ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Education advocates are pushing for more state funding for 3-year-old prekindergarten programs in Rochester and across New York. Local advocates hosted a press conference Wednesday at the Rochester Early Childhood Education Center to highlight the importance of funding for 3-year-old PreK.
National research shows approximately 90% of a child’s brain development happens before they enter the formal school system at age 5. “Research clearly shows that attending pre-kindergarten results in both immediate and long-term gains in children’s academic performance and behavioral development,” Brian Lewis said. Lewis is the executive director of ROC the Future Alliance.
He said Rochester’s decades-long prekindergarten evaluation study found that attending prekindergarten increases rates of kindergarten readiness, especially for students who enroll in both 3-year-old and 4-year-old classes.
However, there are flaws in the funding mechanism that support early education. These are particularly harmful for the Rochester City School District, as RCSD was an early adopter of both 3-year-old and 4-year-old prekindergarten.
Jhalysa Johnson, a mom of three and parent advocate in the community, spoke at Wednesday’s event.
“I’m seeing that the structure in the system is not working. In cities like Rochester, nearly one in three families are living in poverty, and those who are not are still feeling it. And at the same time families are paying over $12,000 a year for childcare just for one three-year-old, alone. That’s not realistic.”
With each school year, the disparity between the district’s flat UPK per-pupil rate and its inflation-adjusted K-12 Foundation Aid rate continues to widen. “In the 2024-25 school year, only 34,495 (25%) of New York’s 3-year-old children were enrolled in Pre-K programs, compared to 102,653 (66%) of 4-year-olds,” Larry Marx said.
Marx is the CEO of The Children’s Agenda. He said while Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal increases New York City’s funding for 3-K, it does not adjust the funding formula or total funding for 3-K programs in Rochester and other districts with 3-K programs.
“That’s unfair to the nearly 1,200 3-year-olds enrolled in Pre-K each year in Rochester, which has almost one-third of all 3-year-old Pre-K slots in the state outside of New York City,” Marx said. “We urge our State leaders to include the Assembly’s proposal to raise per-pupil rates for both 3-year-old and 4-year-old students, further building on Governor Hochul’s transformative proposals to invest in early childhood and education.”
Hochul’s executive budget proposal aims to correct many of the existing structural flaws by raising UPK per-pupil rates for 4-year-olds to the higher of $10,000 or a district’s selected Foundation Aid amount. However, the nearly 80 school districts that operate 3-year-old programs, including high-needs Big 5 districts like Rochester, Syracuse and Albany, will see a diminished benefit.
“High quality early childhood education has been proven time and time again to be a game changer for the future success of our children,” Assemblywoman Sarah Clark said.
“The Rochester City School District has long been a leader building out capacity for children to have opportunities as young as 3.” Clark said the Assembly’s proposal recognizes that 3-year-old and 4-year-old students deserve the same commitment.
She said getting this right is critical to protecting access, sustaining quality programs and ensuring all children enter school ready to succeed from day one. Without any changes, districts that enroll both 3-year-old and 4-year-old students would receive less funding per prekindergarten student than districts without 3-K. This will perpetuate funding shortfalls and may incentivize districts to only offer 4-year-old classrooms.
The Assembly’s one-house budget proposal builds on Hochul’s historic investment by also including higher per-pupil rates for districts with 3-year-old programs. Advocates strongly urged the inclusion of the Assembly’s proposal in the final enacted budget.
“The Rochester City School District has long been a leader in recognizing that the journey to graduation begins with our youngest learners at age 3,” Dr. Eric Jay Rosser, the superintendent of the Rochester City School District, said. He said to continue providing high-quality, foundational experiences that Rochester families deserve, he strongly supports Clark’s efforts to ensure state funding keeps pace with the actual costs of these essential programs.
Rochester education advocates push for equal funding for three-year-old prekindergarten programs WHEC.com.
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