page_title: New York City
section_title: Primary and secondary education
hierarchical_section_title: New York City / Education and scholarly activity / Primary and secondary education
caption_attribution_description: English: Columbia University's Butler Library at nighttime
context_page_description: New York City, often called simply New York and abbreviated as NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2019 population of 8,336,817 distributed over about 302.6 square miles, New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.
  Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is a county of the State of New York.
context_section_description: The New York City Public Schools system, managed by the New York City Department of Education, is the largest public school system in the United States, serving about 1.1 million students in more than 1,700 separate primary and secondary schools. The city's public school system includes nine specialized high schools to serve academically and artistically gifted students. The city government pays the Pelham Public Schools to educate a very small, detached section of the Bronx. 
  The New York City Charter School Center assists the setup of new charter schools. There are approximately 900 additional privately run secular and religious schools in the city.
caption: Butler Library at Columbia University, described as one of the most beautiful college libraries in the United States.[424]
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