Roosevelt Island Gets 50 Additional NYC Free Universal Pre Kindergarten Seats For September 2016 - A Fantastic Improvement Says Roosevelt Island Parents' Network Coordinator To RIRA Common Council Public Session

Image From NYC Department Of Education

Reported Monday May 2, that the NYC Department of Education approved the addition of at least 50 more free Universal Pre-Kindergarten Seats for Roosevelt Island with full day classes starting in September 2016 at the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery (RIDN). According to Roosevelt Island's NYC Council Member Ben Kallos:

... 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. 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....

Roosevelt Island Parents' Network Coordinator Eva Bosbach added:

Roosevelt Island could not be more thankful for at least 50 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.

Ms Bosbach announced the additional RIDN free Universal Pre - Kindergarten seats and thanked all those who contributed to making it a reality during the May 4 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Session.



More info at this previous post. To arrange a tour of free RIDN Universal Pre Kindergarten program, contact here.

Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 has a 36 seat free Universal Pre-Kindergarten program that began in 2015.