is watching.

The Playbook

Justin G. Jun 30, 2026

The End of Seat Time: How New York Is Rewriting What a Diploma Means

New York is dismantling seat time and the pass-to-graduate Regents requirement in favor of competency-based education, projects, and a single diploma. Here is what is actually changing, what is not, the real timeline, and how families should prepare without getting caught flat-footed.

An adult mentor and a teenage student talking in a sunlit school hallway

Parent Support

Justin G. Jun 29, 2026

When the Warning Signs Look Like Kindness: A Parent's Guide to Grooming

Most child sexual abuse comes from someone a family trusts, and it almost never starts with an assault. It starts with grooming that looks like kindness. Here is how to read the pattern, tell a caring teacher from a concerning one, protect kids from digital grooming, and report the right way if something feels off.

teen in a trade workshop and a college campus

The Playbook

Justin G. Jun 26, 2026

The College Savings Account Most Families Think They Can't Afford to Open

Most families never open a 529 because they think it is for the wealthy. It is not. New York's plan has no minimum, a state tax deduction worth real money, and far more flexibility than it used to. Here is how the most underused college savings account works, and how to start this week with as little as a few dollars a paycheck.

Community Voices

Justin G. Jun 25, 2026

Where Do the Teenagers Go? The Quiet Crisis of the Vanishing Third Place

Teens are not just addicted to their phones. They have run out of places to go. As the third place disappears, the screen becomes the only open door. Here is what the research says about teen loneliness, and how families and communities can rebuild the real-world spaces that summer used to provide.

Parent Support

Justin G. Jun 24, 2026

Your Child's Summer Grocery Money Is Real But Getting It Isn't Always Automatic

New York's Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) puts $120 per child toward summer groceries, and 2026 benefits are landing now. But attending a free-meal school does not guarantee it. Here is who gets it automatically, who has to apply by September 8, and how to claim money your family may be owed.

a parent sitting at a kitchen table handwriting a letter

Parent Support

Justin G. Jun 23, 2026

How to Get Your Child Evaluated for Special Education (and IEP or a 504)

Suspect your child needs support at school but don't know where to start? This New York guide walks parents through requesting a special education evaluation, the 60-day deadlines districts must meet, the two-question eligibility test, and how to tell whether your child needs an IEP or a 504 plan.

empty school gymnasium set up as a polling place

News & Updates

Justin G. Jun 22, 2026

The Revote: Districts That Clawed to Yes, and the Ones Facing Contingency Cuts

New York's June 16 budget revotes split the state in two. Rome, Locust Valley, Grand Island, Ogdensburg, West Canada Valley, and South Country clawed their way to yes, most by cutting. Randolph, Lyndonville, and West Valley failed again and now face contingency budgets with zero levy growth and forced cuts to programs and staff. Here is what happened, and what it means for families.

A black parent and a teenage son sitting at a kitchen table

News & Updates

Justin G. Jun 19, 2026

Scholarship Season Still Open: Real Money With Summer Deadlines

Some of the year's most generous scholarships quietly close over the summer, when far fewer students apply. Here is a verified, current rundown of awards with deadlines between now and the end of September 2026, from $10,000 STEM and healthcare scholarships to $20,000 and $25,000 no-essay options, with application links for each.

father and son watching a basketball game

Parent Support

Justin G. Jun 19, 2026

The 0.4 Percent Rule: What to Tell Your Kid When the Odds Say Quit

A championship speech turned a 0.4 percent comeback into a worldview. Here is how parents can borrow that same reframe to raise kids who keep working when the odds, and the scoreboard, say it is time to quit.

The U.S. Department of Education building exterior in Washington

News & Updates

Justin G. Jun 18, 2026

Special Education and Civil Rights Are Leaving the Education Department

The federal government is moving special education and civil rights oversight out of the Education Department. The laws protecting students with disabilities have not changed, but who enforces them has. Here is what it means for families, and why some states have far more at stake.

A parent and child reviewing report card

The Playbook

Justin G. Jun 17, 2026

Your Kid's Report Card Just Came Home. Now What?

A "3" is not a "C." Here is how to actually read a standards-based report card, decode what Meeting and Approaching mean, tell it apart from the state test, and turn the marks into a real summer plan before the teacher leaves for break.

When the Warning Signs Look Like Kindness: A Parent's Guide to Grooming

Your Child's Summer Grocery Money Is Real But Getting It Isn't Always Automatic

Scholarship Season Still Open: Real Money With Summer Deadlines

The Standard NY Resource Center