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CityWide Cultural Access Program for Child Care Centers
Enroll in our program to see all that a Cool Culture partnership offers to your early child care center’s families.
Eligibility and Enrollment
Enrollment for child care centers for the 2023-2024 program year is now closed. You can learn more about enrollment and prepare for our next program year by checking out our Enrollment Guide + FAQs.
Eligibility
To be eligible, your child care program should offer one of the following:
- A Center-based Early Head Start, Head Start, Child Care, 3K or UPK Program
- A Home-based Early Head Start Program
- A Family Child Care Program
- A Home Visiting Program
Additionally, at least:
- 70% of families pay tuition of less than $700 per month
- 60% of families pay tuition of less than $500+ per month
Enrollment Pricing
Program Capacity | 2023-2024 Fee |
|---|---|
1-74 Children | $540 |
75-124 Children | $720 |
125-224 Children | $900 |
225-324 Children | $1,110 |
325-424 Children | $1,380 |
425-524 Children | $1,560 |
525+ Children | *Please inquire with staff |
Timeline
Enrollment: Enrollment for child care centers closed on September 30, 2023.
Family Registration: Families at your center will be able to register for the Family Pass from October 16, 2023 to February 2, 2024.
Professional Development: Virtual and in-person workshops occur throughout the year, from late November 2023 through March 2024.
Please Note: For the 2023-2024 program year, we are implementing a new system to make it easier for educators to register families. This has created unexpected shifts in our timeline. Please refer to this timeline often as deadlines may change, and thank you for your patience as we build a better system.
2023
Week of July 24 | Enrollment Opens for Centers |
|---|---|
Rolling Basis, starting in September | Enrollment decisions announced (Invoice and Partnership Agreement go out to eligible partners. Partners have 30 days from Enrollment Status Email to complete payments in order to receive Family Passes.) |
September 30 | Enrollment Closes for Centers |
October 16 | Family Registration Opens The Family Registration Period is on a rolling basis and passes are printed based on application submission date. Each Family must complete the Family Registration Form in order to receive a family pass. Each pass is printed and customized based on the information received on the Family Registration Form. |
October 16 – November 10 | 1st Round of Family Registration Family Passes from this registration period will be distributed in early December. Please Note: The deadline for 1st Round of Family Registration is Nov 10th at 12:00pm EST |
November 12 (11:59pm EST) | 1st Family Registration Approval Deadline for Partners Cultural Liaisons must review and approve their family applications for printing. |
Early December | Family Passes from the 1st Registration round are printed and distributed to educators in-person at our office or through mailing. (Due to technical challenges, passes will not be distributed at our first Curator for Educators workshop in late November.) |
November 11 – December 31 | 2nd Round of Family Registration Family Passes from this registration period will be distributed in late January. Please Note: The deadline for the 2nd round of Family Registration is Dec. 31 at 12:00pm EST |
2024
January 3 (11:59pm EST) | 2nd Family Registration Approval Deadline for Partners Cultural Liaisons must review and approve their family applications for printing. |
|---|---|
Late January (week of Jan. 23) | Family Passes from the 2nd Registration round are printed and distributed to educators at the Curators for Educators workshop, in-person at our office, or through mailing. |
January 1 – February 2 | 3rd and Final Round of Family Registration Family Passes from this period will be distributed in March. Please Note: The deadline for the 2nd round of Family Registration is Feb. 2 at 12:00pm EST. This is the last day for families to register for a Family Pass. |
February 9 (11:59pm EST) | 3rd Family Registration Approval Deadline for Partners Cultural Liaisons must review and approve their family applications for printing. |
Late March (week of Mar. 18) | Family Passes from the 3rd Registration round are printed and distributed to educators at the Curators for Educators workshop, in-person at our office, or through mailing. |
June | Enrollment Application Launches for 2024-2025 Program Year |
October 31 | Current Family Passes expire October 31, 2024 |
week of may 23 |
About the Cultural Access Program
What does my early childhood program receive?
Family Passes for free general admission to NYC cultural institutions, Cool Culture Family Festivals, Seminars & Dialogues for educators to harness the power of arts and culture, and art-making and wellbeing resources will be available with your child care center’s enrollment.
What’s my program’s role?
All of our participating centers will have access to an array of creative and helpful seminars, symposiums and dialogues that will guide administrators and educators to:
- Register and distribute family passes and prepare families for visits to the Cultural Institutions.
- Co-design experiences and activities for our annual Bring the Cool Family Festival.
- Create projects that engage and build family engagement.
- Empower families and communities to become civically engaged in dialogue that acknowledges critical community issues and creative opportunities to address them.
What is a Cultural Liaison, and how do I select them?
A Cultural Liaison is a child care center staff member who has a good relationship with and love for your community of children and adult caregivers. Your Liaison will need to have email access, know their way around a computer, be prepared to engage heavily through email and have administrative skills to keep the site’s program organized. This leadership role calls for someone who will enjoy leading family art-making workshops and will be a voice for the community, sharing their needs and concerns.
DID YOU KNOW?
Cool Culture is aligned with National, State and Local Learning Standards. The Citywide Cultural Access Program is aligned with DOE Early Learn requirements for community partnerships and family engagement, NYS Pre-K Foundation for the Common Core in social/emotional development, approaches to learning, and literacy, and Blueprint for the Arts.
Further, our programs, pedagogical frameworks, and practices are rooted in Cool Culture’s social justice values and situates families at the center of our work.
Did You Know?
Cool Culture is aligned with national, state and local Learning Standards. Our Citywide Cultural Access Program is aligned with DOE EarlyLearn requirements for community partnerships and family engagement, Blueprint for the Arts, and NYS Pre-K Learning Standards in social-emotional development and approaches to learning. Further, our programs, pedagogical frameworks, and practices are rooted in Cool Culture’s social justice values and situates families at the center of our work.
Did You
Know?
Cool Culture is aligned with national, state and local Learning Standards. Our Citywide Cultural Access Program is aligned with DOE EarlyLearn requirements for community partnerships and family engagement, Blueprint for the Arts, and NYS Pre-K Learning Standards in social-emotional development and approaches to learning. Further, our programs, pedagogical frameworks, and practices are rooted in Cool Culture’s social justice values and situates families at the center of our work.
