Three St. Lawrence County schools receive Universal Pre-K grants

Bob Beckstead, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

May 17—ALBANY — Three St. Lawrence County schools have received funding from the state Education Department to establish or expand their Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs for 4-year-old students.

Heuvelton Central School District will receive $224,748, Lisbon Central School District will receive $203,349, and Clifton-Fine Central will receive $120,000.

The school districts are among 64 that were selected by the state Education Department to receive a portion of the $34 million in Universal Prekindergarten Expansion grant funding. The grants will enable districts to establish new full-day prekindergarten placements or to convert existing placements from half- to full-day.

All public school districts in the state were eligible to apply for the competitive grant opportunity. Grants were awarded based upon a district's plan to serve a community's highest need schools and students; the level of existing prekindergarten services; the extent to which a district planned to maximize the total number of eligible 4-year-old children served in its programs; and other factors. Awarded school districts will be able to operate a 180-day program during the 2024-25 school year.

UPK is a voluntary program for both districts and children. Parents and/or caregivers may choose, but are not required, to enroll their child in a UPK program. However, upon enrollment, the school district's attendance policy must be applied.

It's open to resident children who are 4 years old on or before Dec. 1 of the school year in which they are enrolled or who will otherwise be first eligible to enter public school kindergarten commencing with the following school year.

"When we provide equitable opportunities for children in their early years, they reap the benefits throughout their lives," Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said in a statement. "The Department is deeply committed to providing a strong educational foundation to every single child in New York — because that is what each of them deserves."