Universal Pre-K

UPK is a free preschool experience made possible through funding from the New York State Education Department (NYSED).

Yes, the cost of UPK tuition for those students chosen through a lottery selection process is paid for by the grants. There are no fees paid by the family for five hours per day/five days a week.

No. The grant is required to pay for five hours of UPK per student/five days per week. The District only receives funding based on the number of students attending a program for five hours per day/five days a week.  Regular attendance is mandatory and excessive absences may result removal from the program.

The UPK program follows the 180-day Warwick Valley Central School District student calendar. 

The program is five hours per day, Monday through Friday, for 180 days (as per the district calendar).

The program is administered by the Warwick Valley Central School District, but it is offered at community-based organizations (also referred to as “providers”).

Warwick Valley Central School District children who turn four years of age on or before December 1, 2026 are eligible for the program. You must be a resident of the district as of May 4, 2026. To apply, you need to complete the 2-step UPK application/registration process between May 4 and May 18, 2026. You may sign up no later than 4:00 pm on May 18, 2026. This allows proper processing for our lottery/selection process. Children who turn five are not eligible, as per state regulations. Applications/registrations received after the deadline will automatically be placed at the end of the UPK waiting list.

No. All completed, eligible applications/registrations will be included in the lottery/selection process – one per child. The District is accepting applications (see Step 1 & Step 2 above) from Monday, May 4, 2026 at 12:00 pm, through Monday, May 18, 2026 at 4:00 pm. This is not a first-come, first-served selection process.

No. The amount of funding NYSED allocates for the grant determines how many students can be served. In some previous years, there have been more applicants than the number of available spots; therefore, a lottery has been in place to determine who will participate. All students who are not selected during the lottery will be placed on a waiting list. If any vacancies occur during the year, they will be filled until the waiting list has been exhausted.

The lottery selection will take place shortly after the May 15, 2026 entry deadline, to determine which students will start the program in September 2026. The UPK office will email ALL applicants by June 8, 2026 to notify parents/guardians if their child was selected or placed on the waiting list. Parents/guardians will be asked to confirm receipt of the email notification. If we do not receive confirmation from you that you received the email notification, we will attempt to reach you by phone. If you do not respond in three (3) business days, your child will be moved to the end of the waiting list.

During the application process, you will indicate your first choice out of the three UPK provider locations. We will place students with their first choice unless that provider is full or your child has certain medical and/or physical needs that dictate they be placed at a specific UPK provider. If your child does not have any medical and/or physical needs and their first choice is full, we will move to the second choice or until a placement is available.
 

You can indicate on your application your first choice of the provider you would like. We will make every attempt to accommodate your request unless your child’s medical and/or physical needs dictate which provider they will need. We cannot guarantee placement at a specific provider.
 

If, for any reason, a child drops out of the UPK program, the next child on the waiting list will be offered the vacant spot. If the family declines the vacancy for any reason, they will be removed from the waiting list and will become ineligible to participate in the UPK program for the 2026-27 school year.
 

The lottery selection process does not give preference to families with twins, triplets, etc. Each child is entered as an individual student and will be selected according to the lottery process. The selection of one twin, triplet or sibling has no effect on the selection of any other siblings during the lottery selection process.

We highly recommend that families with multiple 4-year olds pre-register their children at their first choice of UPK provider for their tuition UPK program. Most of the UPK providers offer pre-registration in order to guarantee a child’s spot in September. If one twin is selected during the lottery process and one is placed on the waiting list, it would be up to the parents/guardians to decide if they are able and willing to pay for the other twin to attend the same UPK program.

Yes. All Providers offer before and aftercare programs at an additional cost. All questions regarding additional hours and costs for before and aftercare should be addressed directly with the UPK provider.
 

You must provide court documentation at time of registration. In addition, you must notify the UPK provider. We recommend that you follow up with the UPK provider to be sure that all the proper safeguards are in place.

A medical history questionnaire and NYS school health examination form are required as part of the UPK application/registration. The UPK Nurse reviews these forms; and if your child is selected, you will meet with the UPK nurse during registration. Any serious medical condition must be reported directly to the UPK Nurse and also to the UPK provider. We recommend that you follow up with the UPK Provider to be sure that all the proper safeguards are in place.

Children must receive all first, age/grade level appropriate doses, or overdue follow-up doses if they already received prior doses in a series, within 14 days from the first day of instruction for the school year, as well as provide evidence of age appropriate appointments for the next follow-up doses (in accordance with the ACIP schedule) within 30 days of the first day of attendance.

New York State no longer offers a religious exemption for immunizations.

Yes. A valid medical exemption must adhere to all of the following:

• Must be submitted on a signed, completed medical exemption form issued by NYSDOH 
• Specify which immunizations may be detrimental to the child’s health
• Contain sufficient information to determine if a medical contraindication to a specific immunization exists
• Specify the length of time the immunization is medically contraindicated
• Be reissued annually

Note: The UPK nurse may require additional information.

All UPK providers that are contracted by the district must follow the New York State Pre-Kindergarten Learning Standards and utilize the Teaching Strategies Creative Curriculum. Each provider is permitted flexibility in how they choose to deliver the curriculum.

Specific teachers, lessons and special events will vary by location. However, UPK providers selected by the WVCSD Board of Education must adhere to state and local standards.

No. Families must provide transportation for their child. It is expected that students will be dropped off and picked up at the appointed starting and ending times for their particular class. The grant pays for students to attend school for a specific amount of time each day school is in session; therefore, it is not acceptable or permissible to repeatedly drop off your child late for class or pick them up early before class ends. If you regularly do not get your child to school on time or regularly pick them up before class ends, it may jeopardize your child’s continued enrollment in the UPK program.  In addition, UPK is a five hour/day, five day/week commitment; no partial weeks. If your child does not attend regularly, they may be removed from the UPK program.

Students in the UPK program should bring lunch to school with them each day.

Yes. If you have not already started to potty train your child, we highly recommend you search the internet for the PDF or the eBook “3 Day Potty Training” by Lora Jensen. There may be a fee to purchase or download this file/eBook.

Yes. Please contact the prekindergarten provider directly to enroll and pay for your child to attend their independent prekindergarten program.
 

The maximum UPK class size is 20 students. Classes with 19 or 20 students require one teacher and two paraprofessionals. Classes of 18 or fewer students require one teacher and one paraprofessional.