Pre-Kindergarten At Madison
Pre-Kindergarten
The Madison Central School District offers a full-day Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program for four-year-old children who reside within our district. UPK is a federal and state funded program that introduces young learners to the school environment and focuses on intellectually, socially and emotionally preparing children for Kindergarten. The program will follow the New York State Pre-Kindergarten Learning Standards.
Eligibility for 2023-24 School Year
The program is open to all children who reside within the district’s boundaries and, for the 2023-24 school year, are four years old on or before Dec. 1, 2023. Students who are school-age (turn 5 before Dec. 1, 2023) are not eligible.
The district offers up to 36 seats. If there are more eligible applicants than can be served in a given school year, the district will conduct a lottery-based system to determine who may enroll in the program.
The lottery will select attendees on a random basis. New York state UPK regulations prohibit a district from prioritizing eligible students for any reason, including economic background. The selection of one twin, triplet or household member has no effect on the selection of any other siblings during the lottery selection process.
If a lottery system is utilized, children not randomly selected will be placed on a waiting list. If any vacancies occur during the school year, they will be filled from the waiting list until it has been exhausted.
Enrollment in the UPK program is not mandatory. However, enrolled students must adhere to the school district’s attendance policy. The program will operate five days per week and will follow Madison’s district calendar, with 180 days of school (September through June) each year.
Funding
The district will provide the UPK program at no cost to families. Funding for UPK is provided from federal funds. In addition, beginning in 2021-22, the New York state budget included funding for school districts to expand or establish pre-K programs.
It is anticipated that the state’s budget proposal for 2022-23 will also include funding for this program.
Times
Each day the program is in session, it will operate from 8:05 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Transportation
The district will provide transportation. Transportation must be from a student’s home or a New York state-licensed daycare operating within the district boundaries.
Meals
The district will provide lunch to the students as a part of the program.
Registration
Families that wish to register their children for the 2023-24 school year must submit to the district a completed registration packet no by March 31. When submitting the completed registration form, copies of the required documents listed on the form must also be submitted. Your registration cannot be completed without them.
If a family has twins, triplets, etc., one form should be completed for each student.
Prohibition on Administration of Traditional Standardized Tests
No school District shall administer traditional standardized tests in a prekindergarten program.
Traditional standardized test shall mean a systematic method of gathering information from objectively scored items that allow the test taker to select one or more of the given options or choices as their response. Examples include multiple-choice, true-false, and matching items. Traditional standardized tests are those that require the student (and not the examiner/assessor) to directly use a “bubble” answer sheet. Traditional standardized tests do not include performance assessments or assessments in which students perform real-world tasks that demonstrate application of knowledge and skills; assessments that are otherwise required to be administered by Federal law; and/or assessments used for diagnostic or formative purposes, including but not limited to assessments used for diagnostic screening required by Education Law section 3208(5).
Contact Information
Program Inquiries
LeeAnn Cucci, Elementary Principal
LCucci@MadisonCentralNY.org
Phone: (315) 893-1878, Ext. 202
Registration
Shania Stoddard, District Registrar
SStoddard@MadisonCentralNY.org
Phone: (315) 893-1878, Ext. 207