Full Time Program
UPNS’s school year runs from September to June and follows the New York City public school calendar.
School hours are Monday through Friday from 8:50 am to 3:10 pm
While we do not offer a part time program, we are happy to support families who prefer to have their children rest at home.
Tuition
- Blue Room 2’s – $30,000 for 2024-2025
- Yellow Room (3K) – No Tuition
- Orange Room (Pre-K) – No Tuition
Other Contributions:
Co-op membership is included with Blue Room enrollment. Co-op participation is voluntary for Yellow and Orange Room families, but we hope all UPNS parents will continue to embrace our tradition of collaboration and become involved members of the co-op community.
3K and PreK
University Plaza Nursery School was founded by NYU faculty parents in 1967 as a parent co-op nursery school. For the last 56 years we have been a thriving independent nursery school with an excellent reputation among families and ongoing schools. Each year approximately half of our Pre-K children attend neighborhood public elementary schools and half attend private schools..
In 2022, to make our school more equitable, we began to collaborate with the DOE to offer tuition free 3K and Pre-K at UPNS. Although this change reduced our funding, with co-op participation, fundraising and donations from our generous community, UPNS continues to be the same independent school we have always been at a fraction of the cost of a traditional private school. We will continue to operate as a co-op school with current parents, teachers and administrators serving together on the Board of Directors.
Classrooms
UPNS offers three classrooms, each serving a different age group. We have certified teachers in all classrooms.
Blue Room (Privately enrolled)
9-11 children ages 2 and 3 with 2 teachers
Yellow Room (3K)
12-14 children age 3 with 2 teachers
Orange Room (Pre-K)
15-17 children ages 3 and 4 with 2 teachers
Enrichment Programs and Facilities
Children attend weekly enrichment classes including a weekly music program with Shoshana Vogel and yoga with Tashya.
The new Greene Street Playgarden is adjacent to our school.
The school has access to the Key Park, a large gated playground. Children also have nature based learning with an on-site vegetable and herb garden and The Oak Grove, a small urban green space with mature trees. Children have access to the Washington Square Park Eco Projects educational collection of bio-facts, which includes birds nests, feathers and taxidermied birds.
Afterschool
Children 3 and older may participate
Afterschool runs from 3:10 to 5:00 PM
Summer Extension
- Weekly enrollment through July is offered to currently enrolled children
- Staffed by UPNS teachers and camp counselors who are UPNS alumni
- Plenty of outdoor play and lots of time under the sprinklers!
Inclusion
At UPNS we welcome children of all abilities and children with Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) including those who need support from Special Education Itinerant Teachers (SEIT’s) attend UPNS.
We welcome and work with speech therapists, SEIT’s, physical therapists, counselors and occupational therapists on-site to provide push-in and pull-out services.
In the afternoon our Multipurpose Room is used by educational specialists to provide services one-on-one or to a small group of children.
Special Services
Early childhood settings are often the first place where children with special needs are identified. UPNS teachers are skilled at communicating with parents when we notice a child may need extra help.
If we believe your child would benefit from special services the teacher will meet with you to discuss the possibility of having your child evaluated.
Teachers help parents navigate the process of scheduling an evaluation through Early Intervention (for children younger than 3), the Department of Education or a private organization.
We recognize that it is the parents right to seek out or deny an evaluation as they determine what is best for their child.