Please join us in congratulating our very own, Sherry M. Cleary, in being selected as one of the six-members tasked with the development of an implementation plan for Mayor de Blasio's vision for free and universal pre-kindergarten in New York City.

Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio today announced a six-member working group to spearhead the development of an implementation plan for his vision to make pre-kindergarten free and universal for all four-year-olds in New York City.

As members of the working group, de Blasio named Jennifer Jones Austin, co-chair of his transition team, as well as Elba Montalvo, Josh Wallack, Sherry M. Cleary, Gail B. Nayowith and Nancy Kolben. Each comes to this effort with years of experience in the field of early education from both the government and non-profit sectors.

The working group is charged with developing a roadmap towards implementing new full day pre-kindergarten programs for four-year-olds commencing in September, 2014. Their initial efforts are expected to center on developing plans to recruit, train and retain world-class educators; secure space for thousands of additional children; and identify best practices from pre-K programs across the country to inform New York City’s expansion.

Under Mayor-Elect de Blasio’s plan, full-day pre-K enrollment will grow from 20,000 to 68,000 students, the largest expansion of such programs in the nation’s history.

Full article available HERE