Dear New Yorker,
In case you missed the terrific news, this past week Governor Cuomo signed into law legislation allowing New York City to make kindergarten mandatory for all five-year-olds.
By giving us the authority to lower the compulsory age of schooling to age five, we're taking a significant step toward closing the achievement gap. Experts agree that the most vulnerable New Yorkers will be helped by ensuring that every child in New York City starts school at age five.
We look forward to working with the NYC Department of Education to help make sure our public school system is ready when this groundbreaking policy takes effect.
Under our proposal, parents who want to delay kindergarten until their child is six years old will be able to apply for a waiver. But the vast majority of families will now be starting their children's public school education at the age of five - which means an extra year of academic and social learning that will benefit children throughout their lifetime.
We applaud Governor Cuomo for signing mandatory kindergarten legislation and emphasizing his commitment to early childhood education.
We're grateful as well to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos for their leadership on this important issue, and to State Senator John J. Flanagan and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan for introducing and advocating for the passage of their respective bills in the Senate and Assembly.
And to all of the advocates, community boards, clergy members, parents and other New Yorkers who put their time and energy into this: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! We couldn't have gotten to this point without you. This was a total team effort, from the beginning, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to help make sure all of our city's children get a strong, healthy start.
Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
Robert Jackson
Chair, Education Committee
NYC Council
Stephen Levin
Council Member
NYC Council