Mayor Announces Plan In R’wood
With state funding secured, the citywide universal prekindergarten (UPK) expansion long sought by Mayor Bill de Blasio began in earnest at a Ridgewood school last Wednesday, Apr. 2.
De Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña came to P.S. 239 to spend some time in one of its UPK classes and announce the creation of more than 4,000 full-day UPK seats in 120 city public schools for the 2014-15 school year beginning this September.
The expansion marks the first phase of the city’s plans to make UPK available to all 73,250 eligible students for the 2015-16 school year. In the recently approved state budget, $300 million was allocated to the city toward that goal, for which de Blasio long campaigned.
P.S. 239, which presently has just a half-day UPK program with 36 seats, will be one of the public school pre-K programs graduated to full-day this September, according to the mayor.
“Right now, this extraordinary school-I’ve seen with my own eyes-only is able to offer half-day seats to the children here. These extraordinary kids that we saw thriving have only had the advantage of a few hours a day in a pre-K setting,” de Blasio said. “Now, every one of the seats will become full-day seats and that’s going to allow so much more for the children of this school.”
Additional seats will be added this September to some existing full-day UPK programs in some public schools, while new full-day UPK classes will be introduced at other locations.
In all, the 4,268 new full-day seats added to public schools this September will represent a 26 percent increase over the present number of full-day UPK seats in city public schools. By September, the mayor noted, nearly 60 percent of all public elementary schools will offer full-day UPK.
Thousands of other full-day seats will be made available in programs offered by community-based organizations, including certain private and parochial schools.
“For months, we have been planning every facet of these programs to ensure we were ready to launch the moment funding was secured,” de Blasio added. “Today, the rubber hits the road, and families will have more options for their children.”
“Families are eager, teachers are ready and we have an unprecedented commitment that will ensure the highest quality pre-K that every 4- year-old so deeply deserves,” Fariña stated. She added that the program offers a well-rounded educations that enriches both the mind and selfesteem.
“I want to be clear to a lot of people who think that pre-K is where you bring your children in the morning so you can go to work and come back and pick them up and they’ve had a great day,” she added. “They are having a great day here, but what they’re learning is unbelievable. Not only what they’re learning, but the self-esteem they’re getting, their need to teach each other.”
Among those who joined the mayor and chancellor in Ridgewood last Wednesday included City Council Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito, State Sen. Michael Gianaris, Assemblyman Mike Miller and City Council Members Antonio Reynoso and Daniel Dromm, the latter of whom chairs the Council’s Education Committee.
In the past, de Blasio noted, parents were reluctant to apply with public school UPK programs given the shortage of full-day seats, which are out-numbered nearly 2 to 1 by half-day program. Half-day programs run in either the morning or afternoon for 2 hours, 30 minutes per session; full-day classes run a normal school schedule of about 6 hours, 20 minutes per day.
“Now, for the first time, when parents sign up, they’re going to know the likelihood is a full-day seat,” he added.
Locally, public schools offering new or expanded full-day UPK programs include the following:
– P.S. 123, 100 Irving Ave., Bushwick, 18 additional seats;
– P.S. 145, 100 Nolls St., Bushwick, 18 additional seats;
– P.S. 88, 60-85 Catalpa Ave., Ridgewood, 30 converted half-day seats;
– P.S. 91, 68-10 Central Ave., Glendale, 18 additional seats;
– P.S. 229, 67-25 51st Rd., Woodside, 36 converted half-day seats;
– A.C.E. Academy for Scholars at the Geraldine Ferraro Campus, 70-02 54th Ave., Maspeth, new program with 36 seats;
– The Children’s Lab School, 45- 46 42nd St., Sunnyside, new program with 36 seats;
– P.S. 63, 90-15 Sutter Ave., Ozone Park, new program with 18 seats;
– Queens Explorer’s Elementary School, 90-07 101st Ave., Ozone Park, new program with 36 seats; and
– P.S. 175, 64-35 102nd St., Rego Park, new program with 46 seats.
Parents of children born in 2010 interested in enrolling must download an application online at schools.nyc.gov/prek, complete it and remit the form by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Apr. 23, through the website or by visiting one of many enrollment offices in the five boroughs.
Enrollment offices are located in Brooklyn at 1780 Ocean Ave., 415 89th St., 29 Fort Greene Pl., 1665 St. Mark’s Ave. and 131 Livingston St. The Queens enrollment offices are located at 28-11 Queens Plaza North in Long Island City; 30-48 Linden Pl. in Flushing; and 90-27 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica.
The city Department of Education (DOE) will notify parents in June as to which school their child will be placed. Enrollment in UPK programs offered by community-based organizations will occur later this spring.
For more information, visit schools.nyc.gov/upk or text “PREK” to 877877.
Piquing president’s interest
As the number of UPK programs grows citywide, so has the interest of early childhood teachers looking for a job. De Blasio announced last Tuesday that the city received nearly 700 applications from certified teachers a week after launching a recruitment website, www.teachnycprek.org. It is believed the city will exceed the projected 2,500 applications received through the website in the weeks ahead.
The UPK expansion also garnered the attention and praise of the White House. The Mayor’s office publicized a statement it received from Press Secretary Jay Carney, who expressed President Barack Obama’s praise at the “remarkable work” accomplished by Cuomo and de Blasio in agreeing on an expanded UPK program.
“New York’s commitment to invest $1.5 billion over five years to begin to phase in publicly-funded preschool across the state will provide opportunity for thousands of children,” according to Carney’s statement. “President Obama will continue to call on Congress to enact his plan to partner with states and cities to provide high-quality preschool for every child and encourage states and cities to take action so children have the chance to enter kindergarten ready for success.”
