Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg delivered the 2009 State of the City and I’ve attached a copy of the speech to this e-mail (which can also be viewed here). I thought you would be especially interested in two education initiatives:

The Mayor announced the creation of a new helpline to better serve families called Parent 311 or P311. Starting later this year, parents will be able to call 311, identify themselves as a parent or guardian, and will be forwarded on to DOE trained specialists in order to get more specific answers to their questions. It will make communication between schools and parents clearer and more consistent and it will help parents more easily find information about New York City schools and education policies.

The Mayor also announced that the ARIS Family Portal will be available to parents this year. The portal is an online tool that helps families track their children’s academic progress and collaborate with teachers to address children’s academic strengths and weaknesses. Families will be able to use it at home and in conferences with educators to view detailed information about their children in nine languages – including information about attendance, course grades, and scores on State tests and periodic in-class assessments.