About 110 applications were submitted to enroll in the North Shore School District’s Universal Pre-K program starting in the fall, with the potential for more applications, according to Superintendent Christopher Zublionis.

“​​We are thankful for all of the community support in our UPK program,” a statement provided by the district said.

The 110 pre-K applications for the 2023-2024 school year were received by the district by noon on April 5. The application period was open until the end of the day, but the district went into spring recess starting April 6 and was not able to provide the final number of applications by the time of publication.

The district will be hosting a lottery this month to fill its limited number of roster spots for the program, but a date has not been announced by the district yet. The lottery will also determine the order of preference of selection for a specific school location.

Families that participate in the lottery will not be guaranteed a spot in class for their child. After the lottery, if seats are available, then families can enroll their children on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Families with multiple children to enroll at the same time will not be guaranteed a spot for all their children nor placement at the same location.

Classes are expected to run at each of the district’s elementary schools and the Glen Cove YMCA, according to the district. The classes will convene for a full year beginning in September.

The addition of universal pre-K at the North Shore schools was done through the New York State UPK Expansion Grant Program, a grant that funded the school’s newest grade. The grant provides the district with about $5,400 per pre-K student.

Under the state’s guidelines for the grant, a random selection through a lottery is required to determine which applicants are admitted into the program.

The district received the grant for the first time last April, but it was too late to establish the pre-K program by September. Instead, the district opted to begin it halfway through the year.

The district launched its pre-K program Feb. 1, welcoming about 50 preschool students to its three classes. Each class includes about 15-18 students, with one class each held at Glen Head Elementary, Sea Cliff Elementary School and the Glen Cove YMCA.

In a previous interview with Blank Slate, Zublionis said the universal pre-K program has been “so far so good” with the district receiving positive feedback about the new program. He said the benefits of the program are that the students become familiar with their school campuses prior to kindergarten and families save money, as the program is entirely free.

“We think it’s a great opportunity for all students and to help our residents,” Zublionis previously told Blank Slate.

Zublionis said the mid-year start brought challenges. This included finding classroom space on campuses and off as well as families needing to unenroll their children from their prior preschools.

Despite the challenges, the universal pre-K program has been going well and the district is now anticipating its next class of pre-K students in the fall.

The current preschool students have been attending school for an abbreviated day, spending about five hours in class from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The universal pre-K program follows the normal school calendar, with kids in class Monday to Friday, and school break schedules.

A universal lottery was hosted in December to determine the students accepted into the new pre-K program that started in February.

The Roslyn Union Free School District previously announced it would not be holding a lottery for enrollment in its newly established Universal Pre-Kindergarten program due to a low volume of applications, according to the district’s director of community relations and adult education.

The district’s pre-K program, which will begin for the first time this fall, was also fully funded by a New York State Department of Education grant.

The program, which will be run by The Growing Tree Nursery School — the Roslyn Universal Pre-K center — has approximately 86 spots available under the grant funding. Cynthia Younker, the district’s director of community relations, said the district received about 70 applications, which were due Feb. 27 online or by mail.

It was not clear why the number of applications fell short of the projected spots.