MANHATTAN — The deadline to apply for the city’s free pre-K programs for September was extended to March 9, Department of Education officials announced Wednesday.
The original deadline was March 4.
All New York City families with children born in 2012 — which means they turn 4 this year — are eligible for the city’s free pre-K programs at public schools, DOE-run “standalone” centers and Early Education Centers run by nonprofits and private preschools.
There’s an online application on the DOE’s website where families can rank up to 12 programs (and are advised to do so in order of preference), or families can submit an application over the phone (718-935-2067) or in person at a Family Welcome Center.
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Because of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ambitious pre-K expansion, this year was the first where there were enough seats for all families who sought one, and there will likely be enough free “full day” seats for the city’s roughly 70,000 4-year-olds in the coming school year. Last year 84 percent of families got one of their top three choices, according to DOE data.
Families with children who attended the city’s free pre-K programs last year — the first year of the expanded program — were overwhelmingly positive about the results, according to survey results the DOE released Wednesday.
Some 92 percent of more than 1,090 families surveyed last spring, along with parents who participated in focus groups at six centers, rated their children’s programs as “good” or “excellent,” and many said that they valued how the programs prepared their kids for kindergarten, both in terms of academics and in socialization with peers. And 96 percent said they felt their child was safe at their pre-K programs.
Many also felt that attending pre-K improved their child’s learning “a lot” (83 percent) and their child’s behavior “a lot” (54 percent).
And having access to these programs was a boon to many families’ bottom lines: some 41 percent said they would have had to work fewer hours had full day pre-K not been available.
“Whether it’s learning numbers or ABCs for the first time or easing the financial burden on working families, the advantages of this critical program cannot be ignored,” de Blasio said in a statement. “Families should act fast by signing up today.”
Still, many parents in the focus groups, the report noted, said that “full day” pre-K — which is 6 hours and 20 minutes — was still difficult for working families, and many called for extended hours and additional aftercare slots for 4-year-olds.
Other parents in the focus groups voiced such recommendations as having a more structured/academic curriculum (even though most educational experts decry worksheets in favor of play-based curriculums). Some parents wanted changes in the amount of homework assigned — but whether they wanted less or more varied based on their current experience, the report noted.
A few parents wanted more individualized attention for children at different levels of learning, and parents who experienced issues with teachers, said they wanted more educators with expertise in early child development so they accurately identify normal versus problem behaviors.
Overall, however, nearly half of the parents surveyed — 49 percent — said there wasn’t anything they’d change about their kids’ pre-K experience.
