How to enroll a child in a free kindergarten in New York

The universal preschool program for 4-year-olds in New York appeared in 2014. Outreach workers have presented it at 500 community events. They called 130 families to discuss concerns they might have about early childhood education. Seeking to build on the success of pre-K, the city expanded its goal in 000, seeking to extend the initiative to 2017-year-olds. Learn more about this program and who is eligible to participate. The New York Times.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the early childhood education sector, causing massive closures of kindergartens and preschools. Now things are gradually recovering and New York is offering 130 free, low-cost preschool places for 000- and 3-year-olds.

What's more, almost 30 of these places are still unfilled. And there are not so many who want to fill them, so everyone has a chance.

One of the reasons for the empty places is probably the reduction in the number of children in the city.

More than 42 New York City children have applied to the 000-K program for the upcoming school year. This is a record high, in part because the city has greatly expanded the 3-K program since its inception.

An additional 54 000-year-olds have applied for Pre-K, slightly more than in 4 but well below pre-pandemic levels of about 2022 then.

This means that even if all applications are approved, about a quarter of the places are still available.

At the moment, applications for programs are already closed, but you can register to get on the waiting list. You can register by link.

More families would enroll if they were aware of the benefits of early childhood education and did not face enrollment barriers, experts say.

On the subject: New York City May Pay for Kindergarten for Your Child: How to Get a Child Care Voucher

They say another intense push, modeled on the first successful outreach campaign, is needed to fill more seats. Otherwise, the core mission of the initiatives may be jeopardized.

The data shows that several areas with the highest vacancy rates are among the poorest in the city, including Brownsville, East Harlem, and several areas in the southwest Bronx.

And preschool enrollment rates for four-year-olds living in homeless shelters have declined since the start of the pandemic, from nearly two-thirds to about 50%.

At the city's Department of Education, the preschool team of about XNUMX workers has been downsized in recent years, with the remaining staff being merged into other teams, two current employees said, according to two current employees.

Education officials say they sent automated calls and emails to about 100 families with reminders and targeted information, and called nearly 000 parents directly.

They also advertised in multiple languages ​​on social media, subways and businesses, and participated in local events and information sessions.

"I feel like we're failing at community outreach," said Lincoln Wrestler, a city councilman representing the north Brooklyn boroughs. “If we don’t reach out to immigrant families, marginalized communities, we still won’t be able to achieve the maximum coverage we need.”

Enrollment in public preschool programs has plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic across the country, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, as preschools closed or went telecommuting, and some families worried that unvaccinated children sent to general classes.

The largest decline was among the lowest-income families, whose enrollment recovered at a slower pace.

In New York, one of the reasons that fewer children attend free preschool may simply be that there are fewer children overall. Children born in 2020 are eligible for 3-K this year, but the city's birth rate - already on the decline - fell nearly 9% between 2019 and 2020, hitting an all-time low.

The city had about 2020 preschool children in 200, down about 000% from 6, when then-New York Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced the 2017-K program, according to the state. In some areas where there are many vacancies, analysis of census data shows a significant decrease in the number of residents under the age of 3.

This year, the city hired consulting firm Accenture to determine where seats should be added or removed. In addition to poorer areas, program vacancy rates are also high in several affluent areas where more parents can afford private options.

But some elected officials argue that the problem is bigger than just demographics.

“So many working parents depend on 3-K,” said Shekar Krishnan, a council member representing Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in Queens. “They just don’t imagine that there can be empty seats.”

It is not clear how many employees of the Department of Education work primarily on preschools.

Raising awareness can't be a panacea: Even parents who want to register can struggle to navigate the application process, says Lisa Schwarzwald, who works on early childhood issues with the New York City Immigration Coalition, which has helped register children in areas like East Harlem and Sunset Park.

"We're talking about people who may not have 3-K in their home countries," she said, adding that the vast majority of families her group has helped say they couldn't have enrolled without direct help.

As the search for solutions continues, workers who helped the city enroll a slew of families years ago, such as Jasmine Fernandez, who worked on the original Pre-K outreach team, have said the city needs to "get back to basics."

“We can send emails, we can make automated calls. But it’s all about the individual approach,” said Fernandez, who left the department in 2019. "And I think that's the difference."

Other cities that provide free public preschool have refocused on enrollment as there are enrollment gaps there as well.

In Chicago, Illinois, the pandemic prompted officials to "really change" their approach, said Leslie McKinily, who runs early childhood education programs. They stepped up street campaigning to reach families in hard-hit areas and left pamphlets for preschoolers right outside their homes. Officials have begun holding bi-weekly meetings to identify areas that need more attention.

In Dallas, Texas, a new local campaign began two years ago that includes face-to-face home visits to find suitable children.

“It's like we're starting from scratch, rebuilding trust,” said Chelsea Jeffery, managing director of a local early childhood education coalition. “We knew it would take a focused effort to reach the masses.”