Acronyms
Rule: Spell out on first use only if there will be a second use on the page.
- Avoid apostrophes to make possessive. Usually not needed.
- ex: DOE schools, not the DOE's schools.
- When there is an NYC DOE logo on the page, use DOE.
- This is true of every page on the website
Addresses
- Stack on three lines as you would on an envelope.
- Use shift-enter instead of enter between lines.
Administration
Lowercase "a" when writing of a specific administration.
Ampersand (&)
Avoid--doesn't have the same meaning in all languages
Boroughs
- Initial caps.
- List in alphabetical order when listing all five.
Bullets
- If complete sentences, use a period at the end.
- All the bullets in a list must follow the same grammatical form.
- You can use different formats, in different lists, on the same page.
Capitalization
- Headings should be in title case
- each word initial cap
- exceptions for prepositions, articles, etc.
- Headings that are questions are sentence case.
- Many of the things we habitually cap at the DOE should be lowercase.
- When in doubt, check AP Style.
Chancellor
Lowercase, unless as the title of an individual
Citywide
Lowercase "c" unless it's in a heading.
Compound words
- Use a hyphen to connect two modifiers preceding a noun
- opt-out form
- No hyphen when used as a verb
- Joe chose to opt out.
Dashes
- En dash for time spans
- From 3PM – 5PM
- Em dash for interrupted thought
- Did you know—I forgot what I was going to ask
- Hyphen for compound words
Follow these Instructions on how to make each of the above.
Dates
- Thursday May 1, 1999.
- No ordinal numbers (th, rd).
- In tables or other tight spaces you can use the two-letter abbreviations for days of the week.
Elementary
Means grades K-4, but can vary from school to school.
- Why not just use the grade span you mean?
- "Elementary school" does not take initial caps.
Gender Pronouns
Use gender neutral language
Grade Levels
- Write out first, second, third, etc. for individual mention.
- Spans can be written in numerals: grades 6 – 9 (or grade 6 – 9).
- Be consistent in the same sentence or paragraph.
High School
- Two words
- Lower case, unless part of a school's proper name
Internet, Intranet, Web
No initial caps in running text
Job Titles
Not initial-capped unless directly preceding an individual's name:
- Director of Special Projects Jane Doe
- Jane Doe is our director of special projects.
Kindergarten
- Not capped unless part of a proper name/title or heading.
- Use uppercase K when abbreviating.
Languages
Initial caps: French, Russian
Large Numbers
- Start with a numeral and write out the rest of the number.
- They spent more than $5 billion on textbooks.
- When possible, round up to the next whole number group
- City schools educate 1.1 million students.
Middle School
No initial caps in running text
Money
Start with the dollar symbol ($) and use numerals—even for figures lower than 10.
- There is $3 million worth of funding.
Round dollar amounts to the nearest whole number unless there is a reason the exact figure is necessary:
- $12 million
Referencing millions? Keep it to two digits to the right of decimal.
- $12.5 million
- $12.25 million
Numbers
Rules:
- Spell out under 10
- No ordinal digits (3rd, 5th)
- Never start a sentence with a digit
- Spell out casual expressions: A picture is worth a thousand words, but a really good one is worth a thousand dollars.
Exceptions: You can use numerals for under ten if discussing a range (see "Grade Levels" above). You should also use digits with standard measures: 5 gallons, 10 minutes, 2 pixels.
Percent
Use digits and write out the word "percent". OK to use the symbol in tables and when space is at a premium.
Phone Numbers
222-222-2222.
Pre-K/3-K
The K is capital, even in running text (pre-K). There is always a hyphen between "pre" and "K." In "3K for All," there is no hyphen between 3 and K .
School Names
Use the initials PS, IS, or MS before a school number. Put a space between the initials and the number. Schools can have the same number and be in different boroughs. So include the borough: IS 285 Manhattan.
Some school names include the words "elementary", "high school" "middle school" etc. Those words then take initial caps: LaGuardia High School.
School Years
Use four-digit years for both years: 2017– 2018 school year.
Seasons
No initial cap unless in a title or heading.
Special Education
No initial caps in running text.
States
Initial capital for state names. Use two-letter postal abbreviations to specify city location: Omaha, NE. On the website, abbreviate New York State as NY State.
Subjects
No initial cap except for language names: math, science, English language arts.
Time
- Abbreviate the morning and afternoon/evening hours as “AM” and “PM” with no space between the digit and the abbreviation.
- When indicating a time range, separate two times by an en dash.
- If the two times are both in the morning or afternoon, only write “AM” or “PM” after the second time: 8 – 9AM, 8AM – 12:30PM
We
Refers to the entire DOE, not individual departments or offices.