The city will be adding 4,268 new full-day pre-kindergarten seats to its public schools by September now that funding has been secured through this year’s state budget, Mayor de Blasio said Wednesday.
De Blasio made the announcement at Ridgewood ‘s P.S. 239, which this fall will be changing half-day pre-kindergarten seats into full-day ones, for a total of 36 spots.
“Today, we are more than 4,000 seats closer to ensuring that every 4-year-old has access to high quality full-day pre-K,” he said. “For months, we have been planning every facet of these programs to ensure we were ready to launch the moment funding was secured. Today, the rubber hits the road, and families will have more options for their children.”
The additional spots will bring the total number of full-day pre-kindergarten seats in public schools to 20,387 by the fall—the most in city history, according to the mayor.
De Blasio’s plan aims to make universal pre-kindergarten available to 53,604 children by September 2014 and 73,250 by the 2015-16 school year.
To be eligible to apply, children must be born in 2010 and live in New York City. The application deadline is April 23, and the Department of Education will notify families about placements in June. Families will also have an opportunity to apply for spots at community-based organizations later this spring.
Parents can apply and find out more information here or by visiting a borough enrollment office.
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