More than 50,000 kids gained access to pre-K under de Blasio: How big a deal?
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's $300 million expansion of the city's Pre-K for All program has enabled an additional 50,000 children access to free, high-quality pre-kindergarten, the mayor announced Friday.
Advocates of universal access to pre-K tout such programs as socio-economic equalizers because they remove financial barriers to early childhood education, which is increasingly being seen as vital preparation for success later in elementary and secondary school.
鈥淭he historic number of students enrolled in free, full-day, high-quality pre-K means that [more children] are getting a crucial year of problem solving and vocabulary building that will put them on the path to long term success,鈥� Schools Chancellor Carmen Fari帽a said in a statement.
New York City, and New York state as a whole, has one of the highest pre-K enrollment rates in the country, exceeding enrollment rates for all but six states聽.
鈥淧arents have voted with their feet. Pre-K for All is now part of the lives of tens of thousands of children,鈥� Mayor de Blasio聽. 鈥淚t will only get bigger and better from here. We鈥檙e proud Pre-K for All is performing on a level with some of the most highly-regarded programs in the nation, and we are going to use these assessments to strengthen centers even more.鈥�
Critics of Mr. de Blasio鈥檚 plan contend that while it is noble that the plan has helped get thousands of children from low-income families into pre-K, it has also given聽the same free education options to children from wealthier families聽who may not need as much support.
鈥淲e just don鈥檛 have the evidence to back why we would heavily finance pre-K in middle class and upper class communities,鈥� Dr. Bruce Fuller, a professor at University of California, Berkeley, .
The de Blasio administration maintains that offering the program to all families in New York has not diminished the city's ability to expand access for low-income families.
Enrollment in the city's pre-K programs surged particularly among the city鈥檚 poorest children, according to US Census data. Politico New York found that聽, compared to 7,587 children from the city鈥檚 highest-income quartile.
"With a particular rise in the enrollment of children from low-income families, it is clear that the Pre-K program is reaching our City鈥檚 most vulnerable youth, and bringing them into a safe, healthy environment that encourages the development of intellect," said City聽Council Member Chaim Deutsch, in a statement.
The application period for applying to New York City鈥檚 free pre-K programs , more than a month earlier than last year, as part of an effort to continue expanding enrollment. 聽
