Thousands of four-year-olds help de Blasio fulfill pre-K goal
When Kelly Eng tried to enroll her daughter in pre-kindergarten this summer, she found that all of the spots at P.S. 229 in Brooklyn were full. The same was true at nearby P.S. 748 and at local community-based organizations. So Eng widened her search to Manhattan, where—a few waitlists later—she found an opening at Grand Street Settlement in Chinatown.
It’s at least an hour-long commute from their Dyker Heights home but she’s happy to have it. “I feel lucky,” Eng said as she filled out forms on a child-size chair on Thursday morning.
Mayor Bill de Blasio undoubtedly does too. City officials said more than 51,500 children had signed up for full-day pre-K starting this week in schools and community organizations like Grand Street, approaching the city’s goal of 53,000 and nearly doubling the number in those programs last year. And day one went off mostly without a hitch.
“This is a moment of fulfillment, a dream we’ve had for a long time finally coming to fruition,” de Blasio said at Inner Force Tots, a pre-K site in Brooklyn on Thursday morning.