A large group of preschoolers became the parents to a school of fish over the past few months, but today was the day they had to say goodbye.

It started as part of a program co-sponsored by the Department of Environmental Protection and Trout Unlimited, a nonprofit group, which allowed 26 South Bronx Head Start students to care for guppies until they grew into troutlets.

The students have watched over the fish since October, feeding them every day until they released them Friday.

The students brought their trout in a tote to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Lewisboro to let them swim free in the Cross River, part of New York City's water supply.

Lilli Genovesi of Trout Unlimited says the program provided a positive impact for students' knowledge of the environment and in sciences.