Early Childhood

N.Y.C. Launches Ad Blitz to Increase Pre-K Enrollment

By Julie Blair — April 11, 2014 1 min read
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With 53,000 new seats available in New York City’s preschool program, as a result of a new state budget deal, administrators are now racing to get the word out to families by the April 23 enrollment deadline—and they’re spending $300,000 to do so.

The advertisement campaign features many staples of political campaigns: There will be robocalls to families living in public housing, and promotions inside taxi cabs, bus shelters and subways. There also will be multilingual canvassing in partnership with community groups, according to information on the Mayor Bill de Blasio’s website.

In addition, some 70,000 pre-K guides detailing new school options will be printed—in nine languages. The guide is also available online.

“This is about reaching parents where they live,” said the mayor, in a statement. “It’s going to take a mix of new media and old-fashioned community organizing to reach every family.”

The city got $300 million from the state in this budget cycle to expand 4-year-old pre-K starting in September. To read more about the political debate surrounding the pre-K program, click here.

Currently, 20,000 children participate in the full-day program.

Parents will be notified of their child’s pre-K placement in June, the mayor’s website states.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Early Years blog.