Pre-K Enrollment For The 2016-2017 School Year Has Begun; Here Is What You Need To Know

Heather Chin -
Image via NYCDOE.

It’s that time of year again: pre-kindergarten enrollment season.

The pre-K enrollment process for the 2016-2017 school year runs from January 25 through March 4 and is open to all New York City families with children born in 2012. This includes children with disabilities and who speak a language other than English at home.

  • If you are a parent of a child with special needs and/or an IEP, contact the Committee on Special Education; for District 13, 14, 15, and 16 families, either visit their office at 131 Livingston Street, 4th Floor in Downtown Brooklyn or call them at 718-935-4900.
    For District 21 and 21 families, visit the CSE office at 415 89 Street in Bay Ridge or call 718-759-4900.
  • 27 pre-K programs have been designated as Dual Language (DL) and nearly 200 pre-K programs are designated as Enhanced Language Support (ELS).

This year, there is a single application to be filled out and submitted — whether online, over the phone (call 718-935-2067), or in-person at a Family Welcome Center. Each application has room for your choice of up to 12 full-day pre-K programs — make sure to rank them in order of preference, with your favorite program as #1, and so forth.


There are hundreds of pre-K options, though, with all Department of Education (DOE) district schools, DOE-run Pre-K Centers, and NYC Early Education Centers qualifying. Families interested in half-day, 5-hour NYCEEC pre-K programs or charter school pre-K programs should contact those programs directly to apply.

To make sense of them and see which ones are closest to you, browse the Pre-K Finder Map or Brooklyn Pre-K Directory. To find out what your school district and school zone is, browse the School Search tool.

You can also attend an information session. Brooklyn’s session is next Wednesday, February 3 at 6pm at Clara Barton High School (901 Classon Avenue).

Image via NYCDOE.

Here in District 13 and 15, programs include new sites and returning ones. All of them can be found in the Pre-K Finder and Brooklyn Pre-K Directory (begin on page ), but here are a few of them:

  • P.S. 39 Henry Bristow (417 6th Ave) — 718-330-9310, kherskowitz@ps39.org
    36 Full Day seats this year
    Program Features:
    • Lunch/Snack(s)
    • Indoor/Outdoor (onsite) playspace
    • Please contact site directly for information about extended day
  • The Little Brooklyn Pre – K Center At 305 (307 Third Avenue) — 212-637-8036, bsaffer3@schools.nyc.gov
    54 Full Day seats this year
    Program Features
    • Please contact site directly for information about extended day, meals, and playspace
  • The Children’s School (512 Carroll Street) — 718-624-5271, amattia@schools.nyc.gov
    36 Full Day seats this year
    Program Features:
    • Please contact site directly for information about extended day, meals, and playspace
Image via NYCDOE.