Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight: '¡Su voto es su voz!': Willie Velásquez, Champion for Voting Rights
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are sharing our Hidden Voices profile of Willie Velásquez, the charismatic Mexican American grassroots activist who worked to ensure equal voting rights for Latinos in the United States while also galvanizing Latinos towards participating in the U.S. political process at the local, statewide, and national levels.
This year marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93—also known as Patriot Day, and the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
We encourage students of all ages to check out the reading recommendations below as a way to remember the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost that day, celebrate the heroes that saved countless others, and to better understand the aftermath. We hope that students of all ages can learn something from the multiple unique and valuable perspectives shared in these stories.
Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)
- 14 Cows for America, by Camren Agra Deedy; illustrated by Thomas Gonzales
- Branches of Hope, by Ann Magee; illustrated by Nicole Wong
- Fireboat: The Heroic Journey of the John J. Harvey, by Maira Kalman
- Me and the Sky, by Beverly Bass with Cynthia Williams; illustrated by Joanne Stone
Elementary (Grades 3–5)
- The Goat, by Anne Fleming
- The Red Bandana, Adapted for Young Readers, by Tom Rinaldi
- Saved By the Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11, by Julie Grassman; illustrated by Steve Moors
- Towers Falling, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- Broken Strings, by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer
- Nine, Ten, by Nora Raleigh Baskin
- The Places We Sleep, by Caroline Brooks DuBois
- Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero, by Saadia Faruqi
Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)
- Ground Zero, by Alan Gratz
- In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers, by Don Brown
- Love is the Higher Law, by David Levithan
- A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Tahreh Mafi
You can find these books and many more great reads on Sora, our Citywide Digital Library, which provides free access to thousands of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students. You can also find even more great recommendations in Resilience and Reflection: A Collection of 9/11 Books on Sora.
9/11 is also considered a National Day of Service, so in addition to checking out our book recommendations, we encourage you to volunteer for a community service opportunity like those you can find through NYC Service or through the NYC Cares 9/11 Day of Service.
If you are an educator looking for additional learning materials about the September 11 attacks, there are a few helpful places to start, including our “Teaching 9/11” Educator Resources, available via WeTeach NYC, and the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial Lesson Plans, 9/11 Anniversary Digital Learning Experience, and additional Student and Teacher Resources.
Missed our previous book recommendations?
Check them out in the "What We're Reading" Archive!
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS
On July 16, Governor Kathy Hochul joined Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos for a roundtable event at Walton High School in the Bronx to meet with local community and school-based stakeholders to discuss New York State's updated policy regarding students' use of personal cell phones and electronic devices during school days.
During the roundtable, the Governor and Chancellor provided an overview of how the upcoming policy will affect classrooms, learning spaces, and families in school communities across the City and the State. Check out some of our favorite moments during this community event!
