Eligibility Requirements
  • Your child’s birth date must fall between December 2, 2018, and December 1, 2019, to be eligible to attend Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK). *Please note: If a child is age eligible to attend Kindergarten, they are ineligible for UPK.

  • Your family must reside within the Carthage Central School District.

  • UPK classes will be held five (5) days a week and are approximately 2 1/2 hours long. The AM session will run from 9 am to 11:40 am and the PM session will run from 12:50 pm to 3:30 pm.  UPK will begin the same 1st day as K-5 and generally follows the regular school calendar.  The UPK programs will be located at Black River Elementary, Carthage Elementary and West Carthage Elementary.

  • UPK students will be selected by a lottery system if the number of applicants exceeds spaces available.  Please be aware that school placement is determined by the availability of bus routes and scheduling.  Pick up and drop off points must be within the school attendance area.

  • A student’s HOME address will determine which building they will attend.

  • All transportation is provided for students who are or turn 4 by September 7, 2023 with an adult responsible for putting the child on and taking the child off the bus.  Please be aware if your child is not yet 4, parent transportation is required, per New York State.

  • This is not the application.  The application for the 23-24 school year is not yet available.

  • Using the survey information, the application will be mailed to the address provided once it is available.

Key Dates:

March 31st: Survey closes

April 3rd: Registration packets will be mailed to those who complete the survey

May 15th: Packets due to Central Registration

June 1st: Parents will be notified of selection or waitlist status