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  1. ACADEMICS
  2. Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) Program

Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) Program

Galway

About Us

Galway Central School District is pleased to continue offering its Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) program for the 2025-26 school year at no cost to families residing in the Galway Central School District. Taught by NYS certified teachers, Galway’s UPK program provides a developmentally appropriate learning environment that prepares children for kindergarten.

Program Highlights

  • Full-Day Schedule: 8 a.m.-2:22 p.m and students can be dropped off as early as 7:15 a.m. for supervised early morning arrival
  • Transportation: Provided for 4-year olds only
  • Meals: Free breakfast and lunch through the school cafeteria
  • Activities: students participate in music, art, library, and physical education
  • Calendar: follows the district’s 180-day school year, Monday through Friday

Children who turn four-years old on or before December 1, 2025 and are legal residents of the Galway Central School District are eligible to apply. A total of 54 placements are anticipated for the upcoming school year, with a lottery system to determine enrollment in the event that the number of applicants exceeds available seats.

Important Dates and Information

The lottery will open on Monday, March 3, 2025 and close at the end of business on Friday, April 4, 2025

Click here for the UPK Lottery Entry Form

 

  • The lottery drawing, if needed, will take place on Monday, April 7, 2025 
  • Selected families will be notified by email by April 15, 2025, at which time UPK registration will open on FamilyID
  • Students who are not selected due to space limitations will be placed on a waiting list
  • Selected families must complete the enrollment process on FamilyID by April 30, 2025
  • If selected students are not enrolled by April 30, that spot will become available and the district will begin contacting families whose children are on the waiting list

Lottery forms received after April 4 will be considered only if there are spaces available in the UPK program. If no spaces are available, late submissions will be added to a waiting list. 

For more information, please contact Joseph Henry Elementary School Principal Nicole Luft at 518-882-1033 x 4240.

 

 

  • Parents of eligible children are asked to complete a UPK Lottery Entry Form between Monday, March 3, 2025 and close of business on Friday, April 4, 2025
  • Lottery entries that are submitted on time will be assigned a number in the order in which they are received (this enables the district to know how many entries have been submitted, the assigned number is insignificant)
  • If there are more than 54 entries, the numbers corresponding to each applicant will be entered into a blind drawing
  • The District will complete the random drawing on Monday, April 7, 2025 
  • Selected families will be notified by email by April 15, 2025, at which time UPK registration will open on FamilyID
  • Students who are not selected due to space limitations will be placed on a waiting list 
  • Selected families must complete the enrollment process on FamilyID by April 30, 2025
  • If selected students are not enrolled by April 30, that spot will become available and the district will begin contacting families whose children are on the waiting list
  • Lottery entries received after April 4 will be considered only if there are spaces available in the UPK program
  • If no spaces are available, late submissions will be added to the waiting list
  • Neither the district nor administrators nor faculty/staff are able to reserve seats or adjust lottery results to accommodate a specific child

*Please note: the lottery will only be held if there are over 54 lottery entries.

    • Parents of eligible children are asked to complete a UPK Lottery Entry Form between Monday, March 3, 2025 and close of business on Friday, April 4, 2025
    • Lottery entries that are submitted on time will be assigned a number in the order in which they are received (this enables the district to know how many entries have been submitted, the assigned number is insignificant)
    • If there are more than 54 entries, the numbers corresponding to each applicant will be entered into a blind drawing
    • The District will complete the random drawing on Monday, April 7, 2025 
    • Selected families will be notified by email by April 15, 2025, at which time UPK registration will open on FamilyID
    • Students who are not selected due to space limitations will be placed on a waiting list 
    • Selected families must complete the enrollment process on FamilyID by April 30, 2025
    • If selected students are not enrolled by April 30, that spot will become available and the district will begin contacting families whose children are on the waiting list
    • Lottery entries received after April 4 will be considered only if there are spaces available in the UPK program
    • If no spaces are available, late submissions will be added to the waiting list
    • Neither the district nor administrators nor faculty/staff are able to reserve seats or adjust lottery results to accommodate a specific child

    *Please note: the lottery will only be held if there are over 54 lottery entries.