Quinn extends day for preschoolers

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Councilmember Thomas White, Jr. visited P.S. 30, 126-10 Bedell Street in Jamaica, on Friday, May 19 to observe a Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) class.
Speaker Quinn is calling for the 34,000 UPK slots in New York City that are presently half day, to be converted into full day sessions. Statistics show that children who attend Pre-K are less likely to drop out of school, repeat grades, and require special education services.
“Early childhood education is one of the most critical factors in determining future success,” said Quinn. “To truly give young children the opportunities they deserve, we must offer as many four-year-olds as possible, access to full-day Pre-K. This is an attainable goal that will have a dramatic impact on the lives of our kids and assist our city’s working families.”
The National Education Association reports that full-day Pre-K is more beneficial for students and families in ways that half-day programs are not. According to some studies, children spend more time arriving, departing, cleaning up or eating, rather than on learning activities when they are enrolled in half-day sessions.
A study of students in high-need New York State urban districts found that those who had attended full-day Pre-K outperformed those who had attended half-day Pre-K. Additionally, extending half-day sessions to full days would save the state millions of dollars over the course of a child’s 12-year education.
“I support the Speaker’s call for a citywide universal Pre-K full-day program,” added White. “This is a priority for all of us at the New York City Council, and in my district it just makes sense. We must invest in our 3 to 5-year-olds. We must establish a foundation for these future leaders to build on. In every sense, this is an investment that will provide a windfall for the entire community.”
In her budget proposal back in April, Quinn discussed a three-year initiative that would extend to all Pre-K programs. In essence, the City will expand Universal Pre-K for 24,000 existing morning and 10,000 existing afternoon programs by an additional 2.5 hours to provide a full-day, 5-hour program.”