June 2025

Dear Colleagues,

As the school year winds down and summer begins, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and the New York State Library are pleased to once again partner with over 1,100 public libraries and neighborhood branches across the state to launch the 2025 Summer Reading at New York Libraries program.

I was thrilled to officially kick off this year’s program—“Color Our World”—with a joyful storytime event at the West Nyack Free Library. This vibrant theme celebrates the arts by promoting creativity, exploration, and a love of reading. 

Throughout the summer, local libraries will offer a wide range of free, engaging programs designed to keep students reading and learning outside the classroom. Libraries are powerful partners in education, and their summer offerings can help bridge the gap between school years while keeping learning fun and accessible.

Additional opportunities for educators and families this summer include:

• The New York State Library, which offers public programs including webinars on history, genealogy, and more. Visit the New York State Library website for a full schedule of events, and subscribe to the Library's monthly newsletter for detailed updates!
• The New York State Museum, where families, educators, and students can explore art, science, and history through exhibits, lectures, and online resources. Check out the New York State Museum website for upcoming programs, and subscribe to the Museum's monthly newsletter to have the list of programs delivered directly to your inbox!

Finally, a heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2025—from preschool to graduate school! As educators, your guidance and dedication have helped students reach this milestone, and I applaud your role in their success.

I hope you take time this summer to rest and recharge. Have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,

Betty A. Rosa

Commissioner

NYSED recently released a series of new numeracy briefs to support administrators and numeracy leaders in their teaching of PreK-12 mathematics. The briefs are part of a larger numeracy initiative that will continue through the 2025-26 school year.

The briefs were introduced during a statewide numeracy event held on May 13 in collaboration with Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), the Big 5 school districts, and the small city school districts. The creator of the briefs, national expert Dr. Deborah Loewenberg Ball, served as the event’s keynote speaker and provided attendees with an overview of evidence-based practices to support responsible teaching of mathematics.

The briefs, as well as a presentation providing an overview of the research and best practices, can be accessed on the Numeracy Initiative website.

More than two hundred participants gathered at the New York State Museum on Saturday, May 31, to compete in the championship round of the third annual Statewide Mathematics Tournament. NYSED hosted the event in partnership with First In Math (FIM), a digital platform for game-based learning. Winners of the virtual qualifying round held in March, representing ten regions across the state, traveled to Albany to compete in grade-level teams to demonstrate their understanding of mathematics through problem-solving games.

Hundreds of educators, family members, and supporters were also in attendance. The annual tournament continues to expand since its inception in 2023, with grades 6-8 being included for the first time this year. This is also the first year the competition was held at the New York State Museum.

Congratulations to the winners!

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

Learn more about the tournament and winners on NYSED's Statewide Elementary Mathematics Tournament webpage.

It’s the ultimate prehistoric time capsule! The New York State Museum is thrilled to announce its partnership with Albany Medical Center to look inside two of its most awe-inspiring artifacts, including a 70–80 million-year-old dinosaur egg that has captivated tour groups and young learners for years.

Believed to be from a Hadrosaur—a duck-billed dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period—the egg likely originates from Asia.

Also under the digital knife is the skull of a Giant Beaver (Castoroides ohioensis)—an Ice Age mammal that was as large as a modern black bear.

The CT scan on June 11, 2025, provided Museum paleontologists with a crucial view of the Giant Beaver skull, enhancing their understanding of the extinct mammal in ways previously impossible.

Although the scan of the dinosaur egg did not reveal density differences to confirm an embryo, it suggests the egg is intact. A small internal cavity will be further examined for identification. Museum researchers will continue to analyze the scans over the coming weeks and months.

NYSED's Office of Cultural Education is proud to announce the unveiling of the New York State Museum’s latest exhibition, New York Pride: The Fight for Marriage Equality.

On view through February 22, 2026, this powerful exhibit chronicles the state’s journey toward marriage equality, beginning with the fight against the stigma surrounding healthcare for gay individuals, particularly during the HIV/AIDS crisis, which helped bring visibility to the lived experiences of the LGBTQ+ community and spotlight the inequalities they faced.

A newly published scientific paper is revealing groundbreaking insights into a rare fossil from the Silurian Period, estimated to be around 420 million years old!

Part of the New York State Museum's collection, this specimen of Naraoia bertiensis is one of only two known fossils of its kind ever discovered from this era.

The research suggests that Naraoia species, once widespread in tropical and open marine environments during the Cambrian Period, saw a notable decline in population in the periods that followed. This fossil provides important new data about the species’ geographic range and environmental conditions during the Silurian.

The paper, which was published in April 2025, can be found on Fossil Record’s website.

Credit: Russell Bicknell