Why DOE should be moving more PreK classes to CBOs to provide critical benefits to students and the city as a whole

Feb. 20, 2024

Today we provided testimony at NYC Council Education hearings, in opposition to the DOE plan to to cancel the leases of five Community Based Organizations that provide Early Education services in Brooklyn and Queens.  During the hearing, the DOE officials said they intend in the future to cancel contracts with CBO providers if their preK and 3K classes are not 95% full.

Yet as our testimony points out, there are hundreds of elementary schools that do not have the space to lower class size to the levels required by law and yet have PreK classes that could be moved to nearby underutilized CBOs.  We also show how for three out of the five CBOs now slated for closure, there are elementary schools within a mile with PreK classes yet without the space to lower class size to mandated levels.

This would be a win/win for all concerned: allowing the public schools to offer smaller classes, the CBOs to enroll more students and stay open, and the city to save hundreds of millions in school construction costs.

For more info, including how CBOs PreK programs are often rated on average superior in quality to public school PreKs, and are also better able to provide valuable extended day and extended year programs, check out my testimony here and below.

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