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Universal Pre-K Slots Still Available
| Posted on: October 21, 2009 |
CB14 has just received the following letter from the City Council regarding Universal Pre Kindergarten (UPK) programs:
Dear New Yorker,
The New York City Council is once again partnering with the Department of Education (DOE), the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and childcare advocates to help enroll four-year olds in FREE Universal Pre Kindergarten (UPK) programs by Friday, October 30th.
About 5,000 full-day and half-day UPK seats are still available for children who turned four years old by December 31, 2009, in public schools, childcare centers contracted by ACS and community-based organizations contracted by the DOE. Research supports UPK as a way to support the social, emotional and academic skills of children as well as prepare children for Kindergarten.
When choosing a UPK program, families can select a vacant seat near where they live, where they work or where they go to school. Families should also know that selecting a UPK slot in a public school will not guarantee their child a space in the Kindergarten program for the following year. Moreover, for childcare centers ONLY, both three- and four-year olds are eligible to attend UPK programs.
Families should contact individual programs to confirm seat availability and to register. The following tools are available to help families find childcare centers or public schools with available seats:
- Families can call 311 and ask for a UPK program in their neighborhood.
- Call a toll free number (888) 469-5999 and speak with a parent counselor.
- NYCityMap lets families search for UPK programs with available seats close to their home, work or school. Families can log on to http://gis.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/, enter an address first, then click on “Show Additional Data” (on the right hand side at the bottom), and choose “Universal Pre-K” under Education.
- The DOE’s website has a directory of programs with available seats at http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/PreK/default.htm.
Please note that there are additional services that children potentially attending ACS-contracted childcare centers can receive if they qualify. Families interested in finding out if they qualify for subsidized services can log on to the ACS’s website and use the Child Care Eligibility Wizard to see if they are eligible for additional services at http://www.nyc.gov/html/acs/chidcare_eligibility/wizard.html.
We’re hoping you will join us in getting the word out that full- and half-day UPK slots are still available!
For more information or if you have any questions about UPK programs in general, please contact Yolanda McBride in the Council’s Policy Division at (212) 227-4558. You can also e-mail her directly at ymcbride@council.nyc.gov.
Thanks so much for helping us get the word out!
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
New York City Council
Robert Jackson
Chair, Education Committee
New York City Council
Bill de Blasio
Chair, General Welfare Committee
New York City Council
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