Early Childhood Education - NYC Bright Starts
NYC Bright Starts provides families residing in New York City, with children aged six weeks to five-years-old, with free or low-cost high-quality early childhood education in a variety of New York City Public School (NYCPS) settings across all five boroughs.
Our programs and schools provide rich and nurturing learning environments that:
- Honor and celebrate each child and their individual strengths, interests, and culture
- Engage children in learning experiences that foster social-emotional, physical, language, problem solving, literacy, and math skills
- Center strong family partnerships, ensuring two-way communication between families and programs/schools to extend children’s learning at home
- Offer children and their families comprehensive resources and supports based on the individual goals and needs of each family
Enroll Year Round!
New for 2026: Birth-to-Two (B-2) Child Care Initiative
Free, High-Quality Child Care for Infants and Toddlers
New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) is expanding access to free, high-quality care for infants and toddlers through the Birth-to-2 Child Care Initiative.
This initiative builds on the City's strong early childhood foundation and supports working families by offering full-day, year-round programs for children ages six weeks to two years old.
Programs are located in community-based sites across the City and were selected based on neighborhood need and available capacity. These new seats are funded through the City's Fiscal Year 2026 investment in early childhood education.
Who Can Apply
- Families with children ages six weeks to two years at the time of enrollment
- Must live in New York City (Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, or Staten Island)
- No other eligibility or income requirements
- Programs are free for families
When to Apply
Families can contact participating programs directly to begin the registration process. Each program will guide families through the required steps, including completing enrollment forms and providing documentation such as proof of residence and proof of the child's age.
NYCPS will continue to share updates with families through participating providers and community partners as the initiative moves forward.
Where Programs Are Located
Programs are located in communities across the City, with a focus on neighborhoods where access to affordable child care has been most limited.
Manhattan
- Central Harlem
- Washington Heights
- Lower East Side
Bronx
- Morrisania
- Eastchester
- Norwood
Brooklyn
- East New York
- Brownsville
- Crown Heights
- Sunset Park
- Flatbush
- Bedford-Stuyvesant
ZIP codes include:
- 10001
- 10002
- 10027
- 10032
- 10039
- 10456
- 10466
- 10467
- 11207
- 11208
- 11212
- 11213
- 11220
- 11221
- 11223
- 11230
- 11233
- 11435
Participating Programs