Educators, advocates want $125M from NYS for full-day pre-K
Students in Nathalie Dagrella's prekindergarten class at Shepherd's Gate Academy in Brentwood sing on Friday, March 4, 2016. Educators and advocates said Friday that access to quality, full-day pre-K is lacking for the majority of children on Long Island. Credit: Barry Sloan
Educators and advocates called Friday for $125 million in state funding to increase access to quality, full-day prekindergarten.
At a news conference at Shepherd’s Gate Academy, which provides prekindergarten services for the Brentwood school district, advocates noted that students enrolled in such programs are more likely to succeed in school.
“I stand united to call for more funding and sustainable funding for ... pre-K to make it truly universal,” said Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood), who was joined by representatives from the Alliance for Quality Education, Brentwood school officials and the Long Island Progressive Coalition.
“We have many schools that still don’t have all their children attending pre-K, and some offering only half-day,” he said. “This is an area where we can profoundly make a difference.”
New York State has long been a pioneer in providing access to quality pre-K to 4-year-olds, establishing the Universal Pre-K program in the late 1990s. However, these programs generally have been half-day in length, advocates said.
In 2014, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo promised to provide a “blank check” to all districts that wanted to offer full-day pre-K. Last year, New York City received $300 million in state funding to provide full-day services to all the 4-year-olds that want to attend. Across the rest of the state, a more modest amount of state funds was provided for the full-day programs.
This year, the governor’s proposed budget includes $22 million for pre-K for 3-year-olds. But a report issued Friday by the alliance noted that few 4-year-olds on Long Island and elsewhere in the state have access to a full-day program — especially in high-need districts where the majority of students are from low-income backgrounds.
“A quality full-day prekindergarten program has been proven to be one of the strategies that helps children succeed in school,” said Marina Marcou-O’Malley, author of the report and policy director at the alliance.
Brentwood school officials said about 1,000 students are enrolled in universal prekindergarten, but only about half of those have access to a full-day program.
In September, applicants to the district’s full-day program were selected by lottery. After receiving a state grant, Brentwood was able to expand the full-day program in November.
Superintendent Levi McIntyre said he would like the district to be able to offer full-day universal pre-K to all.
Parent Lindsay Hackett has a 4-year-old daughter enrolled in a full-day program and a 3-year-old son that she hopes will have the same experience next year.
“As a full-time working parent, it’s absolutely a necessity,” she said.
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
