Mayor de Blasio Announces More Than 10,000 New Full-Day Pre-K Seats at Community-Based Early Childhood Centers in Every Borough

May 30, 2014

Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GawBNp3CA3A&feature=share

Latest wave puts City on track to meet its target of 53,000 full-day seats this September

Online maps, listings and applications guide parents through new programs at nyc.gov/prek

NEW YORK—Mayor de Blasio today announced that New York City will open 10,400 additional full-day pre-kindergarten seats in Community-Based Early Childhood Centers by September 2014. The seats were approved at last night’s Panel for Educational Policy. The new programs bring the number of full-day seats at community-based sites to 25,000, over 20,000 more community-based full-day seats than in the current school year. The new sites are posted online and the Mayor urged parents to apply by June 26th to find the best option for their child. The City has built an online tool to help parents find high-quality programs in their community at nyc.gov/prek.

The new pre-K seats, combined with those in public schools, mean New Yorkers will have more choices than ever to secure a free, high-quality, full-day pre-K spot in their neighborhood. Communities including Crotona-Tremont in the Bronx, as well as Flushing and Jamaica in Queens, will each see more than 500 new high-quality, full-day seats compared to this past school year. More than 5,400 of the seats announced today are in low-income communities. Additional seats will continue to be made available throughout the summer.

“This is a big day for working families across this city. We are giving thousands more children the right start in life. But the door we are opening depends on parents coming forward today to apply. This is one of the most important decisions any parent can make for their child, and we are giving parents the options they need to find the right program in their own community,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“We have never had anything like this in New York City before. There are going to be high-quality programs coming to communities across the five boroughs. We are trying to reach every parent with an eligible child to make sure they get the message: apply early and apply often. We want every family to find the best fit for their child,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Richard Buery.

“As a grandparent, I’m thrilled to announce thousands of new seats that families across the city can apply to starting today, giving 4-year-olds this strong academic start and high quality instruction for a full day. There are many options across all communities that will enable such crucial cognitive and emotional learning and I urge all families with 4-year-olds to apply and find the right program for their child,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña.

Children born in 2010 who live in New York City are eligible to apply for pre-K this September. The administration is encouraging parents to apply for seats in Community-Based Early Childhood Centers by June 26th. Parents will receive notification of placements in public school pre-K programs on June 5th.

Applications and the CBECC Pre-K Directory, which lists all the new options, are available at nyc.gov/prek.

Parents can find pre-K programs near them by texting “prek” to 877877.