More kids are expected to start 3-K this fall as the city’s universal education program expands to cover more ground.

After a morning spent playing with three-year olds at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in Longwood on May 23, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced further commitment to growing the 3-K for All program.

“We believe in a city that is fair for everyone. The goal of this administration is to make this the fairest big city in America,” de Blasio said. Flanked by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and Assemblyman Michael Blake, de Blasio touted the 3-K program he believes is a springboard to creating a more equitable city.

A continuation of the city’s ‘Pre-K for All’ initiative, the 3-K program extends early childhood education to three-year olds. As of May 23, over 3,000 letters were sent out to parents offering their child one of the coveted 3-K seats for the 2018-2019 school year. A series of two-year expansions are set to grow 3-K to 12 community school districts by fall 2021.

The free, full-day school program is currently available to all eligible three-year olds in the South Bronx. Next year, 3-K for All will widen to applicants in Grand Concourse, Highbridge and Morrisania; expanding to the Central Bronx in 2020.

Noting the uniqueness of the 3-K program, Carranza said, “This is not happening at this scale anywhere in America.”

Kisha Rivers understands all too well the struggle of securing child care. “The costs can be astronomical. It can be more than your rent,” Rivers said about private daycare service. At one point she paid more than $1,200 a month for child care. Her daughter, Nyla Rivers, now attends the Longwood Pre-K Center.

School districts scheduled for a two-year 3-K expansion will offer select applicants seats in the program in the first year, then across-the-board acceptance in the second year. Of the 31 school districts in the city, 12 will receive full funding for 3-K for All by 2021. Plans to expand the program citywide will rely on additional state and federal funding, said the Mayor.

“If we succeed in our goal, we want a New York City where our children are born into fairness,” de Blasio said.