Scholastic and the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced the 40 New York City public schools that will participate in the “J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour,” where the author will read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, answer questions about the entire series, and sign a book for every student. New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Scholastic President Richard Robinson handed out Sorting Hats to representatives from participating schools to help each select the 40 third through twelfth graders from each school who will attend the Carnegie Hall event on 19 October (though they didn’t say exactly how the Sorting Hats will choose…).
The DOE selected public elementary and middle schools that showed the greatest gains on the statewide literacy test in each borough, as well as the schools showing the greatest gains citywide. The selected public high schools were those that showed the greatest gains in the state English Regents’ test for each borough and those with the greatest gains citywide.
The chosen school (by borough) are:
Brooklyn: Edward Bush School; Teunis G. Bergen School; Weeksville School; Pacific School; The Upper Carroll School; Acorn High School for Social Justice; Acorn Community High School; Enterprise, Business and Technology High School; Brooklyn Academy High School; and Progress High School.
The Bronx: The Sidney Silverstein, Little Sparrow School; Jonas Bronck Academy; New Millennium Business Academy; J.H. 080 The Mosholu Parkway; New School for Arts and Science; Academy for Careers in Sports; The Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music; and Monroe Academy for Visual Arts.
Manhattan: P.S. 347 American Sign Language & English Lower School; East Village Community School; The Lillian Weber School; School for Academic and Athletic Excellence; Technology, Arts and Sciences Studio; University Neighborhood Middle School; West Side Collaborative; Clinton School for Writers and Artists; Dual Language Middle School; Leadership/Public Service High School; Legacy School for Integrated Studies; and Landmark High School.
Queens: The Robert F. Wagner Jr. School; Parsons School; Springfield Gardens School; I.S. 237; Daniel Carter Beard School; High School for Arts and Business; and Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College.
Staten Island: Huguenot School; Anning S. Prall School; and Concord High School.
In addition to naming the school, Scholastic announced that they’ll be donating 5,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book in the series, to “New York City public schools for students who have not yet read the books and are now ready to begin their Hogwarts journey.”
“The Open Book Tour is a chance for Ms. Rowling to spend time with some very important people—the kids who love Harry Potter,” said Robinson. “Scholastic is passionate about putting books into the hands of children, and with this gift of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, we are honored to introduce a new generation to the series that created millions of young, enthusiastic readers.”