HOBOKEN – Multiple parents of Hoboken’s 3- and 4-year-olds took to the internet yesterday to express frustration with the school district’s application process for its early childhood program. According to several posts on a forum dedicated to discussion about child rearing in Hoboken, many families received rejection letters or notifications that their child had been placed on a waitlist for one of the city’s free early childhood programs.
According to one post, an early childhood official told a parent that the school district would actually have one more pre-kindergarten class this year than last, bringing the total to 48. But according to the official, there were an overwhelming number of applications this year, and children with special needs and siblings are placed before the rest.
Children may get off the wait list of other families move out of town and more spots open up.
It’s unclear if there were more rejections or wait listings this year than usual, as exact figures were not immediately available.
Superintendent of Schools Mark Toback did not return two calls for comment. The director of the city’s early childhood program, Andrea Coppola, did not return a call by press time, but the Reporter will post an updated story at hudsonreporter.com when more information is available.
The Hoboken schools provide free programs for 3- and 4-year-olds for free because the city is considered a “special needs” district.
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