Reading, Writing and Raspberry Muffins

By JAMIE DELIZ & MARLENE GOMEZ

Kids across New York City flocked to the classrooms of the largest school system in the nation Thursday morning to ring in a new school year.

“As we begin a new school year, we have much to celebrate,” said Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, Carmen Fariña.

Some 1.1 million students across the city’s 1,800 public schools will witness the rollout of new programs, like 3-K in parts of Brooklyn in the Bronx and free lunch for all students.

Under sunny skies and mild weather the new school year went smoothly though in one incident an unloaded hand gun was confiscated from a 17-year-old student of City Polytechnic High School in Downtown Brooklyn.

Offering free lunch to every student regardless of need stems from the desire to end the  practice of “school lunch-shaming,” where those who qualified because of low family income were sometimes ridiculed by classmates.

“Free school lunch will not only ensure that every kid in New York City has the fuel they need to succeed,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “but also further our goal of providing an excellent and equitable education for all students.”

Last year, roughly 75 percent of students were eligible to receive free school lunch. This year, more than 200,000 students, including charter and non-public school participants, will benefit from the initiative.

De Blasio visited schools throughout the five boroughs Thursday, starting with P.S. 277 in the Bronx, where he welcomed students, teachers, and staff members.

In Harlem’s P.S. 46, de Blasio read “How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?” to a second-grade class.

“It’s a welcome change,” said UFT representative Zina Burton- Myrick, and a supporter of free school lunch. “I’m glad he picked a Harlem school. It’s nice for the children in the neighborhood to actually interact with the mayor. It’s a nice way to come back to the beginning of the school year.”

The mayor engaged in photo-ops with some of the neighborhood residents before heading off to the next school.

“We felt honored,” Assistant Principal Sharon Goodman said. “His presence is powerful. It sends a message as a community—we’re all in this together.”