More NYC Universal Pre Kindergarten Seats Coming To Roosevelt Island For September 2016 Class Says Council Member Ben Kallos - Roosevelt Island Day Nursery Offering At Least 50 New Pre K Seats, Sign Up Now To Take School Tour And Learn More

Image From NYC Department Of Education Pre-K

Roosevelt Island's NYC Council Member Ben Kallos announced today that the NYC Department Of Education has added 90 new Universal Pre Kindergarten seats for Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side.

Release: 90 New Pre-K Seats Announced for Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island by Council Member Kallos and ... - https://t.co/HTWc6yYqKp

— Ben Kallos (@BenKallos) May 2, 2016

Approximately 50-51 of those new Universal Pre Kindergarten seats will be at the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery (RIDN).

 mage From Roosevelt Island Day Nursery

RIDN Executive Director Pamela Stark reports:

Roosevelt Island Day Nursery, Inc. (RIDN) is thrilled to be able to further meet the needs of the community by offering new full day UPK classes starting September 2016. We thank Council Member Kallos's office and the Department of Education for their support during the approval process.

Dear Families:

Roosevelt Island Day Nursery (RIDN) will be a full day UPK provider next year. Children with a 2012 date of birth would be eligible to attend school at RIDN 8:40 am-3 pm Monday-Friday for free during the 2016-2017 school year!

The next round of UPK choice is open to families from Monday May 2 through Friday May 20. We expect that as of Monday May 2 the Roosevelt Island UPK offerings in the Department of Educations online registration system will include both RIDN and PS 217.

Please note All current RIDN families with age eligible children who choose RIDN as their first choice UPK program in the DOE’s online registration system will be given priority enrollment to RIDN’s Pre-K Program.

For those of you who have a child with a 2012 birth date and have not yet visited RIDN, to learn more about our school we are pleased to offer three morning tours in May:

Friday May 6, 8:30- 9:30 am
Wednesday May 11, 8:30-9:30 am
Tuesday May 17, 8:30-9:30 am.

Please RSVP for a Q + A tour by emailing office@ridn.org

Due to space limitations, tours will be limited to ten adults, and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The NYC Department of Education has more information on the Universal Pre Kindergarten Program.



Below is Press Release announcing the new Roosevelt Island and Upper East Side Universal Pre Kindergarten seats from NYC Council Member Ben Kallos:

Ninety more 4-year-olds will have free pre-kindergarten seats on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island thanks to the efforts of Council Member Ben Kallos who organized parents and children to identify new providers to which parents pledged to send children.

Of the 90 new seats, 54 will be at the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery and 36 seats will be at the Manhattan Schoolhouse in the Upper East Side. This is an increase over the 425 seats previously offered on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island for the school year starting in September of 2016 to 515.

Parents can apply for Round 2 of Universal Pre-Kindergarten starting on May 2, 2016, including families who already applied, accepted an offer, or have not yet applied.

“Universal Pre-Kindergarten means having a seat for every four year old in their neighborhood where children can get an education and parents get the help they need in order to afford to live, work and raise a family in the city,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Eva Bosbach of the Roosevelt Island Parents’ Network as well as Ariel Chesler and Jack Moran of P.S. 183 for working with me, parents, children, providers, and the Department of Education to bring Universal Pre-Kindergarten to the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island.”

Following reporting by WNYC in 2014 that Yorkville, Lenox Hill and Roosevelt Island had 2,118 four-year-olds and only 123 Pre-Kindergarten seats Council Member Ben Kallos has worked to bring new seats to the district. This included identifying parents with four year olds who pledged to send their children to Universal Pre-Kindergarten, working with schools and providers to become UPK locations, and working with the Department of Education through the application process to open more seats in the 5th Council District on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island.

Since taking office Council Member Kallos and organizers in the community have successfully doubled the number of seats at P.S./I.S. 217 on Roosevelt Island. As of 2016 the number of seats in the Upper East Side and on Roosevelt Island has more than quadrupled from 123, a was originally reported by WNYC in 2014, to more than 425 as of the March deadline and as of today 515.

“Pre-K for All is about serving the children and families of New York, and we are doing that by moving the application process up a month, planning to better match seats and family demand, and making the Round 2 admissions process simpler for families. With the partnership of CM Kallos, we've made real progress in expanding options on Roosevelt Island, and the Upper East Side,” said Deputy Chancellor Josh Wallack. “We encourage families to pre-register for their seat by May 20, and we'll continue to work tirelessly to ensure every family knows about the benefits of pre-K and is able to apply during the next round of admissions.”

“Roosevelt Island Day Nursery, Inc. (RIDN) is thrilled to be able to further meet the needs of the community by offering new full day UPK classes starting September 2016. We thank Council Member Kallos's office and the Department of Education for their support during the approval process.” said Pamela Stark, Executive Director of the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery.

“Roosevelt Island could not be more thankful for 54 additional universal Pre-K seats for our families! For more than a year members of the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network including Nisha Nihan, Danielle Goldblatt, Josie Chamla, Susy del Campo Perea and Heart Sugiyama teamed up in an effort to get more local UPK seats for our children. We collected lists of names, called and e-mailed our elected officials and requested more seats from the DOE. The mission of the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network is to serve its over 500 member families, keeping them connected through a discussion forum and various activities, and to advocate for their needs. We thank Council Member Ben Kallos and his team for working with us and bringing more local UPK seats to RI! Having a sufficient number of UPK seats on Roosevelt Island strengthens our commitment to the international, diverse, mixed income island neighborhood, a community that is welcoming to all.” said Eva Bosbach of the Roosevelt Island Parents' Network

“As an upper east side parent, I am concerned not only about the chances of my own child obtaining a pre-K spot in the neighborhood but also about the children of my friends and neighbors. That is why I have been speaking out about the insufficient number of seats in the area, spreading the word in the PS 183 Times, and working with Council Member Ben Kallos. I am glad to learn that Council Member Kallos has obtained additional seats for our neighborhood and applaud his efforts on this issue.” - said Ariel Chesler an author and parent at P.S. 183

“As parents my wife and I are thrilled to hear about more pre-k seats being announced for this area of the city we have lived for 15 years. It will mean more options for families of the Upper East Side to have their children grow and thrive in our community.”- said Jack Moran a parent at P.S. 183.

The list of locations with available in the Upper East Side and on Roosevelt Island are:

Roosevelt Island Day Nursery (RIDN) (NEW)
405 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044
4 River Road, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044
2016-17 Seats: 54 Full day

Manhattan Schoolhouse (NEW)
1608 First Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10028
2016-17 Seats: 36 Full day

P.S. / I.S. 217 Roosevelt Island
645 Main St, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044
2016-17 Seats: 36 Full day

Renanim Manhattan
336 East 61st St, Manhattan, NY 10065
2016-17 Seats: 16 Full day

East Side Elementary School, P.S. 267
213 East 63rd St, Manhattan, NY 10065
2016-17 Seats: 18 Full day

Ella Baker School
317 East 67th St, Manhattan, NY 10065
2016-17 Seats: 54 Full day

Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
331 East 70th St, Manhattan, NY 10021
2016-17 Seats: 80 Full day

P.S. 158 Bayard Taylor
1458 York Ave, Manhattan, NY 10075
2016-17 Seats: 72 Full day

Cassidy's Place
419 East 86th St, Manhattan, NY 10028
2016-17 Seats: 36 Full day and Half Day

Eisman Day Nursery
1794 First Ave, Manhattan, NY 10128
2016-17 Seats: 39 Full day

P.S. 198 Isador E Ida Straus
1700 Third Ave, Manhattan, NY 10128
2016-17 Seats: 54 Full day

Lexington Children's Center
115 East 98th St, Manhattan, NY 10029
2016-17 Seats: 20 Full day

UPDATE 12:55 PM - RIDN's Pamela Stark reports that the RIDN Pre K seats are at their 4 River Road location, not 405 Main Street as listed in the Press Release above.