Bethlehem Central School District opens Universal Pre-K

Other local school districts expanding UPK

DELMAR – 36 Bethlehem Central School District students have won the lottery – that is the district’s lottery for its first year of free Universal Pre-Kindergarten. Of the 103 applicants, 36 pre-K students selected by lottery on May 31 will attend Bethlehem’s first UPK in the fall.

At present, 34 families have accepted the offer as the district continues to canvass families by lottery number rank.  49 families have been contacted to date and 13 have declined a spot.  District spokesperson JoEllen Gardner said the district expects the remaining two slots to be filled quickly.

The state does not allow an economic litmus test. Gardner said applicants reside all over the district. Instead, to be UPK eligible, a child must be a school district resident and four years old on or before December 1st of the school year in which they are enrolled.

Bethlehem’s UPK is five hours a day, five days per week, running from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to a district issued FAQ sheet, attendance is monitored and enforced.

This year marks the first time since the district began issuing annual RFPs four years ago that it found a qualified partner to operate a program. At its April 2024 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Jody Monroe identified TSL Adventures as that partner.

TSL Adventures provides before and after care, as well as summer camps, to about 1,000 children in the Capital District. It was one of two entities that responded to the district’s RFP, but only TSL qualified.

“This is the fourth year the RFP went out,” Gardner said. “So it is not surprising that there were so few responses.” She said this was the first year a responding entity fit all the required qualifications.

TSL will operate two UPK classrooms of 18 students each at its 339 Delaware Avenue location behind Bombshell Hair Studio. Gardner said the district does not have adequate space to operate UPK so it must partner with another entity.

TSL owner Tom Styles said this is his first year working with UPK programs, but such programs are “a natural extension of everything else we have been doing at our seven day care centers.” He explained that when he started his business “UPK was not a thing”, but now UPK programs are expanding and filling private pre-k classrooms has become harder. “We have a lot of experience and we know we can bring a lot of good things to the UPK here,” Styles said.

Styles said he believes TSL Adventures is the only qualified entity that responded to Bethlehem’s RFP. “I know the district has been trying to get someone to run a UPK and there was no interest shown in it until we did,” he said. He said the program will help his business attract children to its “wrap around” day care services for which a family would be separately charged. “And then hopefully they will stay with us until they are 6 or 7 years old,” Styles said.

Gardner anticipates that the district will maintain and grow its program if state funding levels hold. Currently, the state allocated $1, 269, 000 in the 2024-25 budget for the district to provide UPK, with an allocation of $5, 400 per student. That means the district could accommodate up to 235 students if adequate partner programs were available. “The district values what a pre-school education can provide by preparing students for kindergarten,” Gardner said. “The state has a great intention to provide pre-K to as many students as possible and the district supports that.”

Gardner said the biggest obstacle to expanding UPK is finding a provider or providers that can accommodate more students. This year UPK was limited to 36 students because that was TSL’s maximum capacity. However, she said, “everyone is excited and happy the district was finally able to find a partner. We are optimistic that this partnership will be a good first foray into UPK.”

North Colonie school district enters UPK year 2 1/2

North Colonie, which has offered UPK since Spring 2023, has seen its program more than double in size from its starting 50-60 students, to 110 students in 2023-24 and 156 for the upcoming school year. District Director of Curriculum and Assessment PreK-5 Brian Dineen, said North Colonie grabbed the opportunity in 2023 when New York State offered funding. “It serves the community in a win-win,” he said.

Like Bethlehem, North Colonie has no space in its elementary school buildings for UPK. It currently has 36 students at its headquarters Goodrich building. As for the remaining UPK students, Dineen said the district found several qualified partners to provide universal pre-k. Last year it teamed with Catholic Central and the Colonie Youth Center. The same standardized curriculum is taught at all sites.

For 2024-25, North Colonie will add a third partner –Tiny Town –an early childhood center located on Sand Creek Road in Colonie. “We’ve been very fortunate in finding partners,” said Brian Dineen, “Multiple folks showed interest.” Dineen said with more slots available at Tiny Town, North Colonie will be able to offer UPK to all or nearly all 170 applicants registered by lottery and who are still interested for this school year. Families seeking UPK for their child may be added to a waitlist by contacting the North Colonie Central Registrar.

Dineen said the upside of having insufficient space is getting to work with community partners. “I cannot say enough about the partners and the experience they have provided to students.” He said although it is premature to determine UPK’s impact on kindergarten success, the district assesses students in fall and spring and so far is happy with those results.

Dineen said students come from all areas of the district and students who attend UPK will go on to attend all 6 of the district’s elementary schools. “People appreciate UPK because it’s free so interest comes from all corners,” Dineen said.

He said the district provides the program because “nothing is more important than early education and we love every opportunity that every student has that engages them from the first start. If we can do it at 4 rather than at 5, we want to do it.”

Dineen said further expansion will depend on state funding and identifying additional capacity. He believes the district is currently able to provide the right level of UPK based on interest and capacity. Dineen said families interested in the program should contact the central registrar to learn about the registration process.

South Colonie not new to UPK, but expands program

Long a UPK provider since Fall 1998, the South Colonie school district continues to expand its program. An early adopter, the district jumped on offering universal pre-k when in 1997, the New York State legislature first voted to provide partial funding. That grant allowed South Colonie to open a program for 144 students to attend a 2 ½ hour morning or afternoon session at two sites using district elementary schools. In 2022, South Colonie began to expand the program to add more students and a five hour program, relying on a federal gant and its general fund.

South Colonie’s program now offers 180 slots (72 in a five hour program and 108 in a half day program) spread across five elementary schools. Its 180 places are filled by lottery and attract students from across the district. All 72 five hour spots are already filled for the upcoming 2024-25 school year, but some space is available in the half day program. The program is funded by $542,000 in grants and the district supplements those funds with $625,000 from general fund monies. South Colonie certified teachers and teaching assistants staff the program.

South Colonie Public Information Specialist Kara Granato said the program’s impact on academic success is difficult to qualify. However, she believes students attending UPK are better prepared for kindergarten. She noted that about 40% of the 2024 graduating class attended Colonie’s UPK program.

Over in Delmar, the Bethlehem UPK space is still being renovated to convert summer camp space.

As of the time this article was written, Styles was still waiting for district notification of the UPK lottery’s acceptance rate. “But, we will be ready,” Styles said. “We have a team working on it”. He added, “We think in Delmar the demand is there so we have to do a good job and impress.”

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