February 12, 2015
Originally published in The New York Jewish Week
“We will offer every child, from every borough of this city, truly universal, full-day Pre-K.”
That was Mayor Bill de Blasio’s promise to the children of New York City one year ago in his inaugural State of the City address. The Mayor’s pledge of a free pre-K program available to every four-year-old in New York City — regardless of background, religion, or socio-economic status — signaled an exciting and visionary approach to early childhood education for all New York preschoolers.
Unfortunately, this signature education program that promised universality — not just in the nature of the program but in its very name — has fallen far short of the commitments the mayor made one year ago.