State awards Dundee Central with $352K

DUNDEE--The Dundee Central School District will be receiving $352,226 from the state for the expansion of preschool (pre-K) programming for both 3- and 4-year old students. Superintendent Kelly Houck said this funding will be used to open a third classroom for 4-year-olds in the district, while partnering with the Dundee Youth Center for 3-year-old programming.
This is part of $30 million in state funding announced Friday, Sept. 18, awarded to 34 high-need school districts. The funding increases access to high-quality pre-kindergarten for a total of 3,295 students in communities across the state. The funding supports the expansion of pre-K for both 3- and 4-year old students for the first time in more than a decade.
Houck said they will be opening the new class Monday, Sept. 28 at the district. She said the two current classes have 20 and 16 students respectively, adding the new class will hold up to 18 children. Houck said there were four or five children who were on a waiting list who will now be accommodated, adding the classes will be reconfigured to have around 12 students each.
For 3-year-olds, Houck said the state funding will help open up an additional 24 slots at the Youth Center. She noted these slots will be ready a few weeks after the 4-year-old programming starts.
Awards were made to districts based on the quality of the application and factors including district and student need, efforts to target the highest need students, and efforts to maximize total number of children served in pre-kindergarten programs.
"Access to a quality education from a young age can unlock a student's potential and put them on a path to success years into the future," said Cuomo. "That's what this funding is all about -- it's an investment in the future of thousands of children across the state, and I am proud that we are able to help those students begin learning early on."
Early learning can bridge achievement gaps and provide benefits not only in life's earliest stages but also in the long term. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, children who participated in high quality early childhood education programs have higher cognitive test scores from the toddler years to age 21, higher academic achievement in both reading and math and were more likely to attend a four-year college and ultimately be gainfully employed. Research in neuroscience indicates 85 percent of brain development occurs by age three and 90 percent occurs between birth and age five, according to the Harvard University Center for the Developing Child.