Monthly Update for November 2023!

November 17 – End of Marking Period 1 for Jersey City Public School students (Make sure to check infinitecampus with your child to see if they are missing any work. Many teachers will give partial credit if your child turns the assignment in before the end of the marking period)

November 22 – Half day

November 23 and 24 – Jersey City Public schools are closed

Students will return to school on Monday November 27!

For more details, click here: 2023-2024 JCBOE public school calendar

Hudson County High Schools Application Information Available (Fall 2023)

There is one application process for High Tech High School and County Prep High School. The application link opened October 1st and will be availabe until November 5 at 11:59 pm.

What to know about the PSAT 2023 (The New PSAT 8/9 Format)

comparisionold_vs_newpattern-sheet1PSAT 8/9 New v. old comparison chart

  • In the past, PSAT 8/9 and 9/10 were taken on paper. But starting in the fall 2023, all students taking the PSAT 8/9 and 9/10 will take the digital tests.
  • You can view some PSAT sample questions and answers here to familiarize yourself with the way the test will look
  • Click here to see how to see study for the PSAT and what to bring on the day of testing

Monthly Update October 2023!

October 11 – Progress Report cards due

October 26 – JCPS PSAT/SAT Day

To learn more information about how to study for the upcoming PSAT/SAT, visit our Test Prep page

For freshmen in high school, here’s Four Key Tips For Success in High School

Step by step guide on how to view your child’s grades (U.S. Public Schools)

Step by step guide on how to view your child’s grades (U.S. Public Schools)

What are Parent and Student Portals?

Many parents, especially when they switch their child from private to public school, wonder how they can access their child’s grades. Infinite campus is an online Student Information System that the majority of Public Schools in the U.S use. It is used in more than 2,000 school districts across 45 states. So your child most likely has an infinite campus account, set up by their school’s main office. They will receive a paper that says the username and password to log into two portals: the student portal and parent portal. If your child is in 5th grade or older, they get their own portal so they can go to the main office of their Public School if they didn’t already receive information on infinite campus from a teacher in the first few weeks of school. For students in 5th grade or under, during the first parent-teacher night, parents are usually given the packet with steps on how to access infinite campus for important information like your child’s schedule, assignments, their grades in each marking period, and their grade book updates, the classes they are taking, and their teachers.

Step by Step Guide

For parents who need a quick reminder, here is how to access your child’s grades from K-8.

1. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play
2. Search for your District Name and State. Select your district from the list
3. Enter your Username and Password, provided by your school
4. If using a secure, private device, mark Stay Logged In to receive mobile push notifications, if enabled by your school
5. Click Log In!

(directions above have been pasted from the infinite campus help center page)

View Help Center Page for a more detailed guide on how to use Infinite Campus.

Things to know if you are new to Jersey City’s Public Schools grading system

  1. At the end of every marking period, Public Schools give students a physical copy of their report card or send a report card to the house of each student (some Public Schools do both)
  1. In Public Middle and High Schools, if your child reaches 18 or more unexcused absences in a school year from a class, they fail the class. If your child is sick, the proper thing to do to make sure your child doesn’t exceed the limit is to get a doctor’s note the day of so your child can bring it in the next day.
  1. If your child is doing poorly in a class, before scheduling a meeting with their teacher, login into infinite campus. Click on grades and click the marking period they are in. Click on the class or subject they are doing poorly in and a breakdown of where they received the least amount of points shows up.
  1.  It’s possible the teacher marks something incorrectly or accidentally marks your child as. By checking infinite campus and emailing the teacher right away, it saves the hassle of having to worry about fixing the grade or absence once the marking period has ended.
  2. Infinite campus is reset every summer and changes information to apply to the grade you are going into (subjects, teachers, schedule) so during summer break, students cannot access their Student Portal. This feature may be different for parents.

2023 – 2024 JC Public Schools Calendar

And tips for Public School Parents!

Click to access 2023-24districtcalendar_nophotos.pdf

  • Students get Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break.
  • To parents that have recently switched their child from a private school to a Public School, I recommend looking through the entire calendar. Sometimes Public School students have teacher workshops and holidays that private schools may not close school for. 
  • It is also helpful to be familiar with the calendar for vacation planning, especially since in Public Schools, you can’t take lengthy vacations when students don’t have a break. Students have 17 days they are allowed to be absent.
  • If students have 18 or more unexcused absences (absence without a doctor’s note) in a school year, they may fail the year unless they take summer school. (The repercussions tend to vary a little bit between Public Schools).
  • I would also recommend asking your child’s guidance counselor for an infinite campus portal, if you haven’t already received one, to see if pulling them out of school is worth it. You are able to see their grades and how many absences they have so far on infinite campus.
  • Something that new Public School parents are often shocked by is that Public Schools usually end the last week of June or when school days are added to June. But Jersey City Public Schools must complete the 180-day requirement so if there are snow days, a school day will be added to June.

Monthly Update for June 2023!

For high school students, exams are from June 12th to the 16th

June 19th the district is closed for Juneteeth

June 22, 23, and 26 are half days (4-hour sessions of school)

If no emergency days are needed, Public Schools will finish the school year on June 26

For more details, click here: 2022-2023 JCBOE public school monthly calendar

New All Girls’ Preparatory Academy in JC!! (accepting applicants this fall)

Starting in September of 2023, there is officially an all girls middle school in Jersey City. Girls’ Preparatory Academy is a college prep middle school for girls only with a college culture. It is co-located in Dr. Charles P. DeFuccio School, P.S. 39 which is right on the West Side of Lincoln Park. (P.S. 39 is located on 214 Plainfield Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306).

Superintendent Norma Fernandez discussed the topic in the Jersey Journal stating that for all worried P.S. 39 parents, the new program will not displace any P.S. 39 students. In fact, Fernandez explained the school is under capacity and has a lot of extra room right now. It is also in a central location of Jersey City which makes it a great place for the Girls’ Preparatory Academy.

Parents can join one of the Academy’s open houses for school information sessions, application information, tours, and to ask questions:

Saturday, April 22, 9-11 AM

Saturday, April 29, 9-11 AM

The JC Girls’ Preparatory Academy is attached to an organization called “The Young Women’s Leadership Schools.” They have other locations nearby, such as their school in the Bronx. To see their rankings, (state-test scores and more) click here.