Six NYC Charter Schools Join Pre-K Expansion

As part of the city's pre-kindergarten expansion, the Department of Education said it will contract with a small group of charter schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens to offer full-day pre-k classes this fall.

City education officials said 10 charter schools applied to offer pre-k in September. The Department ultimately approved six: Academic Leadership Charter School; Bronx Charter School for Better Learning; New York City Montessori Charter School; Hellenic Classical Charter School; The Renaissance Charter School; and Rochdale Early Advantage Charter School.

The classes will serve a total 198 students, according to the New York City Charter School Center. The schools plan to hold lottery drawings on July 30 to fill seats. The Charter School Center said pre-k students would be able to automatically feed into kindergarten classes the following year.

Thanks to a change in state law, charter schools are for the first time able to receive universal pre-kindergarten funds to serve four-year-olds.

The contracts must be officially approved by the city's Panel for Educational Policy. The panel approved the contract for New York City Montessori Charter at its June meeting; It will vote on the five remaining contracts on July 16 at M.S. 131 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.