GUILDERLAND — With the first day of school a month away, Guilderland parents of 4-year-olds have a last-minute chance to enroll their children in a free pre-kindergarten program.

In the spring, the district was awarded an $800,000 grant from the State Education Department for preschool classes in the fall.

Guilderland had 160 students register for prekindergarten in the upcoming school year and by early June had placed 112 for next year with the others on a waiting list.

Rachel Anderson, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction who applied for the grant, told The Enterprise in June that the waiting list for the program was ”substantial,” noting that it includes two-thirds of the students who applied.

A lottery had been held to determine which students would get the limited places in area preschools that partner with Guilderland since the district does not have classroom space and staff to run a program of its own.

On Tuesday, Anderson told The Enterprise, “We worked our way through our wait list … We actually still have vacant seats.”

She explained that, at this time of year, some parents who had signed up for the program in March had since made other plans while other families on the waiting list had moved out of the district.

By the same token, she surmised new families have moved into the district and other families in Guilderland that didn’t sign up earlier may wish they had.

So the district is now accepting applicants to the free program, which is open to Guilderland families with children born between Dec. 2, 2019 and Dec. 1, 2020.

The first to register will be admitted to the program until the remaining places are filled. Families that want to register should email the District Registrar at ricez@guilderlandschools.net.

Anderson said that, when the district first received the $800,000 grant, “We weren’t sure how many new seats we’d be able to offer.”

One of the preschool programs, at All Saints, has since added an additional class and another, at Christ the King, was able to add a few more seats, Anderson said on Tuesday.

Additionally, the district is partnering with a fifth preschool, at Mater Christi School.

So these are the five programs now partnering with the district:

— All Saints Catholic Academy at 10 Rosemont St. in Albany;

— Christ the King Early Childhood Center at 20 Sumter Ave. in Guilderland;

— Lynnwood Reformed Church Preschool, run by the YMCA, at 3714 Carman Road in Guilderland;

— Mater Christi School at 35 Hurst Ave. in Albany; and

— St. Madeleine Sophie School at 3510 Carman Road in Guilderland.

Anderson explained that, while the preschoolers attending the free program must live in the Guilderland school district, the preschools, like All Saints and Mater Christi, can be outside the district lines.

Guilderland had originally been given $1,479,600 by the state for pre-kindergarten programs in the 2024-25 school year.

The problem has been that the per-pupil rate of funding from the state, at $5,400, was so low, preschools had trouble accommodating the students.

The new funding from the $800,000 grant is much higher — at $7,000 per student in a class with an uncertified teacher and at $10,000 per student with a certified teacher — making it more workable for the preschools.

Anderson said that the state allowed Guilderland to use the $800,000 grant money first, at the higher per-pupil rate, which helped create new preschool places.

“We’re using all of that funding,” she said. “We’re distributing seats at the higher rates to our five partners equitably.”

It has not yet been calculated how much of the original $1,479,600 from the state will be unused.

“How much we use depends on the number who register,” Anderson said.

She concluded, “Our main purpose …is to make sure we’re using our funds to the best of our abilities and to make families aware of the new openings.”