New York City surges ahead of upstate with pre-K

Jessica Bakeman

ALBANY—New York City is months ahead of upstate school districts in the effort to launch full-day pre-kindergarten programs in September, the result, in part, of the state budget crafted by Governor Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday that about 20,000 families would be placed in full day public school pre-K programs, with the remainder of the 53,000 available seats being offered by community-based organizations like YMCAs and Head Start centers. Meanwhile, the state education department only just began distributing requests for grant proposals to upstate districts and eligible C.B.O.s on Monday.

Districts have until July 7 to submit completed applications, and it's unclear when they will find out whether their submissions are approved and how much they'll get.


http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/06/8546670/new-york-city-surges-ahead-upstate-pre-k