The Penfield Central School District is excited to offer Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)! This NYS grant-funded program is run in local Community Based Organizations (CBOs). CBOs are existing organizations such as daycares and preschools. We know how important early learning is to our students and we are looking forward to offering this program to children who will be four years old on or before December 1, 2025.

Our Program includes:

• Full day (5 ½ hours)
• Free meals
• Social-emotional and play-based curriculum aligned with the NYS Pre-Kindergarten Standards

If you have additional questions about the UPK program, please contact Mary Sapone at (585) 249-5733 or MSapone@penfield.edu. 

2025-26 School Year Program

We are excited to share the following Penfield Universal Pre-Kindergarten information for the 2025-26 school year with you!

Virtual UPK Community Night April 23, 2025 at 6:00pm:

Hosted by Mary Sapone, Universal PreK Liaison, and Dr. Leslie Maloney, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction. 

This session will provide information on the UPK program for the 2025-26 school year. It will be recorded and posted on the district website for those who are unable to attend.

Join us at 6 pm via the link below:

UPK Virtual Information Session

UPK Locations:

Open Enrollment and Application: 

The application for UPK students will be available as of 8am on Monday, April 28th. Open enrollment will begin on April 28^th and will close on Friday, May 9th at 4pm. The lottery will occur on Wednesday, May 14^th and families will begin to receive email confirmation of their child being selected for UPK shortly thereafter. 

Thank You:

Thank you for your patience and continued support of the program! We appreciate our ongoing partnerships with Inspire Crayon Campus and Care A Lot childcare and our new partnership with Childtime Penfield.

Selection Process

Students will be selected to participate in the UPK program through a lottery system. Students who apply to our UPK program will be chosen based on an equitable lottery system. Each child will be given a number and numbers will be selected at random. Families with multiples (twins, triplets, etc.) will have each child entered as an individual student. The selection of one twin or triplet has no effect on the selection number of other siblings during the lottery process. 

UPK Application

The application for the 2025-26 School Year will be posted as of April 28, 2025.

Waitlist Process

• Families who have a child selected for Universal Pre-Kindergarten will be notified by email and will be responsible for confirming their acceptance into the UPK program.
• When an opening becomes available, the waitlist will be accessed in the order families’ numbers were drawn during the lottery. 
• Location preferences will not be considered when the waitlist is accessed.
• When an opening becomes available, families will be called and emailed.
• A family presented with an opening will be given the choice to accept the opening or to be moved to the bottom of the waitlist to wait for another opening to occur.
• Families will have 48 hours to indicate whether they accept the opening or would like to be moved to the bottom of the waitlist.
• As openings occur, the waitlist will continue to be accessed accordingly until there are no more families on the list.

If you have questions about the Penfield UPK program, please contact Mary Sapone at (585) 249-5733 or MSapone@penfield.edu.