BOR #1 Initial Allocations 2001-2002, Section J

OVERVIEW

The New York City School System operates two prekindergarten programs:

SuperStart/SuperStart Plus, an

Universal PreKindergarten.

A third program,

Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT), provides supplemental services to many of the pupils attending these preschool programs. Additionally, a summer program piloted in two districts last summer will be expanded to include more districts.

Table J:1 presents the FY'02 Prekindergarten Spending Plan.

J.1 SUPERSTART AND SUPERSTART PLUS

The Prekindergarten SuperStart Program provides services to four-year-olds in classes not to exceed 18 pupils. The SuperStart initiative is funded by Federal Title I, State (Experimental Prekindergarten) and City tax levy funds. There are no district matching requirements. However, districts are responsible for all costs not included in the model, such as teacher preparation and absence coverage.

The SuperStart Plus Program integrates special education children into the SuperStart classroom. The SuperStart Plus program builds upon the SuperStart model by providing additional staff and services. Three different SuperStart Plus models are in operation:

Model A: Full day integrated program.

Model B: Half day integrated program.

Model C: Half day integrated program in the A.M. and half day special education self-contained program in the P.M. (In the P.M. the general education SuperStart teacher and paraprofessional are assigned to another half day SuperStart class.)

The staffing models used for allocation purposes for SuperStart and SuperStart Plus are displayed on Table J:2. The table also presents the cost per district for the operation of one class. In addition to Title I, State (Experimental Prekindergarten) and City tax levy resources, the SuperStart Plus program is also funded by State/City tuition reimbursement.

SuperStart classes may be "blended" with universal prekindergarten classes, with exceptions noted below, to form full day universal prekindergarten classes. A half day SuperStart class may be blended with a half day universal prekindergarten class to form one full day prekindergarten class.

A full day SuperStart class may be blended with two half day universal prekindergarten classes to establish two full day universal prekindergarten classes:

+

+

=

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Districts should note that when blending SuperStart and Universal Prekindergarten, ATS pupil attendance reports must code the children as Universal Prekindergarten.

When scheduling the SuperStart allocation, certain priorities must be given to the four sources of funding -- State (Experimental PreK), Title I, Tax Levy and Tuition. Following the rules enumerated below will help avoid program disallowance.

SuperStart Plus

Tuition is the first source of funding to be used and may only be used for "Plus" classes,

State (Experimental PreK) should take care of all remaining needs,

If the first two sources are exhausted, tax levy is the next choice, and then,

Title I as a last resort (and then, only in a Title I designated school).

SuperStart Blend (the half day SuperStart that is blended with a half day Universal Prek to form a full day Universal PreK class)

Title I is the first source of funding to be used (Title I designated school),

Tax Levy is the next and last source,

State (Experimental PreK) may not be used to fund blended classes.

SuperStart Half Day

State (Experimental PreK) is the first source of funding to be used,

Tax Levy or Title I next, depending on school status and fund availability.

SuperStart Full Day (not blended)

State (Experimental PreK) is the first source of funding to be used,

Tax Levy or Title I next, depending on school status and fund availability.

Additional funds will be allotted to the SuperStart Plus program for costs incurred by the delivery of IEP mandated related services. Related service speech and counseling will follow the methodology described in the Special Needs/Academic Intervention Services section, Section E. Contract services for occupational and physical therapy will be provided through the Office of Related and Contractual Services.

District SuperStart and SuperStart Plus allocations are summarized on Table J:3.

J.2 STATE UNIVERSAL PREKINDERGARTEN

The Governor's proposed budget will provide support for 44,000 four-year-olds. Furthermore, a one-time reserve was established in FY'01 of 5,600 seats. Combining these seats with the State amount produces a total of 49,600 universal prekindergarten seats available for FY'02. The State, plus the reserve, provides $3,332 per child. To this amount, $368 of local resources will be added to raise the pupil per capita to $3,700. Pupils must be on the October 31, 2001 audited registers in order for districts to receive allotments.

The intent of the Legislature is to have prekindergarten decision making done at the local level. Each district's Universal Prekindergarten Program is to be developed by the district's Prekinder-garten Policy Advisory Board. Their recommendations are then submitted for the Community School Board's approval.

State law requires that 10% of the State Universal Prekindergarten funds be used to contract community-based organizations (CBOs) for prekindergarten services. The program is not eligible for transportation aid.

The portion of the SuperStart/SuperStart Plus program associated with the State prekindergarten (Experimental Program) must be maintained. Full-day and half-day seats provided in FY'01 must again be provided in FY'02. Observing the budget scheduling guidelines described in the previous section will help verify maintenance of effort.

Resources from the NON-State (Experimental PreK) portion of SuperStart may be used to expand Universal Prekindergarten to a full-day program. This expansion can be accomplished as follows:

Existing SuperStart Half Day - blend with a half day Universal Prek class. See previous section for budget scheduling guidelines. Note that State (Experimental Prek) funds may not be used to support this class.

Existing SuperStart Full Day - blend with two half day Universal Prekindergarten classes to form two full day blended classes. See previous section for budget scheduling guidelines. Note that State (Experimental Prek) funds may not be used to support this class.

Districts should note that the blending of SuperStart classes does not reduce the number of pupils that are served.

Tax Levy: The Universal Prekindergarten local support is tax levy funded. Teacher positions must be scheduled at the district=s average teacher salary.

State Universal Prekindergarten: The State dollars will be scheduled in the reimbursable budget. All reimbursable budget rules enumerated in BOR Circular No. 1, 2001-02, entitled "Cost Factors for FY 2002 for All Reimbursable Programs," apply with one exception. No indirect costs are to be scheduled. Teacher salaries should be scheduled at actual costs.

J.3 SPECIAL EDUCATION ITINERANT TEACHER (SEIT)

The special education itinerant teacher program extends the least restrictive environment to the prekindergarten level. Preschool children with special education needs receive the services within their general education classroom. The SEIT teacher is "pushed-in" to the classroom to deliver the required services.

The special education itinerant teacher program allocation provides one teacher per district (at the district's average salary). It is expected that the itinerant teacher will serve approximately sixteen youngsters, although the exact number may vary depending on the requirements of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Funds are allotted to allow time for the general education teacher to consult with the SEIT. A consultation period may focus on more than one special education pupil. The allocation uses the teacher per session rate in the event consultation takes place before or after the school day. Lastly, resources are provided for instructional supplies and materials, travel time and attendance at conferences. SEIT allocations are presented on Table J:5. The SEIT program is funded through tuition revenue received from State and City resources.

J.4 SUMMER PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Last summer, the State initiated a summer prekindergarten program in Districts 24 and 30. The program is now being expanded to support 66 classes across several districts. State guidelines for this venture require:

Children be 4 years of age by December 1, 2001,

Economically disadvantaged children are given first priority to participate,

A minimum of 12 contact hours per week,

Operate from four to eight weeks,

An additional adult (paraprofessional) for classes of 16 to 18 pupils, and

Developmentally appropriate curricula, including the use of leaning centers.

The distribution of the additional classes results from a district survey conducted by the Office of Early Childhood Education.

An allocation of $8,600 is provided for each class. This is funded by $7,747 of State Experimental Prekindergarten funds per class and $853 of local support per class. Table J:6 lists each district's summer prekindergarten allocation.