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No Place
For HAte
Benjamin Turner Academy has been designated as a No Place for Hate School.
The English as a New Language Department at Grimes School is hosting a Double Feature Movie Fundraiser! Join for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on Thursday, May 22, and Wicked on Friday, May 30. Doors open at 4:15 p.m., and movies start at 5:00 p.m. in the school auditorium. Tickets are $15 per person (cash only), including movies, a drink, chips and a hotdog. Pre-sale only—no tickets sold at the door. An adult must accompany all students. Please return the form with payment by Thursday, May 21.
There will be a mobile pantry at Cecil H. Parker School on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
View this month’s events and workshops at the Parent Resource Center here! Read more about the events below or click here to register.
The Mount Vernon Knights Youth Football Clinic will be held at Mount Vernon High School from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, through Friday, May 22. Join the Knights for a three-day football clinic with special guests from the New York Giants, college football players, and more! Open to grades 3-8, click here to register.
View upcoming Visual & Performing Arts events here!
The Mount Vernon City School District has opened its pre-K3 and pre-K4 lotteries from March 3 to June 27, 2025. Click here to visit the registration page and learn more.
Middle and high school auditions will be held at Denzel Washington School of the Arts on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
An application must be complete prior to the audition.
Benjamin Turner Academy will be participating in Red Ribbon Week during the week of October 21. Red Ribbon Week highlights the importance of living a drug-free life. Each day for the week, the school will be hosting various spirit days for students and staff to patriciate in.
Benjamin Turner Academy will be hosting a Trunk-or-Treat Halloween event for K-4 students on October 31, 2024 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the BTA Media Center. This event is exclusively for BTA elementary school students. It is greatly encouraged that students dress up in their best Halloween costumes and bring treats for all to enjoy during the celebration.
The Mount Vernon City School District is offering subsidized Metro Cards for $145 per semester, half of the full price of $290, for all grade 7-12 students. The Metro Card is only valid on Bee-Line buses, not MTA. Cards are valid for five months, September through January and February through June. Cards are valid Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. with up to four trips per day.
Contact Daffodil Graham at dgraham@mtvernoncsd.org, 914-358-2888, or in room 231 of Mount Vernon High School from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday through Friday. Submit cash or a money order payable to MVCSD to purchase the passes.
see The PRC
The Parent Resource Center is a place for parents, students and families to receive support. Click the link below for more information!
School News
Voters approved a $272,266,615 budget for the Mount Vernon City School District 2025-2026 school year by a 1,400-1,138 vote – unofficially – today. Results were certified after polls closed.
Students will receive an official notification of which school they will be placed in during the first week of June. These assignments apply only to students who are not in a special placement or program class assignment, such as special education. Those placements will be determined based on their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the Special Education Department. The current placements of students who are transferring can be viewed in this news post.
These placements are subject to change based on student residency.
Prekindergarten students and their parents learned about nutrition and cooked together during the Kids in the Kitchen workshop last Thursday. Through a partnership with Feeding Westchester and with support from the students in the Culinary Arts Program, families received important information about feeding their children a healthy diet and practiced preparing a healthy meal.
Kids in the Kitchen workshops are held throughout the year for pre-K students. If you have not registered your child for pre-K3 or pre-K4 lotteries for next school year, you can find more information about registration on the registration webpage at https://www.mtvernoncsd.org/family-community/registration/online-registration. Pre-K lottery registration closes on June 27.
Student athletes on the Mount Vernon Knights Football Team visited Lincoln school last week and Pennington School on Monday to read to younger students. As members of the football team, younger students look up to them as role models and enjoyed being visited and connecting with them.
Dr. K. Veronica Smith, Acting Superintendent of Schools:
As has been recently reported and thereafter confirmed by the Westchester County District Attorney’s office, a former volunteer coach for the District, Dwayne Murray, has been arrested for certain alleged acts of sexual misconduct involving a minor. The organization identified as being affiliated with Mr. Murray in a recent Journal News report, the Junior Knights, is an independent entity from the District. As of this morning, the District has not been made aware that any of our students or former students are in any way connected to this matter.
View this week's edition of the One Mount Vernon Digitial Newsletter here, featuring a joint community message from Acting Superintendent Dr. K. Veronica Smith and incoming Superintendent of Schools Dr. Demario A. Strickland.
Students show resilience by thriving in challenging situations, and two Mount Vernon City School District students were recognized for their academic excellence and accomplishments at Student Advocacy’s Overcoming the Odds Awards. Kwanell Williams, a senior at Mount Vernon STEAM Academy, and Prosper Ibeto, a senior at Mount Vernon High School, received about $700 in financial assistance to help start their post-secondary education.
Moving on up! Congrats to the seniors at Mount Vernon High School, Denzel Washington School of the Arts and Rebecca Turner Academy who celebrated their post graduation endeavors on Thursday. Students shared their future plans with classmates and teachers as they honored all the hard work they have put into their education. Click here to view photos from the day!
The Mount Vernon Board of Education unanimously selected Dr. Demario A. Strickland as Mount Vernon City School District’s new Superintendent of Schools. The appointment, effective July 1, was made during the Board’s special meeting on Wednesday.