Gilboa-Conesville CSD

The Universal Pre-Kindergarten program (UPK) is a free Pre-K program, funded by New York state, for four-year old children who reside in the district. If you are a Gilboa-Conesville Central School District resident, and your child will be 4-years-old as of December 1 for the school year for which you are applying, you are eligible to apply for this program. 

Universal pre-kindergarten is a play-based program that provides children with enriched learning experiences, individually designed to support their overall growth and development through a balance of teacher-initiated and child-initiated learning activities.

Children who participate in the universal pre-kindergarten program have been shown to experience an easier transition to kindergarten. The program provides early literacy and reading instruction, laying the foundation for future learning.

Program Details: 

• The program is whole day instruction
• Transportation is provided by the district
• Free breakfast and lunch are included
• Children who are 4 or will be 4 by December 1 are eligible
• All eligible students must reside within the school district

Selection Process:

The district plans to offer up to 18 seats for the 25-26 school year. If there are more eligible applicants than can be served in a given year, the district will conduct a lottery-based system to determine who attends the program.

The lottery will select attendees on a random basis. New York state regulations prohibit a district from prioritizing eligible students for any reason. Each child will be entered into the lottery as an individual student and will be selected at random. The selection of one twin, triplet or household member has no effect on the selection number of any other siblings during the lottery process.

If a lottery system is utilized, students who are not randomly selected will be placed on a waiting list. If any vacancies occur during the school year, they will be filled until the waiting list has been exhausted.

Enrollment in the UPK program is not mandatory. However, enrolled students must adhere to the school district's attendance policy. The program operates five-days-a-week and follows GCCSD's district calendar, with 180 days of school (September through June) each year.

Additional information and the registration packet can be found below: