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City Sees Spike In Pre-K Teacher Applications

April 1, 2014

Department of Education receives 690 applications from certified pre-K teachers, a 50 percent jump just one week after the launch of TeachNYCPreK.org

Additional 1,400 aspiring pre-K teachers have initiated the application process

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that the city has experienced a big spike in pre-K teacher applications, following the launch of an unprecedented recruitment effort for high-quality pre-K teachers. The Department of Education has received 690 applications from early education certified teachers (Birth-Grade 2), an increase of 50 percent in just one week following the Mayor’s announcement of TeachNYCPreK.org. These latest figures put the city on course to meet or exceed its projection of 2,500 applications from certified pre-K teachers for the coming school year.

Additionally, at least 1,400 more aspiring New York City pre-K teachers have initiated the application process on the TeachNYCPreK.org website in just the past week, uploading data on their experience, interest and languages spoken through the completion of a pre-K interest survey.

The city needs to add up to1,000 pre-K teachers this September and up to an additional 1,000 the following year to staff new classrooms as part of its expansion of high quality, full-day pre-K. The tremendous interest level so far shows a strong pool of high-quality, dedicated pre-K teachers in place to provide a great education for our 4-year-olds.

“We are committed to having a top-tier teacher in every pre-K classroom come September. And we are on course to make that happen. We are investing in our own people to build new career pipelines into our early education system, and we are recruiting the best and the brightest to come here and be a part of this transformative project,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“We know pre-K is critical to the long-term success of our students, and an outstanding teacher with knowledge and expertise is the foundation of any successful classroom,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “Today’s announcement moves us one step closer to making the vision of high-quality universal pre-K a reality. We are committed to continuing our efforts to ensure every pre-K program has an effective teacher with both the heart and the skills to reach and teach every child.”

The Department of Education has undertaken a range of efforts to ensure it can recruit and train high quality teachers as it launches universal full-day pre-K. As part of that effort, the administration last week announced a $6.7 million partnership with the City University of New York and its Early Childhood Professional Development Institute to help 400 New Yorkers secure their certification to teach pre-K. The department is also holding recruiting events throughout the city with particular emphasis on areas with a high number of new classrooms. Later in the spring, the city will launch a “Teach NYC Pre-K” subway advertising campaign to further deepen its pool of qualified teachers.

For those interested in applying to teach pre-K, applications remain open and are available at TeachNYCPreK.org. You can learn more about the application process and about universal pre-K by visiting http://schools.nyc.gov/careers/teachers/prek.htm.

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