PRE-SCHOOL

Tuckahoe Preschool
2025-2026 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Applications Now Available!

  

Information

Slideshow from the Tuckahoe UPK Family Night Webinar

UPK Frequently Asked Questions

Tuckahoe Union Free School District is pleased to offer Tuckahoe families the opportunity to enter a lottery for our Universal Pre-Kindergarten program (UPK). For the 2025-2026 school year, we are continuing our partnership with Healthy Kids, a community-based organization, to run the program at the William E. Cottle Elementary School. The program will run five days per week from 9:15 AM to 3:15 PM and will follow the school district calendar.

To be eligible, children must turn four years old on or before December 1, 2025. Transportation is not provided.

Parents interested in having their child considered for UPK must complete the Universal Pre-K Application Forms available in English and Spanish. Please submit only one application packet per child. This application packet must be received no later than 2:30 PM on Monday, February 3, 2025. Application packets must be completed to be entered into the lottery.

The number of available spots for this program is contingent on funding by NYS, which we anticipate will be capped at 40 full-day students. Placement in the program is determined by a random lottery, as required by NYS when the number of applicants exceeds the available spots. When an application is submitted, it will be assigned a number for the lottery. Once the first 40 applications have been selected, each subsequent application pulled is put on a waiting list in the order of their draw from the lottery. Families will be notified of their initial lottery status within five business days of the lottery conclusion.

The lottery for the UPK spots will take place both in-person and virtually on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 3:00 PM in the Tuckahoe Middle/High School Library (snow date: February 11, 2025). The random lottery will be live-streamed, and the link will be available on the District website homepage: www.Tuckahoeschools.org. If a family declines the offer or does not register their child, the next student on the waiting list will be offered a place in the program.

Applications may be submitted in one of two ways:

  1. In-Person:
    • Monday - Friday During the Hours of 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM at William E. Cottle Elementary School - Main Security Entrance
      2 Siwanoy Boulevard, Eastchester, NY, 10709
  2. Via Email:

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the District Office at 914-337-6600 x 1262.

We are excited to offer this UPK program for the 2025-2026 school year and look forward to working with our community partner to provide this valuable opportunity to eligible Tuckahoe families!