Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Speaks at Pre-K Day of Action Kickoff

June 16, 2014

Video available at: https://youtu.be/hO8I3gIkll8

Mayor Bill de Blasio: You know this weekend, this Saturday is the Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn. And my son Dante is King Neptune and my daughter Chiara is queens of the mermaids. So if I get to be pre-K king, at least I’m keeping up with them. That’s pretty good.

I want to thank the chancellor. I’ve known Carmen Fariña now for about 15 years and her extraordinary passion for educating every child in this city, I think you’ve all seen it and felt it. I am so appreciative to her for all of her efforts and I love the fact – I love deeply the fact that she started out in a classroom in New York City public schools teaching – was a great teacher, worked her way up to be a great principal. And now is a great chancellor for our school system. Thank Carmen Fariña.

[Applause]

The energetic Sophia Pappas, who since this effort has begun, has not slept or eaten event once, and will not be allowed to until every child is enrolled. Sophia thank you.

[Applause]

And then a special thank you to our Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, who is doing an extraordinary job leading our efforts on pre-K, on after-school, on community schools. We thank him for this extraordinary effort he’s put together for our city.

[Applause]

You’re going to hear from some great school leaders and community leaders in the course of this session. I want to thank Carol Mongiello, the principal at PS 59 on Staten Island. I want to thank Joan Kuo, the center director at SCO First Step NYC, an early childhood center in Brownsville, Brooklyn, for all the work they do. Let’s thank them for what they do.

[Applause]

Now, I think everyone here knows how important this moment is. I hope you feel the energy I feel. I think you do. Because this is a transformative moment for our city. And you are part of this history right now. You’re going to make a difference today and in the days that follow. Because we’re doing this to reach out to a whole other generation of kids and give them the start that we wish so many other kids had been given. But we’re going to do it now and we’re going to do it the right way  this time, in our time. And it’s going to then reverberate forward, because those children being given that better start are going to learn better, are going to have better lives ahead. Their families will be uplifted. And then the whole school system will start to improve. Because year after year as more kids get that foundation, our school system will get stronger and stronger. For everyone here, for all the work you do, your work will be amplified. The results will be better because of what we start here today. Someone said to me once, talk about pre-K the same way you would talk about building a house. If you’re going to build a strong house, it begins with a strong foundation. And full-day, high-quality pre-K is that strong foundation for our children. We have needed it to be universal for years and years. We’ve heard the phrase universal for years and years, but it wasn’t real. But now we’re making it real. Because of what you’re doing today, we will make it real for the children of this city. Starting this year, over 50,000 kids, going into next year, over 70,000 kids. By the end of the following school year, every child who wants full-day pre-K in this city will have it. And your efforts today are a key part of it, so give yourselves a round of applause.

[Applause]

And remember that you’re doing so much not only for these individual children, but for their entire families. Because you’re opening up opportunity for those families. We know how many families in this city are struggling. And we know that trying to find the right situation for their children is another part of that struggle. And we know a lot of families pay so much to find a good option, even when they don’t have much. And we know sometimes parents can’t work the hours they’d like to work because they don’t have a good option for their children. And when you think about all that, what you’re doing today is helping families move forward too because if parents know they have a reliable, free, full-day option – did I mention it’s free? Free full-day option – this reminds me of one of my favorite community-based pre-K centers, the A to Z Center in Queens Village, had outside a banner that said ‘free full-day pre-K’, and then they put on top of that ‘Free!!!’ and then they repeated that three times.

So the fact that families, including so many families struggling – struggling economically, struggling with multiple jobs, struggling with difficult schedules – will now have something they can rely on. And you’re going to help them get that. You’re going to help them connect to that. Imagine what you’re doing to strengthen that family, to give them a little relief from their burden and allow them to move forward economically. There’s so much good that’s happening here.

Now, it only works if we get to the parents. And you know what Carmen said is right, that wherever I see or whenever she sees a family with a child that appears to be a 4-year-old, we go like this, ‘Do you have one of these forms?’ We are quick to draw with our form. And it’s so important. By the way, just so you know, government is getting a little better. This is a one page form, okay? One page and you’re in the game. This is it. Look, there’s no secrets here, there’s no trap door. One simple page and the process gets started to get a child into pre-K. We need you to help parents to understand that this has been made straightforward and simple and easy for them. Because we want them to succeed and we want their children to succeed. So there’s not a lot of bureaucracy and complication here. But they still need to understand the time to apply is now. They can’t wait. Because we know how busy life is. We know how complicated life is. We need to convince parents to apply now while the school year is still going, between now and the 26th – next Thursday the 26th. It’s so important to get them while their attention is focused. It’s so important to help them with the form, make sure they understand it, make sure they know what to do.  We have the ability to connect them to something wonderful. And we have lots of great options all over the city. And they can apply for as many as they want to. I keep saying it's like the lotto – apply as many times as you can for the ones that work for you, because that's going to maximize the chance for them finding the right slot for their kid. But that is up to you to get the word across and let them feel your urgency. 

I think we know that the difference it can make in our children's lives is extraordinary. But parents are going to say to you, very legitimately, they're going to say – is it really going to be what I hope it will be? Will it be high-quality? Will it be safe and secure? You can assure them that we're expending extraordinary effort to make sure that the programs in each and every community-based option are exactly the same high-quality as the ones sponsored in our public schools, that we're constantly monitoring the quality, that we have a huge quality-control staff that's out there all the time, that we're making sure that the physical plant and the health and safety is of the highest-quality. We've said very clearly, any program that doesn't measure up to our standards isn't going to be a part of our pre-K program. We had a lot of programs that applied, a lot of organizations that applied, didn't happen to meet our standards. They're not a part of this program. So you can tell parents, we've done a lot of quality control here to make sure this works for them. You can tell them, we've worked very hard to find as many sites as possible in and around their neighborhoods.

Now, by the way, some parents will not find a site as close as they want to their home. That is going to be something that's a challenge. We understand that. But we've found all the quality sites we could, and it's important to say to them, then – look, this is an extraordinary opportunity for your child. This is going to be transcendent for your child. It's for free. It's going to make their lives better. It's going to make your life better. Maybe you have to travel a little farther than you wanted to. Maybe you want to choose a center nearer to your work than your home. But find a good option for your child, because it will make a profound difference. That's what they need to hear from you. And when they hear it from you, it's going to open their eyes. It's going to help them focus. It's going to help them get that application done.

Let me finish by saying this. You have an opportunity here – as I started, I want to say it again – you have a chance to help make history. Because this effort is going to frame the future of education in New York City. And by the way, I assure you, it's being watched very carefully all over the country. Mayors from around the country talk to me all the time. They want to know how it's going. They want to know how they can take this model and build on it. People are watching, because this could change the way we think about education, all over this country. If we show, in the biggest city in the country, that we can get full-day pre-K for all and we can make it work, then it's my hope that pre-K will spread like wildfire all over and strengthen this whole nation. 

You're on the cutting edge of this moment. You're in a position to help secure this victory for the children of this city, the families of this city, and for the future of this city. Use your persuasive skills. Talk to parents. Listen to parents. Listen to their concerns. Help them understand. Help them get the answers they need to their questions. Go through the form with them. Sit with them while they fill out the form, whether it's online or on paper. Navigate with them. With your energy, with your persuasive skills, it's going to make a huge difference. 

Now, if parents say they want more information – let me give you an example of how easy it is. Sophia, step forward. Sophia, turn and show the back of your t-shirt. Thank you! All right. So, you can – here's your three options. You can visit nyc.gov/prek. You can text pre-K – P-R-E-K – to 877877. Or you can call 311. Thank you, Sophia. 

[Applause]

And all the information that they need is available – that's how simple it is. You can apply online, you can apply on paper, you can go to the community-based organization, you can work with people in your school – whatever gets the job done. We've made it easy and simple and quick. I'll finish with this, I think I'm preaching to the converted when I say there's nothing more transformative in our society than a quality education. I think that is true today more than at any other point in history. I think the demands being placed on our children today are much greater than when we were all growing up. If you want to succeed economically, you need a stronger educational foundation, than even we needed when we were growing up.

Which is why, when you're talking to parents, remind them – you're helping them get what their children need to be strong in today's world. It's a different ballgame today. But if kids get that strong foundation, they can prosper. We all know, parents care so deeply about their children. They think about their children's future. It's the core of their hopes and dreams, that their child will do well. You're going to help give them the keys to that future. And a quote that I think says it, about what it means for these families, but what it means for all of us – Nelson Mandela said something so simple. He said education – ‘Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.’ It's as simple as that. This is the difference maker. And you're going to help unlock it and open it up for so many children and families. 

One moment en español, if you please.

Trabajando puntos, vamos a mejorar la vida de los niños y los padres de Nueva York. Hacer correremos programas de pre-kinder, para todos los niños. Cada niño merece recibir una educación de caledad. 

You're going to get them that educación de caledad, with your efforts today. You're going to make it possible for so many children. I want to thank you for everything you have done and everything you will do. And now I want to bring up a parent leader who can speak from the heart about what this means for parents and families, and I want to thank her for all of her good work. Juanita Blackman-Jones is president of the Parent Advisory Committee at Alpha Kappa Alpha Daycare Center in Jamaica, Queens. She has a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter at the center, and she knows what a difference programs like this can make. Let's welcome Juanita.

[Applause]