All applicants for NYC early education receive seats as Adams unveils plan to address problems
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Every child who applied for 3-K or Pre-K in the New York City public school system by the deadline has received a seat, this after a big public outcry about the denial of hundreds of applications earlier this summer.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the news Thursday as he was joined by City Council members and city officials in rolling out New York City's plans for early childhood education, which has seen a record demand this year.
They announced a 10-point initiative designed to address longstanding issues, while boosting enrollment and connecting families with more Pre-K and 3-K seats.
The availability of seats has been a point of contention in the past, with some parents claiming they applied and were not placed.
The city says it was able to increase the capacity for 3-K to 53,000 seats. Now, officials say, 100% of applicants have been given seats for the 2024-25 school year, which begins in the city next week.
Early education programs had been cut earlier this year as the city tried to balance the budget due to the migrant crisis. In April, the city restored $514 million in funding, but still hundreds of applications were denied.
Parents were upset, and at the Brooklyn event announcing the changes Thursday, Adams acknowledged there had been inequities in the system.
"There were vacant seats in some places, and too few seats in others, a disjointed system. And we had to use technology to bring that system together and really identify where the needs were," Adams said. "It was a bold, bold opportunity, and we leaned into that."
The city's strategic plan, developed by a joint Adams administration-City Council working group, is being backed by $100 million allocated in the FY 2025 budget.
"Access to affordable child care is one of the largest drivers of economic mobility, especially for women," Adams said in statement accompanying Thursday's rollout. "That's why our administration has delivered an expanded and more equitable early childhood education program, and, with this plan, we are presenting our vision for how to strengthen it even further into the future."
Here are the key features of the city's 10-point plan:
1. Increasing 3-K Access for Families This School Year
2. Expanding Family Outreach Strategy
3. Increasing Preschool Special Education Classrooms
4. Providing Free Extended Hours of Early Childhood Education for Children and Their Families
5. Expanding Support for Undocumented Children Through Promise NYC
6. Funding the Mayor's Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education
7. Providing Deeper Support for Child Care and Early Childhood Education Providers and Programs
8. Establishing the "Child Care Advisory Group"
9. Convening Bi-Weekly Meetings Between the Adams Administration and the City Council
10. Ensuring City Agencies Have the Staff and Resources to Support the Infrastructure of the City's Early Childhood Education System
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