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Amherst UPK: district outlines expansion, partnerships and plan to end UPK transportation
Summary
The Amherst Central School District presented plans to maintain 144 UPK seats while consolidating sites and expanding Windermere to four full‑day classrooms; partners will provide coaching and special‑education therapies, and the district plans to discontinue UPK transportation in 2026–27 citing grant restrictions and $227,000 in current costs.
Amy Stager, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, told the board the Universal Pre‑K program will continue to serve 144 children but be reorganized across three sites in 2026–27 while Windermere will expand to four full‑day classrooms. "I'm excited to be able to share an update of our universal pre k program here at Amherst," Stager said, outlining family engagement nights, curriculum alignment and site plans.
Stager described family engagement efforts that included a UPK night at the Explore & More Children’s Museum attended by more than 70 families, meet‑the‑teacher visits and a planned spring “UPK Picasso” art show. She said those events and an end‑of‑year program survey informed outreach choices and helped address accessibility concerns by including transit directions on event materials.
On curriculum and coaching, Stager said the district has standardized Building Blocks math across all eight UPK classrooms using grant funding from Assemblywoman Karen McMahon and provided training on Oct. 2. The district is continuing a partnership with PEDLS (Positive Emotional Development and Learning Skills) to implement the Second Step social‑emotional curriculum and expand coaching to all eight classrooms; Stager said "they've actually kind of adopted all 8 of our classrooms." She also described a new collaboration with ECMC's preschool special‑education program to bring occupational, speech and physical therapy supports into classrooms and named Mary Cohen and Kara Polk as classroom behavior‑coach resources.
Stager summarized planned site changes: Windermere will add four UPK classrooms, an indoor gross‑motor room and an outdoor fenced playground with a trike track; Amherst Community Church Child Care Center is expected to host two full‑day classrooms; Amherst Nursery School will no longer be a full‑day partner because it lacks the necessary licensing. Stager said the move toward full‑day programming reflects strong family demand and research favoring full‑day pre‑K.
On transportation, Stager told the board the district intends to discontinue UPK transportation for 2026–27, noting it is not an allowable expense under the New York State UPK grant and can reduce state aid. "This year, it's estimated we'll be spending $227,000 to transport our students," she said, and staff explained transportation costs also affected construction choices such as cutting a bus loop at Windermere to limit costs.
Looking ahead, Stager provided an enrollment timeline: registration opens in January, families will have a February verification window, a digital random lottery is scheduled for March 18, and families will be notified after placements are finalized.
The presentation included questions from board members about historical applicant numbers and cohort size but no formal board action on the UPK program was taken that night; the presentation served as an informational update and to prepare the board for the 2026–27 implementation and enrollment process.
