Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza today announced 9,518 families are receiving offers to free, full-day, high-quality 3-K for All across 12 community school districts from Harlem to Hollis.
These numbers are three times more than last year when 3,257 families across six community school districts received offers.
A total of 14,253 families across all 32 community school districts applied to 3-K for All, demonstrating high demand and the need for additional support from the State and Federal government to bring 3-K for All citywide by the 2021-22 school year.
“This is a great day for our City and for the thousands of 3-K students and families starting their New York City public school careers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “High-quality early childhood education leads to greater success for kids throughout their lifetime, while putting an additional $10,000 on average back in their families’ pockets for every year of class before kindergarten. I’m proud that we’ve been able to continue expanding 3-K for All and that families across all five boroughs will reap the benefits.”
“3-K and Pre-K for All transform children’s and families’ lives and are the foundation of our students’ long-term academic success,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “This is Equity and Excellence for All in action—expanding opportunity across the five boroughs through access to free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education.”
As part of the 2019 State of the City address, Mayor de Blasio increased the City’s commitment to fully funding free, full-day, high-quality 3-K. With this increased commitment, 3-K will be available in 12 districts this fall – including on Staten Island for the first time – up from six originally planned. The full schedule for 3-K expansion is:
- 2017-18: District 7 (South Bronx) and District 23 (Brownsville). This year, over 1,500 three-year olds were served by 3-K for All in these two districts.
- 2018-19: District 4 (East Harlem), District 5 (Harlem), District 16 (Bedford-Stuyvesant), and District 27 (Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Rockaways). This year, there are currently approximately 5,000 children served by 3-K for All.
- 2019-20: District 6 (Washington Heights and Inwood), District 8 (Country Club, Pelham Bay, Throgs Neck, Castle Hill, Soundview, Hunts Point), District 9 (Grand Concourse, Highbridge, Morrisania), District 19 (East New York), District 31 (Staten Island), and District 32 (Bushwick)
- 2020-21: District 12 (Central Bronx) and District 29 (Cambria Heights, Hollis, Laurelton, Queens Village, Springfield Gardens, St. Albans)
Each district will have a two-year expansion, offering universal access in the second year. All families who applied from Districts 4, 5, 7, 16, 23, and 27 will be able to attend 3-K for All this fall. Additionally, all families who applied from Districts 19 and 32 received an offer to attend 3-K for All this year, fulfilling the City’s commitment to provide universal access to students living in the district a year ahead of schedule.
3-K for All is the nation’s most ambitious effort to provide universal, free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education for all three-year-olds, and builds on the success of Pre-K for All. Research has found every dollar invested in high-quality early education saves taxpayers as much as $13 long term. The City is on track to support approximately 20,000 3-K seats across the city this school year. For the 2019-20 school year, 3-K for All will cost $173 million across 12 districts. In order to achieve the vision of 3-K for All citywide, the City will need additional support from partners in the State and Federal government.
Families without an offer are receiving information today on EarlyLearn programs for which they may be eligible, and will receive ongoing support from the DOE outreach team to find a program that meets their needs. Families can continue to learn about available 3-K programs online at nyc.gov/3k, over the phone by calling 718-935-2009, or in-person at a Family Welcome Center. Like Pre-K for All, free, full-day, high-quality 3-K for All seats are available across a wide range of settings including DOE schools, DOE Pre-K Centers, and community-based organizations, including Head Start, EarlyLearn providers, child care agencies, and, for the first time, family child care providers in District 27.
The 3-K for All expansion builds on the success of Pre-K for All. Parents with children enrolled in free, full-day pre-K save an average of $10,000 annually on childcare costs. An NYU study last year found that Pre-K for All makes it more likely that a low-income child in New York City is properly diagnosed with asthma or vision problems, and receives screening or treatment for hearing or vision problems. Additionally, 94 percent of NYC Pre-K for All programs assessed from 2015-16 through 2017-18 scored at or above a national threshold correlated with positive student outcomes, up from 88 percent of the programs assessed from 2014-15 through 2016-17, and outpacing or on par with gold-standard programs across the country.
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As part of the larger effort to strengthen birth-to-five care and education across the City, EarlyLearn programs are transitioning from ACS to management by DOE in 2019. This transition is being led by ACS and DOE with engagement from other city agencies, including the Human Resources Administration and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as well as providers, early childhood care and education experts, and state and federal regulators. Creating a unified birth-to-five early care and education system will benefit children, families, and providers. It will enable consistent, high-quality standards, greater curricular alignment from early childhood through second grade, streamline and simplify enrollment, and encourage integration at a classroom level. In addition to programs serving three- and four-year-olds, EarlyLearn programs serving children from six-weeks-old through three-years-old are also transitioning to management by DOE, including center- and home-based programs.
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3-K for All and Pre-K for All are part of the Mayor and Chancellor’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda. Together, the Equity and Excellence for All initiatives are building a pathway to success in college and careers for all students. Our schools are starting earlier – free, full-day, high-quality education for three-year-olds and four-year-olds through 3-K for All and Pre-K for All. They are strengthening foundational skills and instruction earlier – Universal Literacy so that every student is reading on grade level by the end of 2nd grade; and Algebra for All to improve elementary- and middle-school math instruction and ensure that all 8th graders have access to algebra. They are offering students more challenging, hands-on, college and career-aligned coursework – Computer Science for All brings 21st-century computer science instruction to every school, and AP for All will give all high school students access to at least five Advanced Placement courses. Along the way, they are giving students and families additional support through College Access for All, Single Shepherd, and investment in Community Schools. Efforts to create more diverse and inclusive classrooms through Diversity in New York City Public Schools, the City’s school diversity plan, are central to this pathway.
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