Pre-School Through the Town of Oyster Bay

Most Farmingdale residents can easily recite the benefits of living in the Town of Oyster Bay: TOBAY beach, permit parking at the local railroad stations and a multitude of town parks. 

But few, it seems, are in on the well kept secret that living in the Town of Oyster Bay also affords access to affordable public pre-school.  And in difficult economic times, with young families juggling a myriad of expenses, that is news worth spreading.

Nestled in the Syosset-Woodbury Park, the Town of Oyster Bay Pre-School has been operating for well over 15 years in the community center building, where there are classrooms, larger meeting rooms and other amenities, including a playground dedicated solely to the pre-schoolers. Another program has also opened at the town park in Massapequa, which is likely more convenient for Farmingdale residents.

The pre-school runs programs for three and four year olds and parents have the option of selecting a morning or afternoon session, with each available three or five days a week. The town boasts a certified teacher in each class (along with two aides) and, with the help of the taxpayers, a price tag that it is hard to beat: $630 a semester for the three day program, or $800 for the five day version this year.

Although the school, as a publicly run program, is non-denominational, the major holidays are recognized. A tour of the facility at the end of the last school year found the three year olds happily making crafts for an upcoming holiday and the four year olds busily baking pancakes from a recipe.   

The program is not without its drawbacks. There is no transportation provided to or from the school nor is there a full day class offered. Most significantly, space is very limited and applications for an upcoming school year are required to be submitted to the Town of Oyster Bay’s youth services office in Massapequa, usually by mail, postmarked on or after a January or February date certain set by the town.

If the program is oversubscribed, the town selects students by lottery, although four year old children who were in the three year program are not at risk of being displaced. Thus, parents of toddlers beginning nursery school in the fall of 2012 who are interested in preserving this public pre-school option should mark their calendars to call the town at 516-797-7916 in September to find out about the fall open house schedule and to obtain an application as well as the date for its submission.

One positive feature of the town’s pre-school is that its schedule is coordinated with the public school calendar such that toddlers will have vacations or holidays at the same time as any older school age siblings. In addition in good weather the school’s location within the town park allows for parents to conveniently extend their toddlers’ socializing to include lunch and playdates using the park’s picnic grounds and vast play areas.

No one pre school can fit the needs or desires of every family but as Farmingdale parents of young children start the overwhelming decision making process, they can at least have the satisfaction of knowing that they do not have to wait until kindergarten to reap some return on their school tax dollars.