Universal Pre-Kindergarten

• Children who are residents of the Carmel Central School District and were born between December 1, 2021, and November 30, 2022, are eligible for this program.
• Completion of the registration process, including providing proof of residency, is necessary for a child to participate in our UPK program.

Registration packets for UPK 2026–27 will be available starting Monday, January 26. The registration packet will be available to download and print from here, the Carmel Central School District UPK webpage. Paper copies will be available for pick up at the District Office located at 81 South Street, Patterson, NY 12563. Completed registration packets will be accepted starting on Wednesday, January 28. Completed registration packets can be dropped off to the District Office, attention to Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, Assistant Superintendent of PPS.

Parents/guardians do not need to pay tuition for our UPK program. We anticipate that the 2026-27 UPK program will be funded by a combination of local, state, and federal funding.

The district partners with various community-based organizations (CBOs) to allow multiple location options and promote ease of access. The names and locations of these CBOs will be listed on the registration packet.

It is a full-day (5 hour) program.

The application packet will ask you to indicate your order of preference for each location.

District transportation for UPK is not available at this time. However, we partner with multiple CBOs throughout the community to provide various location options and promote ease of access for families.

Our UPK partners follow our Carmel CSD calendar.

Our UPK partners follow the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) Curriculum Preschool Sequence which addresses physical, social, linguistic, and cognitive aspects of development. This pre-K curriculum is aligned with NYSED's Pre-K Learning Standards. It also supports student learning as they transition into our Kindergarten which follows the CKLA curriculum.

Some of our UPK partners provide before and after-care. The cost associated with before and after-care is not covered by the district. Contact information for our UPK partners will be included in the registration packet. Parents/guardians seeking information on before or after care are encouraged to contact the UPK partner site directly about this.

Please contact Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy at ekennedy@carmelschools.org, or (845) 878-2094. For Spanish-speaking assistance, please contact Mrs. Denise Ramirez, Bilingual Outreach Coordinator, at dramirez@carmelschools.org or (845) 540-9094.

Family FAQs for Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) and Kindergarten