New York, NY – New Visions for Public Schools announced the award of grants totaling $36,000 to support 36 New York City public school librarians and administrators attending the 2025 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National Conference. This conference, the only national event dedicated solely to school librarians, offers a comprehensive program designed to inspire and equip school librarians with innovative strategies and resources to enhance student learning and literacy.

Each of the 36 recipients will receive a $1,000 grant to help cover travel and attendance costs for the prestigious conference. This initiative, championed by the Astor Center for Public School Libraries at New Visions, aims to provide vital professional development opportunities for NYC educators and empower them to bring back and share new insights with their colleagues.

“We are incredibly excited that these grants will enable over thirty NYC school librarians and administrators to attend the AASL National Conference,” said Russell West Jr., Director of Curriculum & Instruction at New Visions for Public Schools. “This is a unique opportunity for these dedicated educators to engage with the latest trends and best practices in school librarianship and to share what they learn with fellow NYC school librarians throughout the next school year.”

The Astor Center for Public School Libraries at New Visions, a program with a 28-year history of bolstering school libraries in NYC public schools, facilitates these grants. Funding is generously provided by The New York Community Trust – the Astor Fund for Public School Libraries, a fund established by the Vincent Astor Foundation in 1997.

The grants will benefit educators from schools across New York City, including:

• Abraham Lincoln High School
• AP Randolph High School
• Arts and Letters 305 United
• ATLAS High School
• August Martin High School
• Bayard Rustin Educational Complex/Humanities Campus
• Claremont International High School
• East Side Community School
• Edward A Reynolds Transfer High School
• Edward A. Reynolds Transfer High School
• Erasmus Educational Campus
• Forest Hills High School
• Hunters Point Campus Library
• I.S. 10 Horace Greeley
• I.S. 238 Susan B. Anthony Academy
• IS 61 Leonardo Da Vinci Intermediate School
• JHS259, William McKinley Jr. High School
• John Dewey High School
• Lower East Side Prep HS
• Midwood High School Library
• MS 936: Arts off 3rd
• Murry Bergtraum Campus Library
• New Utrecht High School
• P.S. 45Q
• Performing Arts and Technology High School
• PS 137
• Springfield Gardens Campus Library
• Sunset Park High School
• The Boerum Hill School for International Studies
• Urban Assembly New York Harbor School