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District Announcements

Here is our 2025-2026 District Calendar! Please use it and mark your calendars with dates, events & opportunities to stay connected all year
- NPS District Calendar 2025-26.pdf
Nyack Public Schools
UPDATE on CELL PHONE BELL-TO-BELL BAN IN SCHOOLS: This letter was sent to district parents from the superintendent on 8-11-25

August 11, 2025

Dear Parents,

I hope this email finds you and your family enjoying a happy and healthy summer. I’m writing to keep you informed regarding the new statewide cell phone ban that will go into effect this September. As shared in our district announcement earlier this summer, New York State will implement Governor Hochul’s bell-to-bell ban on cell phones and personal internet-enabled devices in all public schools for all K-12 students during the school day. Our Board of Education and administration are following the mandated timeframe for implementation regarding how this policy will look in Nyack Public Schools. It’s important that you understand basic protocols and responsibilities. Here are some key points to know:

• On July 1, our BOE adopted Policy 5695: Students and Electronic Devices in accordance with Education Law §2803(1). Beginning September 1, 2025, students shall not use a personal internet-enabled device while on school grounds during the school day, except as expressly provided in Section V of this policy. Please read the policy for details.

• This means all devices - including but not limited to smartphones, iPads, AirPods, Apple Watches - will be turned off and stored away all day, even during lunch and recess. On-site storage facilities will be provided in each building for students who bring them to school.

• Principals will be sending a letter to families outlining how this policy will be implemented in each building to clarify procedures for storing and retrieving devices. Please note that this will look differently in the elementary schools than in the middle and high school.

• In the high school, students will place their turned-off devices in designated areas within each classroom and will be asked to store them in their backpacks during non-instructional time. In middle school, students will keep their devices turned off in their backpacks throughout the day. In the elementary schools, devices will remain in students’ backpacks, turned off, and stored in their cubbies. Principals will share additional details and strategies for supporting students in meeting these expectations to help ensure that students and families are on the same page.

• We will be releasing a short public service announcement (PSA) video before school starts to help everyone understand what this policy will look like in Nyack Public Schools.

• My leadership team will be collecting data on the effectiveness and challenges of this new policy for reevaluation in January 2026, as stated in the policy.

What can parents do? Encourage your elementary child(ren) to keep devices (including smartwatches) at home and reiterate with all students that they must adhere to this new policy. Help your child(ren) understand that limiting distractions caused by personal devices during the school day is important. Everyone should know that for urgent communications or emergency situations, our main offices and guidance department staff are alert and ready to respond to individual students and schoolwide needs. While we all adjust to this new policy, let’s help each other focus on the benefit of building a learning environment for students, free from personal electronic devices in our schools.

I can’t wait to see everyone back in school on Tuesday, September 2. Until then, take care and be sure to mark your calendars for our First Annual RedHawk ReadyFest on Sunday, August 24!

Yours in Education,
Dr. Lizzette Ruiz-Giovinazzi
Superintendent of Schools
Nyack Public Schools
New York State is implementing a bell-to-bell ban on cell phones and personal internet-enabled devices in public schools, effective 9/1/25.

New York State this fall will implement a bell-to-bell ban on cell phones and personal internet-enabled devices in all public schools for all students across all grades during the school day.

In response, Nyack Public Schools will implement Policy 5695 STUDENTS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES. In accordance with Education Law §2803(1) and beginning September 1, 2025, students shall not use a personal internet-enabled device while on school grounds during the school day, except as expressly provided in Section V of this policy, adopted by the district’s Board of Education on July 1, 2025. Read the policy here: https://boardpolicyonline.com/?b=nyack&s=2072304

In the coming weeks, the District will communicate the procedures for storing and retrieving devices, ensuring that students and families understand their responsibilities in using the on-site storage facilities provided. The Superintendent will be sending a letter to all families and parents can expect to receive a letter from their principals outlining how this policy will be implemented in each of the schools.

Nyack Public Schools
Please note: the Dickinson Ave. entrance to Nyack Middle School is CLOSED due to Capital Projects this summer. Enter the MS via S. Highland:

Dear Nyack Middle School Families, Summer Staff and School Community,

We want to update you on one of our district’s capital projects for this summer with a specific traffic alert that will impact anyone coming or going to Nyack Middle School during the upcoming weeks.

Please be advised, starting Friday, July 11, there will be no through traffic from Dickinson Avenue/ Central Administration Building to the Nyack Middle School. Vehicles needing to enter the middle school should do so through the South Highland Avenue entrance (normally an exit only). No vehicle will be able to enter the middle school using Dickinson Avenue.

There will be signage to clearly redirect all vehicles to enter Nyack Middle School from South Highland Avenue. In addition, there will be no parking along the hill past the middle school circle at the main entrance door, all the way down to the South Highland entrance/exit during this construction. All staff and visitors to the middle school will use the lower parking lot; the lot closest to the field will be used for staging of the construction. Please also note that the middle school fields will not be accessible during this construction.

With priority to the safety of our school community, this information has also been shared with our local fire and police department personnel for any potential emergency use. Thank you for your attention to this information, and I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Yours in Education,

Dr. Lizzette Ruiz-Giovinazzi,

Superintendent of Schools
- New Traffic Pattern for Nyack Middle School Entrance.pdf
Nyack Public Schools
KIDS EAT FREE THIS SUMMER. Our Summer Food Program is back!

Free school meals are provided all summer with breakfast and lunch, at no charge, to all kids under 18.

Weekdays from June 30 - August 29, 2025

No sign up. No registration. No ID required.

Locations:

1) Waldron Terrace Breakfast: 8AM-9:30AM/ Lunch: 12N-1PM

2) Nyack Center Breakfast: 9AM-10AM / Lunch: 12N-1PM
- SFSP Flyer 2025.pdf
Nyack Public Schools
REGISTRATION for incoming Kindergarteners in the 2025-26 school year is open throughout the summer. Be sure to register your Kindergartener!

Visit our REGISTRATION page for more information and necessary papers for school registration.

Call our District Registrar at 845-353-7038 during our summer hours, Monday - Thursday, 8:00am-4:00pm

Nyack Public Schools
Like, Follow and Share us on Facebook & Instagram as we tell our stories with equity, innovation and optimism!

Like, Follow, Share us at:

Facebook: @nyackschools

Instagram: @nyack_schools

Communications

District Vision: Equity, Innovation & Optimism

Welcome to Nyack Public Schools. Our NPS Team is here for YOU… We’ve got your back!

Be Real. Be Bold. Be NPS . That's our theme for the 2025-2026 school year and here’s what that will look like in our schools:

To“Be Real”, we must lead with vision and heart. This means keeping in-check with ourselves each day, aligning our gut and mindset as we build trust and relationships with one another and with authenticity. We will use compassion, courage and curiosity. Our students deserve nothing less.

To “Be Bold”, we will use our voice and ideas with the beautiful diversity of thought that encourages critical thinking skills, creates a colorful canvas, and tells the story of who we are in this beloved school community. Our differences make all the difference. This is what sets us apart and brings us together.

Here in Nyack Public Schools, we are clear: We believe that real excellence only happens when students are seen, heard, and valued for who they truly are. We are RedHawk proud and we believe our identity is something to beam about. THAT is what it means to “BE NPS.”

Always remember, RedHawks Rise Together!

We are RedHawk Ready: Uplifting each other as we raise children in Nyack Public Schools with equity, innovation and optimism.
We are Uniquely-Nyack: Defined by a proud history that guides a moral imperative towards providing the best multi-cultural, anti-racist, equity-driven education for our children that we can.
We are Nyack-Strong: Representing a microcosm of the United States that is reflected in our diverse demographics and multi-cultural values celebrated across the Nyacks and Valley Cottage.
Stay connected with us: Mark your calendars with important information and events that will keep you and your family engaged in your child’s education.