By Tom Momberg
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that every one of the nearly 70,000 applicants in the first round of the city’s full-day pre-kindergarten application period would receive an offer letter for a fall seat by the end of the week, and most in Queens would get into one of the schools of their choice.
The mayor touted that 57,000 four-year-olds citywide would receive offer letters from one of their top three school choices. Out of the 20,511 pre-K applicants from Queens, the Mayor’s office said 16,359 would be offered seats from one of the top three choices they listed on their applications.
While 80 percent of pre-K applicants from Queens were awarded one of their top picks for schools, there had been concerns in some overcrowded borough school districts that there would not be enough seats to meet the demand. But the mayor’s office has been looking feverishly for new classroom space.
Families were given the option to list and rank 12 different school choices on their pre-K applications, at either district schools or the city’s Early Education Centers. By the end of the week, each family that applied should have received a single offer letter.
The mayor said students would be waitlisted at every school or EEC that was ranked higher on the application than the one to which they were offered a seat.
“We want parents to know there are more opportunities ahead,” de Blasio said. “We have thousands more seats coming online in the weeks ahead and another round of applications right around the corner. We will work with every parent one-on-one to find the right program for their child.”
The city said it already added 1,700 new seats since the first application period closed, and expects to roll out thousands more in areas where they are most needed.
The second application period begins June 22. Families that already received a pre-K offer are permitted to submit another application without forfeiting their original offer, and those students would remain waitlisted at their top-choice schools.
Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), chair of the Council Committee on Education, said he applauded the mayor and schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña for maintaining their promise to have a pre-K seat for every child who wants one.
“This year more students will be entering pre-K and more parents will be able to go back to work or school than ever before,” Dromm said. “This is an important step for the future of our city.”
To file an application during the second application round, go to www.nyc.gov/
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
