The Arlington Central School District is pleased to provide an opportunity for Arlington families to enter a lottery for our Universal Pre-K program (UPK) for the 2025-2026 school year.

Universal Pre-K (UPK) is a free educational program made possible through various state and federal grants. UPK is available for four-year-old children who were born December 2, 2020- December 1, 2021 and reside in the Arlington Central School District.

Our school year for UPK is 180 days long and the first day of school will closely correspond with the start date for Arlington K-12 programs. Classes meet Monday-Friday for a five hour school day. Families will need to provide transportation to and from school daily.

Before or after school childcare can be arranged with the provider with whom your child is placed. Families are responsible for the cost associated with before and/or after care. Hours and availability are determined by each childcare provider.

We are partnering with area childcare providers and agencies for the 2025-2026 school year:

• Holy Trinity:  Poughkeepsie
  8:00 am to 1:00 pm

• Holy Trinity Annex: Poughkeepsie
  8:00 am to 1:00 pm

• Cinnamon Tree: LaGrangeville
  9:00 am to 2:00 pm

• Healthy Kids at Beekman Elementary School: Poughquag
  9:00 to 2:00 pm

• Healthy Kids at Traver Primary School: Pleasant Valley
  9:00 am to 2:00 pm

UPK Lottery

Due to the limited number of available Universal Pre-Kindergarten seats, the District is conducting a random lottery to select students for the program. Parents interested in having their child considered for UPK must complete this electronic Universal Pre-K Lottery Form. The lottery form will be open until  Friday, April 11. Please submit only one form per child. We will delete duplicate entries.

We will use an electronic system to randomly pick applicants. All forms submitted by April 11  will have the same chance of being chosen. Selection is NOT based on the date/time that you complete the form.

If you need help completing the lottery form, please call or stop by your local elementary school between 9am and 2pm. If you call after hours, please leave a message and someone will get back to you. 

We will notify families of their initial lottery status by April 25. Eligible families will need to complete the registration paperwork and make an appointment to complete the registration process.  

Click here to enter the 2025-2026 UPK Lottery

Please read the handbook linked below for a full description of the program. If you have any further questions, please email arlingtonupk@acsdny.org. 

UPK Handbook 2025-2026 (English)

UPK Handbook 2025-2026 (Spanish)