Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Fariña Announce Expansion of 3-K For All

3-K expanding to six additional districts across all five boroughs

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña today announced the expansion of 3-K for All to six more community school districts across all five boroughs. 3-K for All builds on the success of Pre-K for All, and will offer free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education for every New York City three-year-old. Currently, the City has introduced 3-K for All in District 7 (South Bronx) and District 23 (Brownsville).

Starting in the 2018-19 school year, the City will expand to two additional school districts each year. These districts include:

• 2018-19: District 4 (East Harlem) and District 27 (Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Rockaways).

• 2019-20: District 9 (Grand Concourse, Highbridge, Morrisania) and District 31 (Staten Island).

• 2020-21: District 19 (East New York) and District 29 (Cambria Heights, Hollis, Laurelton, Queens Village, Springfield Gardens, St. Albans).

Each pair of districts will have a two-year expansion, offering universal access in the second year. In order to achieve the vision of 3-K for All citywide, the City will need additional support from partners in the State and federal government.

3-K for All is part of the Mayor and Chancellor’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda. The Equity and Excellence for All agenda, now in its second full school year, is supporting progress across all schools so that, by 2026, 80 percent of students graduate high school on time, and two-thirds of graduates are college-ready. It builds on record-high graduation rates, record-high college enrollment rates, record-low dropout rates, and a high-quality pre-K seat for every New York City 4-year-old.

3-K for All is the nation’s most ambitious effort to provide universal, free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education for every three-year-old child. This is the first year of a two-year expansion to create hundreds of new, free, full-day, high-quality seats in School Districts 7 and 23 serving Brownsville, Ocean Hill, and East New York. Currently, over 1,500 three-year-olds are registered for seats in the program. The City is on track to provide a seat for every three-year-old living in Districts 7 and 23 that wants one by fall 2018. As part of its commitment to free, full-day, high-quality 3-K for All, the City has also begun providing additional support to the public early childhood center programs currently serving approximately 10,000 three-year-olds through EarlyLearn across the City.

With the addition of six new 3-K for All districts, the program will expand to all five boroughs. The new districts were selected with this goal, as well as community need and the ability to build on substantial Equity and Excellence for All educational investments in these communities.

3-K for All builds on the success of Pre-K for All – through which the City has more than tripled the number of four-year-olds enrolled in free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K – and is part of a broader effort to create a continuum of high-quality early care and education programs for New York City children from birth to five years old. Research has found every dollar invested in high-quality early education saves taxpayers as much as $13 long-term.

There is extensive research supporting the transformative value of free, full-day, high-quality3-K for All, including the following:

• Several studies have found that students who attend two years of preschool compared to one are better prepared for kindergarten, and that they perform significantly higher on academic and social outcome measures.

• A study of the two-year Abbott Preschool Program in New Jersey found persistent gains in language arts and literacy, mathematics, and science through 4th and 5th grade, with larger test score gains for children who participated in two years of preschool. In addition, Abbott Preschool Program participation was linked to lower grade retention rates and fewer children needing special education.

• A study of Head Start found that families of children who attended for two years were more likely to engage in recreational activities together that supported child development, and were likely to spend more hours reading together at home.

• A Chicago study found that children who attended two years of public preschool were significantly less likely to receive special education services, to be abused or neglected, or to commit crimes in adulthood.

Queens Explorers Elementary School

90-07 101st Avenue

Ozone Park

October 12, 2017