Amsterdam schools, St. Mary's partnering to offer universal pre-K at no cost to families (2024)

“We want to make sure that our kids start early in education and I think this will expand opportunities for families,” said Sandra Polikowski, director of testing and academics at GASD, on Monday.

St. Mary’s began accepting applications last week with the registration period to close on July 18. Children must turn four on or before Dec. 1 and live in the Amsterdam school district to be eligible.

If eligible applications exceed the 16 available slots, a lottery will be held to determine admittance with families to be notified of the results by July 26.

Amsterdam officials suspect interest will exceed availability for space in the full-day program at the private school at 10 Kopernick Blvd. The central location will likely offer convenience to families who are responsible for transporting students to and from school. Busing is not provided for preschool students.

“I believe the location is definitely a plus,” said Trish Garner, universal pre-K instructional coach for GASD.

In the past, officials said the school district had a waiting list each year for families seeking to register their kids for preschool. Enrollment fell during the pandemic, but numbers are beginning to pick back up, leading the district to partner with St. Mary’s to offer another section.

“We’re thrilled we’ve maintained our enrollment, but at the same time we have limited space. This is an opportunity to work with someone who has space available,” Superintendent Richard Ruberti said.

The district only has space for 108 four-year-olds across its four elementary school buildings and has long partnered with community-based organizations to provide additional full-day pre-K sections, including for three-year-olds.

Whispering Pines provides instruction for 48 three-year-olds and 24 four-year-olds and Head Start through the Fulmont Community Action Agency has space for 28 three-year-olds and 64 four-year-olds.

The district formed the new partnership with St. Mary’s Institute after learning Head Start wouldn’t be able to serve as many students this year as it had in the past.

“We said this is the perfect opportunity,” Polikowski said. “Let’s do this now because we would have 16 kids with no place to go. We don’t want to lose those 16 slots. We want to expand this. This is kind of a pilot to see how it goes.”

Sections offered by the district and community-based partners are funded through the approximately $1.46 million Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Program grant and $750,000 State-Wide Full Day UPK Grant through the state Education Department.

Garner, whose position is fully funded by the grants, ensures programs offered by the district and partner organizations comply with state standards while providing an engaging and age appropriate play-based learning environment. That will also apply at St. Mary’s Institute.

Although it is a private Catholic school, Polikowski said the district will have an agreement in place ensuring the publicly-funded UPK curriculum at St. Mary’s Institute does not involve religious activities.

“While the UPK program has its own curriculum, the administration, faculty, and staff at St. Mary's Institute are thrilled to offer this opportunity,” Principal Kayla Bills said. “We believe that pre-K education is crucial for the long-term success and well-being of children. By partnering with GASD to offer a UPK classroom, we are able to serve more families and contribute to the educational foundation of our community's children.”

Officials noted the importance of ensuring local families have access to pre-K in order to provide the developmental support and foundation for kids to build the skills they need for success throughout their education.

“We want to get those kids in as soon as we can,” Polikowski said. “The earlier the intervention, the better for our students.”

Garner noted the district’s program has consistently been highly rated by QUALITYstarsNY, the state’s quality rating and improvement system for early childhood programs. The distinction and the outcomes of students often leads other schools to visit Amsterdam or reach out for guidance on how to improve their pre-K offerings.

“It has had such a dramatic impact, we want to see it spread across more students,” Ruberti said.

St. Mary’s Institute plans to meet those standards with its new UPK program. Bills noted the school already follows a curriculum emphasizing academic excellence and preparing students for their educational futures. The existing pre-K program is designed to cultivate a love for learning through engaging, hands-on activities fostering critical thinking, creativity, problem solving skills and integrating core subjects.

“Although there are differences in the curriculum, we are proud to be a part of this important effort and look forward to welcoming our new students and families to St. Mary's,” Bills said.

Should enrollment continue to climb over time, Ruberti said the district may explore options to further expand offerings at St. Mary’s either by funding additional UPK sections there or by leasing space in the private school building for use by the district to deliver the program.

“The first step was to find a way to make it work the first year. We’re open to ideas in the future,” Ruberti said.

For more information about the new section or how to enroll, visit gasd.org/article/1647725