"We want to make sure that every child who is eligible, that their family apply and take advantage of the process," de Blasio said in the playground of a pre-k program in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.
BRONX - Mayor Bill de Blasio again touted his success in getting funding for universal pre-kindergarten, his signature campaign issue, and urged parents to apply for newly available pre-k seats in public schools before a Wednesday deadline.
"We want to make sure that every child who is eligible, that their family apply and take advantage of the process," de Blasio said in the playground of a pre-k program in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.
The April 23 deadline applies only to applications for public school pre-k seats. If parents miss that deadline, or their child doesn't get into a public pre-k program or there isn't one nearby, they will be able to apply for new full-day pre-k seats in community-based organization, to be rolled out later this spring.
"There will be a whole range of additional options as part of our UPK plan that will be available through community-based organization," de Blasio said. "Again, some in the public school buildings, some in the community-based organizations. All of them high-quality. All of them full-day. All of them free."
The Department of Education will offer 4,268 more full-day pre-k seats next year than they have this year, bringing the total number of full-day seats in city schools to more than 20,000. Of those, 504 seats will be located on Staten Island.
If parents checked out the application earlier this year - particularly if they didn't see any options in local schools -- they should check again, de Blasio said, given the addition of those more than 4,000 seats.
"If they have not gone back and looked since March to see the new options that are available -- potentially right in their own immediate area -- they may not know that there's something there for them," de Blasio said.
In addition to the roughly 20,000 full-day pre-k seats in public schools come March, another 33,000 full-day seats will be awarded to community-based early childhood centers later this spring - resulting in more than 53,000 free, full-day pre-k seats available to city schoolchildren by September.
The mayor said he didn't have details on how many people had applied for pre-k seats so far Monday, but said applications were up.
"There's no question the interest levels are very, very high," de Blasio said.
Parents can sign up online at www.schools.nyc.gov/prek, by calling 311, or by visiting the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex, 715 Ocean Terr., Sunnyside.