Universal Pre-K

2024-2025 School Year

Poughkeepsie City School District is happy to provide Full Day Universal Pre-K programs to 4 year olds across the district. Our UPK program is grounded in early literacy and numeracy research and encourages inquiry and play to support learning, cooperation, and social-emotional growth at no cost to families!

We have several UPK locations this year, both in district buildings located at the Early Learning Center on Church Street and throughout the community.

Locations include:

• Dual language UPK at Smith Early Learning Center on Church Street (PCSD)
• UPK at Smith Early Learning Center on Church Street (PCSD)
• North Star Academy run by the Boys and Girls Club on Smith Street
• Astor on Delafield Avenue
• Day One on Hooker Avenue
• Holy Trinity Main Campus on Springside Avenue
• Holy Trinity Annex on Father Cody Drive
• Dutchess Community College on Pendell Road

Spaces are still available for UPK! Please fill out a registration packet and make an appointment with Central Registration to enroll your child in PreK!

The UPK Lottery was held June 5, 2024 at 10 a.m. 

Recording of Lottery Drawing

After the lottery drawing, registration for UPK will open for remaining open spaces at each location.

The lottery is a requirement of New York State:

151-1.4 Program design (d) School districts must establish a process to select eligible children to receive universal prekindergarten services on a random selection basis where there are more eligible children than can be served in a given school year.

For a full description of the lottery policy, please read this document.

Program information:

The Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program provides curriculum and activities five days per week with full-day programs, which are appropriate to the age-level and individual needs of eligible children and promote cognitive, linguistic, physical, cultural, emotional and social development. Activities are learner-centered and are designed and provided in a way that promotes the child’s total growth and development in all areas including emergent English literacy. Children are encouraged to be self-assured and independent. 

Eligible children are those who reside within the school district and are 3 and 4 years of age on or before December 1 of the year in which he or she is enrolled, or who will otherwise be first eligible to enter public school kindergarten commencing with the following school year.