UPK is a New York State-funded early childhood education program that provides free, high-quality prekindergarten opportunities for eligible four-year-old children. The program focuses on the development of the whole child, including social-emotional learning, early literacy and numeracy, and learning through play.

Children are eligible if they are residents of the New Paltz Central School District and turn four (4) years old on or before December 1 of the school year in which they are applying.