By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos announced on Friday that they have launched a joint effort to expand access to high-quality early childhood education programs for families across the five boroughs.
As part of the Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Budget, Adams and the City Council agreed to a 10-point plan to make child care more affordable and accessible for all New York families, including through $5 million in funding for a targeted outreach effort to support families in communities that have traditionally seen low application rates, despite demonstrating need.
Adams and Aviles-Ramos also announced on Friday that the City has reached tentative agreements with five community-based early childhood education centers to negotiate leases that were set to or near expiration.
The five early childhood education centers include:
- All My Children Day Care and Nursery School, with locations in Rego Park, Forest Hills, Jamaica, and Flushing
- Fort Greene Council Young Minds Day Care, Brooklyn
- Friends of Crown Heights Educational Center, Inc., Brooklyn
- Grand Street Settlement, Brooklyn
- Nuestros Ninos Day Care Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The administration said that City Public Schools is spearheading efforts to ensure families are informed about early childhood education by taking the following actions:
- Nearly 100,000 families have been engaged through email communications, providing critical information about application processes, program options, and deadlines.
- Families who started applications but have not submitted them are receiving step-by-step instructions to complete the process.
- Spotlight emails highlight program options, including dual language and disabilities-inclusive offerings, income-eligible seats, and general program details.
- MySchools instructional emails guide families on how to use filters to find newly added programs.
- Families with infants, toddlers, and three-year olds currently enrolled in early childhood programming are reminded to apply, ensuring continuity in their child’s education journey.
- Families have access to detailed admissions explanations, application guidance, and live Q&A sessions. These sessions are interpreted in the nine most common primary languages spoken in the Big Apple, ensuring accessibility for all communities.
- Starting Saturday, Feb. 15, the Adams administration will host a series of five events – one in each borough – in communities that have historically low application rates to boost access where it’s needed most.
- City Public Schools’ “train the trainer” events equip community partners, City agencies, and libraries to assist families with the application process.
- A digital toolkit has been shared with community partners to amplify outreach efforts.
- Application sprints across the city and “Day of Action” events with supportive housing teams will provide direct, hands-on support to families applying for early education programs.
- As part of the administration and city council’s $5 million investment last summer, the administration is funding 21 organizations to help families find, apply, and enroll in child care seats across New York City Public Schools’ early childhood system.
- Phone call and texting campaigns to families who have not yet applied, led by the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit, have already resulted in calls to 16,000 families asking if they need child care.
“Every child deserves a strong start, and these efforts ensure families have the resources they need to take the first step,” Aviles-Ramos said.
