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NYC to provide free daycare for children ages 3 and up

New program will serve 100,000 students

Written by
Oliver Strand
girl kid mask school daycare
Photograph: Shutterstock
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Update: "Additional programs are opening every week across the City to provide supervised learning and enrichment activities for young people who can’t be at home or in school. We will continue adding seats on a rolling basis throughout the fall, eventually reaching 100,000 young people by December,”  Mark Zustovich, spokesman, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) said. As of the week of Oct 12, 18,515 students on the roster for all Learning Bridges programming, including early childhood and K-8. Seats are being added every week, and the NYC DOE expects to serve 100,000 children by December. You can learn more online

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that NYC will provide free daycare to 100,000 students in the fall. 

The no-cost childcare is a part of the city's plan to reopen public schools in September. Because NYC school buildings will reopen with reduced capacity, classes will follow a "blended learning" model with a mixture of in-person and remote learning. Students will be in classrooms 2-3 days per week, and stay at home 2-3 days per week—if NYC meets the benchmarks set by Governor Andrew Cuomo

The free daycare is designed to help households fill the gaps left by blended learning. According to a statement issued by the Mayor's office, "the City's childcare options will provide relief for families who cannot stay home or find alternate care for their children on days they are not in school buildings."

Students in 3K-8th grade enrolled in the program will attend child care on their remote learning days. This will allow the adults in these households to go to work, and will let the students finish their schoolwork in a supervised setting.

The city will provide 50,000 childcare spots per day. With the blended learning model, a total of 100,000 students will get free daycare.

The Mayor's office "is working to identify locations and maximize available space for childcare in schools, community centers, libraries, cultural organizations, and more," according to the statement.

Another detail to be determined? How to apply.

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