Prekindergarten classes on the rise on Long Island
Josselin Anduray accompanies her daughter Valerie, 4, at the Thanksgiving festival at Wyandanch's pre-K program last week. Credit: Rick Kopstein
There was no doubt in Josselin Anduray’s mind that her daughter Valerie would attend prekindergarten.
Anduray, a teacher aide who works with kindergartners in Levittown, said she could tell the difference between students who went to pre-K and those who didn’t. As a parent, she also saw firsthand the growth in her older daughter Angelique, 11, when she attended pre-K.
Since September, Anduray has seen similar changes in Valerie, 4, who is going to a full-day program run by the Wyandanch district.
“I wanted her to be more prepared when she goes to kindergarten,” Anduray said Wednesday in a classroom while Valerie, dressed in a pink vest and wearing "Hello Kitty" earrings, carefully colored a string of grapes, within the lines, on a sheet of paper.
Valerie is among a growing number of students receiving pre-K education in public school districts across Long Island. The number of the region’s youngest learners attending programs offered by school districts doubled to more than 15,000 in 2023-24 from more than 7,400 in 2020-21, according to state enrollment data.
More Island districts are offering pre-K education, and those that already had it have grown their programs.
Despite the expansions, some districts have continued to see their waitlists grow. In South Huntington, the waitlist’s length doubled to 60 for this school year from the prior one after the district reached its capacity of 150 following a lottery.
“There are more districts offering Universal Pre-K classrooms than ever before,” said George L. Duffy, executive director of SCOPE Education Services, a Smithtown-based nonprofit that provides educational services including pre-K programs.
This year, the organization serves nearly 4,000 pre-K students in 33 Island districts. When SCOPE started offering pre-K in 2006, only about 800 attended, Duffy said.
“The number of children has increased dramatically,” he said. “The demand is increasing every year.”
For parents like Anduray, to send their children to pre-K was a no-brainer. Not only does it prepare their children for kindergarten, it saves working parents child care costs. The Universal Pre-K programs that school districts offer are free, though not every district on Long Island offers UPK.
Parents also can pay tuition to send their children to private programs.
Proponents of early childhood education point to research that showed children who attend pre-K are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.
“It boosts the early literacy, math and language skills and leads to higher education attainment later in life,” said William Hender, assistant superintendent for Elementary Education K-6 in the South Huntington district.
Early intervention also can also take place if special needs are identified in a student earlier than later, which could mean fewer services required down the road, educators said.
Another trend in pre-K education is a growing focus on pre-academic skills, said Anna Shapiro, associate policy researcher at Rand, a research nonprofit headquartered in Santa Monica, California.
“In the previous years, it was really focused on like, 'this is a time for children to learn how to play together and teachers providing warm, nurturing environments for children to explore,' ” Shapiro said. “There's been much more emphasis on using pre-K as a way to improve kindergarten readiness.”
Universal Pre-K consists of state-funded programs offered to children as long as they turn 4 by that December and meet the residency requirement. Prior to 2024-25, there also was federal funding for UPK. The programs are voluntary as the state’s compulsory age to begin attending school is 6.
Over the years, a much higher percentage of eligible children are attending these publicly funded programs offered through local districts.
In New York, about 75% of 4-year-olds took part in UPK programs in 2023-24, according to state data. That percentage came from a state formula that estimated the proxy total of 4-year-olds as 85% of enrolled kindergartners.
By the same state estimate, the coverage rate for 4-year-olds on the Island rose from 31% to 63% from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
Not everyone, however, agrees that pre-K programs are for every child, and there are barriers that prevent the coverage rate from reaching 100%.
“I believe in childhood,” said Larry Leaven, district superintendent of Nassau BOCES, which runs special-education as well as career and technical education programs. “I believe in opportunities for children to be children, and I'm not an advocate for pushing children to read and hold pencils at 3 and 4 years old.”
Some parents may not feel that their child is ready for a school setting, or find the program setup difficult for them to participate in. A pre-K program may only run half-day, meaning about 2½ hours, without aftercare, and transportation may not be provided. Some parents simply can't pick up and drop off their children in the middle of a workday.
But most educators, including Leaven, agree that every child should have access to quality pre-K programs if their parents want it.
“There should be an opportunity available for parents who want their child in a pre-K program,” said James Widmer, deputy superintendent of Nassau BOCES. “If there's no opportunity for a parent who would like their child to have a pre-K experience, then it's not universal.”
Rachel Connors, a state Education Department spokeswoman, said in a statement the goal is to have enough space and programs for any 4-year-old in the state who wants UPK, but that goal has not been met due to the need for more funding and other reasons.
On the Island, students in more than 110 of 124 districts attended pre-K programs in 2023-24, according to state enrollment data. In 2020-21, students from only about 70 districts did so. In districts where spots are limited, parents enter their children in a lottery and are put on waitlist if their children aren’t selected.
To run those programs, many districts partner with community-based organizations like SCOPE, which charges districts $5,800 per pupil per year for a program that runs roughly five hours each day. SCOPE provides the teachers and staff, and runs the classes in district facilities. The state reimbursement rate is $5,400, and districts typically paid for the other $400.
Parents also can pay tuition to send their children to programs run by community-based organizations or private entities. Depending on program type and length, cost varies.
Dominick Palma, Superintendent of the Merrick school district, which offers UPK, said different regions of the state confront different obstacles in trying to offer pre-K education.
“Pre-K programs … may not be available to everybody in parts of our state because of distances to places,” Palma said, referring to upstate. “Locally, the biggest issue is it's not affordable for everybody.”
The funding of pre-K education has been a topic of disagreement.
“Most educators would say having a quality pre-K experience is really important, period,” Palma said. “There's still a debate about whether that should be the responsibility of school districts and/or by extension local taxpayers.”
In some cases, it's finding the space to house these classes and the question of who should bear that cost.
For Wyandanch, the pre-K program that Valerie attends is housed in rented space from the neighboring Half Hollow Hills district. Voters approved a proposal last December to build an early childhood center that would, in 2027, house Wyandanch's pre-K programs along with kindergarten classes. Officials said at the time that the project would not result in additional cost to taxpayers as it would be paid through state financial aid and district reserve funds.
In the Carle Place district, however, voters in October rejected a proposal to borrow $6 million to expand a school building that would have added seats to its UPK program.
In South Huntington, school officials backed off a proposal to reconfigure buildings after residents’ pushback. One of the benefits of the reconfiguration would be more space for pre-K.
With a long waitlist, officials there said they are looking for other ways to add pre-K classes and take full advantage of allotted state funding.
“We had that funding available to educate more kids,” South Huntington Superintendent Vito M. D'Elia said. “Last year, we gave back about $900,000 because … we never utilized it.”
Lauren Buturla, a pre-K teacher at Oakwood Primary Center in the South Huntington district, greets her students at the entrance every school day.
On a typical day, she leads the children, in one line, into the classroom. The kids are told to hang their coats, drop their lunch boxes in the bin, and wash their hands. She gives high-fives to those who finish their routines and sit in their chairs.
To Buturla, something “magical” happens every day. Recently, it was a little girl who, for the first time, sat still for a minute. On another day, it could be a student learning to color within the lines. Over the course of the school year, she has witnessed many moments of firsts.
“It gives you a new perspective,” she said. “The tasks that we do that seem so silly to us, just quickly writing our name or doing these little things, for them, it's pure joy when they're able to achieve it.”
Briana Vacca, a teacher working for SCOPE and running a pre-K class of Wyandanch students, found similar satisfaction seeing her students complete simple tasks like cutting shapes out of a piece of paper.
“This is such a big deal for them because in September, some of them never saw what scissors were,” she recalled. “Seeing them being able to cut — it might not be perfect — but being able to just follow the lines in making the shapes, it's just so rewarding.”
Like Buturla, Vacca took pride in helping set the foundation for the little ones’ education.
“This is their first introduction to education,” she said. “I'm a part of [what] shapes their minds in the education process.”
With Michael R. Ebert
There was no doubt in Josselin Anduray’s mind that her daughter Valerie would attend prekindergarten.
Anduray, a teacher aide who works with kindergartners in Levittown, said she could tell the difference between students who went to pre-K and those who didn’t. As a parent, she also saw firsthand the growth in her older daughter Angelique, 11, when she attended pre-K.
Since September, Anduray has seen similar changes in Valerie, 4, who is going to a full-day program run by the Wyandanch district.
“I wanted her to be more prepared when she goes to kindergarten,” Anduray said Wednesday in a classroom while Valerie, dressed in a pink vest and wearing "Hello Kitty" earrings, carefully colored a string of grapes, within the lines, on a sheet of paper.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Prekindergarten education on Long Island has greatly expanded in the past few years with significantly more students attending Universal Pre-K programs.
- Some districts have seen their waitlists get longer as such programs grew in popularity.
- Not all educators believe that every child should be in a pre-K classroom, but most agree that children should have access to quality programs if their parents want it.
Valerie is among a growing number of students receiving pre-K education in public school districts across Long Island. The number of the region’s youngest learners attending programs offered by school districts doubled to more than 15,000 in 2023-24 from more than 7,400 in 2020-21, according to state enrollment data.
More Island districts are offering pre-K education, and those that already had it have grown their programs.
Despite the expansions, some districts have continued to see their waitlists grow. In South Huntington, the waitlist’s length doubled to 60 for this school year from the prior one after the district reached its capacity of 150 following a lottery.
“There are more districts offering Universal Pre-K classrooms than ever before,” said George L. Duffy, executive director of SCOPE Education Services, a Smithtown-based nonprofit that provides educational services including pre-K programs.
This year, the organization serves nearly 4,000 pre-K students in 33 Island districts. When SCOPE started offering pre-K in 2006, only about 800 attended, Duffy said.
“The number of children has increased dramatically,” he said. “The demand is increasing every year.”
Teacher Briana Vacca, left, reads to children in her class during a Thanksgiving festival Wednesday at Wyandanch's pre-K program in Dix Hills. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Parents, educators see benefits
For parents like Anduray, to send their children to pre-K was a no-brainer. Not only does it prepare their children for kindergarten, it saves working parents child care costs. The Universal Pre-K programs that school districts offer are free, though not every district on Long Island offers UPK.
Parents also can pay tuition to send their children to private programs.
Proponents of early childhood education point to research that showed children who attend pre-K are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.
“It boosts the early literacy, math and language skills and leads to higher education attainment later in life,” said William Hender, assistant superintendent for Elementary Education K-6 in the South Huntington district.
Early intervention also can also take place if special needs are identified in a student earlier than later, which could mean fewer services required down the road, educators said.
Another trend in pre-K education is a growing focus on pre-academic skills, said Anna Shapiro, associate policy researcher at Rand, a research nonprofit headquartered in Santa Monica, California.
“In the previous years, it was really focused on like, 'this is a time for children to learn how to play together and teachers providing warm, nurturing environments for children to explore,' ” Shapiro said. “There's been much more emphasis on using pre-K as a way to improve kindergarten readiness.”
Barriers to 100% participation
Universal Pre-K consists of state-funded programs offered to children as long as they turn 4 by that December and meet the residency requirement. Prior to 2024-25, there also was federal funding for UPK. The programs are voluntary as the state’s compulsory age to begin attending school is 6.
Over the years, a much higher percentage of eligible children are attending these publicly funded programs offered through local districts.
In New York, about 75% of 4-year-olds took part in UPK programs in 2023-24, according to state data. That percentage came from a state formula that estimated the proxy total of 4-year-olds as 85% of enrolled kindergartners.
By the same state estimate, the coverage rate for 4-year-olds on the Island rose from 31% to 63% from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
Lauren Buturla, a pre-K teacher at Oakwood Primary Center in the South Huntington district, with her students last week. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Not everyone, however, agrees that pre-K programs are for every child, and there are barriers that prevent the coverage rate from reaching 100%.
“I believe in childhood,” said Larry Leaven, district superintendent of Nassau BOCES, which runs special-education as well as career and technical education programs. “I believe in opportunities for children to be children, and I'm not an advocate for pushing children to read and hold pencils at 3 and 4 years old.”
Some parents may not feel that their child is ready for a school setting, or find the program setup difficult for them to participate in. A pre-K program may only run half-day, meaning about 2½ hours, without aftercare, and transportation may not be provided. Some parents simply can't pick up and drop off their children in the middle of a workday.
But most educators, including Leaven, agree that every child should have access to quality pre-K programs if their parents want it.
“There should be an opportunity available for parents who want their child in a pre-K program,” said James Widmer, deputy superintendent of Nassau BOCES. “If there's no opportunity for a parent who would like their child to have a pre-K experience, then it's not universal.”
Rachel Connors, a state Education Department spokeswoman, said in a statement the goal is to have enough space and programs for any 4-year-old in the state who wants UPK, but that goal has not been met due to the need for more funding and other reasons.
The expanding pre-K landscape
On the Island, students in more than 110 of 124 districts attended pre-K programs in 2023-24, according to state enrollment data. In 2020-21, students from only about 70 districts did so. In districts where spots are limited, parents enter their children in a lottery and are put on waitlist if their children aren’t selected.
To run those programs, many districts partner with community-based organizations like SCOPE, which charges districts $5,800 per pupil per year for a program that runs roughly five hours each day. SCOPE provides the teachers and staff, and runs the classes in district facilities. The state reimbursement rate is $5,400, and districts typically paid for the other $400.
Most educators would say having a quality pre-K experience is really important, period. There's still a debate about whether that should be the responsibility of school districts and/or by extension local taxpayers.
Dominick Palma, Merrick schools superintendent
Parents also can pay tuition to send their children to programs run by community-based organizations or private entities. Depending on program type and length, cost varies.
Dominick Palma, Superintendent of the Merrick school district, which offers UPK, said different regions of the state confront different obstacles in trying to offer pre-K education.
“Pre-K programs … may not be available to everybody in parts of our state because of distances to places,” Palma said, referring to upstate. “Locally, the biggest issue is it's not affordable for everybody.”
The funding of pre-K education has been a topic of disagreement.
“Most educators would say having a quality pre-K experience is really important, period,” Palma said. “There's still a debate about whether that should be the responsibility of school districts and/or by extension local taxpayers.”
In some cases, it's finding the space to house these classes and the question of who should bear that cost.
For Wyandanch, the pre-K program that Valerie attends is housed in rented space from the neighboring Half Hollow Hills district. Voters approved a proposal last December to build an early childhood center that would, in 2027, house Wyandanch's pre-K programs along with kindergarten classes. Officials said at the time that the project would not result in additional cost to taxpayers as it would be paid through state financial aid and district reserve funds.
In the Carle Place district, however, voters in October rejected a proposal to borrow $6 million to expand a school building that would have added seats to its UPK program.
In South Huntington, school officials backed off a proposal to reconfigure buildings after residents’ pushback. One of the benefits of the reconfiguration would be more space for pre-K.
With a long waitlist, officials there said they are looking for other ways to add pre-K classes and take full advantage of allotted state funding.
“We had that funding available to educate more kids,” South Huntington Superintendent Vito M. D'Elia said. “Last year, we gave back about $900,000 because … we never utilized it.”
Teacher Lauren Buturla watches students color last week in the South Huntington district. Credit: Rick Kopstein
In class, many moments of firsts
Lauren Buturla, a pre-K teacher at Oakwood Primary Center in the South Huntington district, greets her students at the entrance every school day.
On a typical day, she leads the children, in one line, into the classroom. The kids are told to hang their coats, drop their lunch boxes in the bin, and wash their hands. She gives high-fives to those who finish their routines and sit in their chairs.
To Buturla, something “magical” happens every day. Recently, it was a little girl who, for the first time, sat still for a minute. On another day, it could be a student learning to color within the lines. Over the course of the school year, she has witnessed many moments of firsts.
“It gives you a new perspective,” she said. “The tasks that we do that seem so silly to us, just quickly writing our name or doing these little things, for them, it's pure joy when they're able to achieve it.”
Briana Vacca, a teacher working for SCOPE and running a pre-K class of Wyandanch students, found similar satisfaction seeing her students complete simple tasks like cutting shapes out of a piece of paper.
“This is such a big deal for them because in September, some of them never saw what scissors were,” she recalled. “Seeing them being able to cut — it might not be perfect — but being able to just follow the lines in making the shapes, it's just so rewarding.”
Like Buturla, Vacca took pride in helping set the foundation for the little ones’ education.
“This is their first introduction to education,” she said. “I'm a part of [what] shapes their minds in the education process.”
With Michael R. Ebert
Top 5 LI school districts by pre-K enrollment, 2023-24
- Brentwood: 695
- Middle Country: 474
- Sachem: 360
- Longwood: 337
- Levittown: 329
Source: State Education Department enrollment data
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
