Important Information For Roosevelt Island Parents About NYC Free, Full Day Pre Kindergarten From NYC Council Member Ben Kallos And Mayor DeBlasio - Application Deadline Tomorrow

Are you a Roosevelt Island parent interested in enrolling your child in free, full day pre-kindergarten for next year?

Image Of NYC 2014 Pre-K From NYCGov

If yes, Roosevelt Island's NYC Council Member Ben Kallos has some important information for you. According to Mr. Kallos

The deadline to put in an application for your child to receive free, full-day pre-k is this Wednesday, April 23, 2014. You can apply in person at a Borough Enrollment Office at 333 7th Ave or APPLY ONLINE.

Admission is NOT first come first serve -- all applications are treated the same, so be sure to submit on or before Wednesday's deadline. To find out which options are available, please see the 2014-2015 pre-k guide. To see options that have been added with the recent increase in funding for city pre-k, please see this pre-k expansion guide. Additional information about pre-k seats through community organizations will become available in June.

This DNAInfo guide, "Last Minute Tips on Finding a Public Pre-K Seat," provides some useful tips for your application.

The additional public, full-day pre-k options are the result of hard work and campaigning in Albany by your city officials. I was proud to be in front on this issue, advocacy which was featured in the New York Times. I am still working to ensure you will have more nearby options for next year and all the years afterwards.

Finding a good pre-k option for your child is one of the most important decisions you can make, but the process can be confusing. Should you have any last-minute questions on your application, do not hesitate to contact me at 212-860-1950 or bkallos@benkallos.com.

Mayor Bill DeBlasio's urged families to apply for Pre Kindergarten seats at a press conference yesterday. According to Mayor DeBlasio:

... Now, let’s go over this again. Right now in New York City about 20,000 kids get full-day pre-K. About 40,000 kids get half-day. A number of kids get nothing at all whose families applied. Our plan takes us to over 50,000 full-day, high-quality seats by this September. And then we get to the grand total of over 70,000 the following year. All because of the actions that took place in Albany, allowing us immediately to more than double the number of kids who get full-day pre-K....

Here's the full Press Conference



and transcript.

UPDATE 4/23 - Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 Principal Mandana Beckmans adds:

We currently have two half day Pre-K programs: an AM and PM program. At this time my understanding is that it will remain the same for next year. If there are any changes I will let you know.