Early Entrance to Kindergarten
General Information:
- To be eligible for Kindergarten, a child must turn five years old on or before September 1st.
- If the child is born after September 1st and the parent feels their child is an advanced learner, a parent can request that their child be screened for early entrance to Kindergarten. Early Entrance to Kindergarten Screening is appropriate only for those students who demonstrate compelling evidence that they are both intellectually and socially advanced. This is different from Kindergarten-ready.
Requesting an Early Entrance Assessment for Your Child:
- A form will be available from March 1st through May 15th for parents to request a screening. All requests are due by May 15th with no exceptions after the deadline.
- Once the form is complete, parents will need to provide a copy of their ID, proof of residency, and a copy of their child’s birth certificate prior to their screening appointment.
- A screening appointment will then be scheduled for you and your child during the month of June at one of our elementary buildings.
Early Entrance Appointment:
- Please arrive at the designated building 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. If you are more than 10 minutes late, the appointment may be canceled.
- Your child will be screened through a nonverbal ability assessment which is a computer-based program. Depending on the results, your child may be asked to return for further assessment in early literacy, early numeracy, and other social/emotional assessments later in June.
- It would be helpful to let your child know ahead of time that he/she will be working on the computer and also that he/she will not be in the same room with you.
Eligibility:
- The screening team will review the results and determine if your child qualifies.
- A letter will be mailed after July 1st indicating if their child qualified for early entrance to kindergarten or not.
Next Steps:
- If the child qualifies for early entrance to kindergarten, the parent will need to complete the online registration in July. Click here for the link for registration information.
- If the child does not qualify for early entrance to kindergarten, the parent will register their child for kindergarten the following spring. The parent can also check out our preschool program. Click here for the link for preschool information.
Review Process:
- Six week prohibition period- If an early entrance student is struggling in Kindergarten after the first few weeks of school, a principal may assemble a team to review the data with the parent. Providing additional support will be discussed. The team may also discuss whether or not the placement is still appropriate for the student. If the team determines that the placement is no longer appropriate, the student will enroll into Kindergarten for the next year. A transition plan will be discussed.