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UPK Lottery

UPK Lottery

Garden City Universal Pre-K logo featuring two children riding a book.

Universal Pre-K Information

2026-2027 School Year

The Google Form linked below will be accepting responses from January 26, 2026 through January 30, 2026 at 3:00pm.

 

  • Lottery numbers will be emailed by 4:00pm on Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 to all those who submitted an eligible application.

    The lottery for UPK will take place this Friday, February 6th at 1:00 pm. Eligible families who applied will be selected randomly to participate. There is a limited number of seats available. The remaining children will be placed on a waiting list.

    Selected students’ families must confirm interest or declination of the offer via email to upk@gcufsd.net by Wednesday, February 25th. 2026. 

    Parents must fully register their child with Garden City’s central registration office by April 1, 2026 in order to attend. If a family declines the offer or does not register their child, the next student on the waiting list will be offered a place in the program.

  • Children who turn four on or before December 1, 2026, and are first eligible for kindergarten in September 2027 are eligible to enroll in the district’s lottery system to participate in UPK. Students must be Garden City residents and provide evidence of required immunizations as well as an updated physical examination to register. Students eligible for kindergarten (who turn five on or before December 1, 2026) are not eligible for the Universal Pre-K program, per state eligibility requirements.

    • Lottery numbers will be used to determine the order in which students are offered seats in the Garden City UFSD UPK program.
    • Based upon seat availability, the first available seat correlating with a family’s ranked site preference will be offered. (If a spot is available in a family’s first preference, they will be offered that spot. If all spots from the first preference have been filled, the second preference location will be offered, etc.)
    • Each family will be assigned one lottery number. Families with multiples (twins, triplets, etc) will have one number. If that number is selected, multiples will be placed together based upon availability of seats according to the preference ranking on the Google Form. For example, if a family has twins and only one spot is available at the location of their first preference, they will be offered two seats at the next highest ranking site in which two seats are available. 

    Below you will find a list of the anticipated locations for our 2026-2027 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program. Students who attend any of these locations will have parallel learning experiences in preparation for entering the Garden City UFSD as kindergarten students in the fall of 2027. 

    While all of the locations offer wonderful UPK experiences, each is unique. In preparation for completion of the Google Form required to register for the UPK lottery, please take a moment to review each location’s website.

  • In-District Location:

    • Homestead School

     

    Out-of-District Locations: (Before and After School Programs Available - Contact sites directly for more information)

    • Harbor Child Care - Mineola 
    • Harbor Child Care - Shelter Rock
    • Our Precious Angels

School Age Calculator

Please enter your child's date of birth below to determine which year they are eligible to enroll.

Please select a valid Month, Day, and Year.

Eligible Enrollment Years (September)

  • Universal Pre-K (UPK): Sept
  • Kindergarten: Sept
  • 1st Grade: Sept
Note: This calculator applies a December 1 cutoff (born on or before Dec 1 stays in the birth-year cohort, born after Dec 1 moves to the next cohort). Confirm final eligibility with district registration guidance.