How to enroll child in preschool: Enroll a Child in Pre-K

Accessing PreK | Division of Early Childhood

Prekindergarten is a program for 4-year-old children who are from families that are economically disadvantaged or homeless. The program helps children develop and maintain the basic skills necessary to be successful in school.

To be eligible your child must be at least 4 years-old by September 1 of the school year for which they will be enrolled and meet any of the following criteria:

• Low-income or receive public assistance
• Homelessness  

Contact your neighborhood school to ask questions or enroll your child. If eligible, your local Department of Social Services will issue you a scholarship for additional child care choices.

View the full list of public Prekindergarten programs in Maryland sorted by county

Early Childhood Program County Offices

Allegany County Public Schools
Early Childhood 
108 Washington Street 
P.O. Box 1724
Cumberland, MD 21502
Phone: 301-759-2012
acpsmd. org  

Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Early Childhood
2644 Riva Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: 410-222-5441
aacps.org 

Baltimore City Public Schools 
200 E. North Avenue, #308
Baltimore MD  21201
Phone: 443-642-3990 x4106
bcps.k12.md.us 
 

Baltimore County Public Schools
Early Childhood 
Jefferson Building
105 W. Chesapeake Ave. #417
Towson, MD 21204
Phone: 443-809-4313
bcps.org  

Calvert County Public Schools
1305 Dares Beach Road
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
Phone: 410-535-7203
Fax: 410-535-7262
calvertnet.k12.md.us

Caroline County Public Schools
204 Franklin Avenue
Denton, MD 21629
Phone: 410-479-2896 x137
cl.k12.md.us 

Carroll County Public Schools
125 North Court Street
Westminster, MD 21157
Phone: 410-751-3069
carrollk12.org 

Cecil County Public Schools
Early Childhood Education
201 Booth Street
Elkton, MD 21921
Phone: 410-996-5424
ccps. org 

Charles County Public Schools
Early Childhood 
5980 Radio Station Road
P.O. Box 2770
LaPlata, MD 20646
Phone: 301-934-7360
ccboe.com          

Dorchester County Public Schools
Early Childhood
700 Glasgow Street
Cambridge, MD 21613
Phone: 410-221-1111 x1035
dcpsmd.org 

Frederick County Public Schools
Early Childhood Ed 
191 S. East Street
Frederick, MD 21701
Phone: 301-696-6914
fcps.org 

Garrett County Public Schools
40 South Second Street
Oakland, MD 21550
Phone: 301-334-7645
garrettcountyschools.org

Harford County Public Schools
Early Childhood Programs
AA Roberty Building
102 S. Hickory Avenue 
Bel Air, MD 21014
Phone: 410-588-5252
hcps.org 

Howard County Public Schools
Early Childhood Programs
10910 Clarksville Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Phone: 410-313-5659
hcpss.org 

Kent County Public Schools
Early Childhood
5608 Boundary Avenue
Rock Hall, MD  21661
Phone: 410-778-2355
kent. k12.md.us

Montgomery County Public Schools
850 Hungerford Drive, Room 247
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: 240-453-2570

Prince George’s Co. Public Schools
Early Learning Programs
Owens Road Administrative Building
1616 Owens Road
Oxon Hill, MD  20745
240-724-1924
pgcps.org

Queen Anne’s County Public Schools
Early Childhood
202 Chesterfield Avenue
Centerville, MD 21617
Phone: 410-758-2403 x172
 

St. Mary’s County Public Schools
Early Childhood Programs
23160 Moakley Street, Suite 101
Leonardtown, MD 20650
Phone: 301-475-5511 x 32218

Somerset County Public Schools
Early Childhood
7982-A Tawes Campus Drive
Westover, MD  21871
Phone: 410-651-1616 x 10255
somerset.k12.md.us

Talbot County Public Schools
Early Childhood
12 Magnolia Street
Easton, MD 21601
Phone: 410-822-0330
tcps.k12.md.us 

Washington County Public Schools
Early Learning
10435 Downsville Pike
Hagerstown, MD  21740
Phone: 301-766-8722
wcps. k12.md.us  

Wicomico County Public Schools
Early Learning
P.O. Box 1538 
101 Long Avenue, 21801     
Salisbury, MD 21802-1538
Phone: 410-677-4523
wcboe.org 

Worcester County Public Schools
6270 Worcester Highway
Newark, MD 21841
Phone: 410-632-5042
worcester.k12.md.us 

Family Resource Center / Preschool Registration

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• Use this page to guide you through the registration and enrollment process for preschool.

  Who is Eligible to Register for Preschool?

  Children turning 4 years old on or before September 1, 2022 are eligible to register for preschool. Children receiving Special Education services are eligible to attend preschool at the age of 3. 

   

  In our preschool program, your child will develop the social, language, literacy, math and science skills needed for elementary school and beyond! To learn more about our preschool programs, curriculum, hours and registration, please visit our Early Childhood website. To learn more about resources available through our community partners, click here.

   

  Before You Register:

  • Identify three school choices. You may select any three schools offering preschool programming. Please refer to this chart for a list of available schools that offer preschool.
  • Consider the starting and ending times for each school, as well as your needs for before and after school care. Please note that transportation for preschool students is NOT provided by the district. Families are responsible for transporting children.
  • Gather documents needed for registration including:
    • Child’s birth certificate
    • Child’s immunization records
    • Photo ID of parent/guardian registering the child
    • Proof of residency (copy of current utility bill, lease, or mortgage that is dated within the last thirty days)
       
      • If you are living with a Lowell resident, you will need to complete a third party affidavit. Please have a conversation with us if you are unable to produce sufficient documentation or if your housing is insecure. We abide by McKinney-Vento. Please use this link for more information on third party affidavits and McKinney-Vento.

    

  Registration Process:

  • Registrations are processed Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, but registrations can be submitted online at any time.

  There are three ways to submit the online registration form.  

   

  1. Registration via Computer: Clicking on this link will take you to the Aspen registration portal. You will need to create an account with Aspen before entering your child’s information. For help with creating an account, click here. Please note that registration is only compatible with a desktop or laptop computer and not available for a smart phone or tablet at this time.
  2. Registration In-Person: Come to the Family Resource Center, located at 151 Merrimack Street, to use a computer and fill out the form. The Family Resource Center is open Monday through Friday from 7am until 4pm each day. Please note that the last walk-in registration can be started at 3:15pm.
  3. Schedule an Appointment: You can schedule an appointment with a staff member that will assist you with your registration form. For this option, please call 978-674-4321 or email [email protected].

   

  Families can also call 978-674-4321 to discuss any need for support or accommodations.

   

  Once you fill out the registration form, you will receive a follow-up email from the Family Resource Center informing you of the status of your registration.
   

  Preschool Lottery

  • The Preschool lottery will occur by May 15, 2022. We will share the date when it has been finalized. 
  • All children pre-registering will be assigned a lottery number.
  • Pre-registered families will receive notification providing the student’s lottery number and their proposed school assignment.
  • Upon receiving written notification of preschool assignment, families MUST respond by selecting one of the following options:
    • Accept placement
    • Accept placement and remain on waitlist for preferred school
    • Reject placement and remain on waitlist for preferred school
    • Reject placement and seek alternative preschool programming

  Families MUST return the proposed assignment letter within 15 days to the Early Childhood Department indicating one of the selections above.

   

  Preschool Assignment

  • Upon receipt of your written selection, the Early Childhood Department will issue an official assignment letter.
  • If you have a question about your child’s placement, you may contact:
    • Lisa Van Thiel, Phone: 978-674-2051 Email: [email protected] 
    • Susan LaCroix, Phone: 978-674-2050 Email: [email protected]
    • Laurie Carney, Phone: 978-446-7000 Ext. 46919 Email: [email protected]

  • In August, you will receive notification from your child’s school with their teacher assignment.

   

  The Preschool Lottery was held on May 10, 2022 @ 6pm. Please watch the recording below:

   

  Frequently Asked Questions About Registration

  Have additional questions about the registration process or the preschool lottery? Click here for a list of frequently asked questions.  

   

  FRC Enrollment Clerk Contact Information

  • Laurie Carney – Phone: 978-446-7000 Ext. 46919 Email: [email protected]
  • Lina Faria – Phone: 978-674-2071 Email: [email protected]
  • Estela Fernandes – Phone: 978-674-2073 Email: [email protected]
  • Lynn Moran – Phone: 978-674-2074 Email: [email protected]
  • Maria Santos – Phone: 978-674-2072 Email: [email protected]

   

How to enroll a child in kindergarten and what is needed for this » Notagram.ru

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Children

For all happy new parents, we have prepared a special detailed guide that will help you understand what it takes to get your little one accepted into the kindergarten you want.

Unfortunately, most parents begin to deal with the issue of registering a child in kindergarten from the moment the mother’s maternity leave comes to an end. And this, in turn, is overgrown with a mass of problems and myths. Such that you can get into kindergarten only through connections, through connections or for money. But, in fact, everything is tritely simple. Groups are completed in advance in the order of the established queue. nine0003

Therefore, it is very important, from the moment of the birth of the child, to apply to the regional education authority and join the queue for the kindergarten that suits you best. By the way, you can choose up to five institutions for public education of preschool children to play it safe. Notagram.ru further tells what parents need to know in order to enroll their child in the desired kindergarten.

How to enroll a child in kindergarten and what is needed for this

Where to start and how to choose a kindergarten

Photo: Andre Pan/flickr

Of course, depending on the region where you live, as well as your capabilities, you can consider several options for your baby. It should be noted that the kindergartens themselves are of several types:

• municipal kindergartens – necessarily attached to certain areas of the city. They have a monthly salary strictly fixed by the authorities and work strictly according to the developed educational methods. The group size is high. nine0028
• departmental kindergartens – are on the balance sheet of enterprises and organizations that have built a kindergarten for their employees. Monthly payment varies depending on many factors, and is often more expensive than in the municipal. Groups are small.
• private kindergartens – independent preschools, the activities of which are controlled and licensed by the authorities. The monthly payment is high, but such kindergartens have more resources. The group size is optimal. nine0028
• family kindergartens – organized by parents on the basis of existing kindergartens or independent specially equipped premises. The monthly payment is very high. Group size is minimal.

Before assigning a particular kindergarten to a child, parents need to personally inquire about what a particular preschool institution is like. You can do this privately or on an open day. Pay attention to the educational, educational and entertainment base of the kindergarten. Learn where children study, rest, sleep, play, eat, and even go to the bathroom. nine0003

It is clear that in our realities, going around even ten kindergartens, you will stumble upon the same thing, but pay attention to the nuances. Somewhere in the rooms there is more light, in some garden there are more educational equipment, and in the third even there is a private pool. From such nuances, you can prioritize for yourself and understand where it is best to identify the child.

How to register and queue for kindergarten

Photo: Carlos Ebert/flickr

In order for your child to be admitted to kindergarten, you must (the sooner the better) apply to your local education authority. To simplify this procedure, you can use a single portal of public services and functions. To do this, you just need to fill out an application and attach scanned copies of the necessary documents to it. nine0003

Today, the list of documents for enrolling in a kindergarten looks like this:

• application for admission to a preschool organization;
• passport of the parent or legal representative;
• birth certificate of the child;
• a document confirming the privilege for an extraordinary or priority provision of a child with a place in a preschool educational institution or a document confirming the need to enroll in a health-improving group; nine0028
• conclusions of the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission for registration in compensatory groups.

Once you have submitted your application, the status of your cases can be easily tracked both on the portal and via email. Before your child is enrolled in kindergarten, you will be required to provide the child’s medical record (Form 026/y-2000) with the results of a routine physical examination.

What else parents need to know about kindergartens

Photos: Suzi Walker/flickr

work of preschool educational organizations. So it will be easier for you to understand, for example, what your children should be fed in kindergarten and what they should teach the child in it.

In addition, before sending a child to kindergarten, parents should prepare their child for this event. The child must be psychologically prepared to remain without parents, as well as have communication and independence skills. If you teach your child to eat with a spoon, drink from a cup, undress, dress and go to the toilet on their own, be sure that they will be happy to take him to any kindergarten. nine0003

Preview photo: Sandy Millar/Unsplash

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Almost forgot, more interesting

How to enroll a child in kindergarten. What has changed since April 1st?

Spring is a time of great trouble for parents of kids: in May, kindergarten groups begin to form for the fall. Please note that from April 1, the procedure for enrolling children in preschool institutions in the capital has changed. From now on, electronic registration takes place not on eriga.lv, but on the website of public administration services www.latvija.lv. There are other innovations as well. nine0003

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We tell you step by step how to register a child in a kindergarten, what to do if there are no free places, who is supposed to have a nanny, how and where to draw up documents, how to find a kindergarten for the summer.

How can I register my child for kindergarten?

The electronic service “Bērna reģistrācija pirmsskolu iestāžu rindā” (“Child’s registration in the queue for preschool institutions”) will now be available on the website of public administration services www.latvija.lv. Previously, the application was filled out on the municipal portal eriga.lv – now this service is no longer there. The decision to switch platforms was made in order to meet the requirements of the Cabinet-approved Service Environment Improvement Plan 2020-2023. Henceforth, the State Agency for Regional Development is responsible for this e-service in all Latvian municipalities. Riga will join the unified platform on April 1, 2022: gradually other Riga services will “move” to www.latvija.lv. nine0003

The new platform will bring new possibilities. For example, now both parents and other legal representatives of the child (for example, guardians) will be able to apply to kindergarten electronically. Previously, guardians did not have this opportunity. They were forced to come to the Department of Education, Culture and Sports with the decision of the Orphan’s Court and fill out an application in person.

To get to the service, you need to enter the word rinda or the service code EP214 in the search box. Next, you need to authenticate. Then six steps are suggested. If applications have already been submitted through eriga. lv, these applications will already be visible in the list. Step-by-step registration instructions are now available on eriga.lv. nine0003

In the new program it will be possible to make changes or cancel applications.

At the same time, it is still possible to submit an application in person by contacting the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council, the Neighborhood Residents’ Centers or one of the offices of the registry office of the city of Riga. Employees of these institutions will enter applications into an electronic database.

What should be indicated in the application?

From April 1, 2022, the “Nevēlos saņemt uzaicinājumu” (“I don’t want to receive an invitation”) mark has been canceled in the registration system. Parents who have previously ticked their applications will need to enter the desired date in the “Uzsākšanas datums” (“Starting Date”) field so that the child is not included in the list of applicants before the specified date. nine0003

Newcomers must also indicate in the application the desired date when the child will start attending kindergarten. For example, if the child was born in December 2021, then the date could be September 2023. However, not earlier than the child turns 1.5 years old in those kindergartens that start enrollment from a year and a half. And not earlier than three years, if the preschool institution recruits children from this age. At the same time, there is one condition (both electronically and in person) – you can submit no more than three applications at the same time. nine0003

When are new groups recruited?

New groups are completed from May 1 to August 31. But, if there are free places in groups, then children can be accepted into them throughout the school year.

At the beginning of May, the heads of institutions, in accordance with the predicted number of vacancies, create lists. Parents, either in writing to the declared address, or by phone (if one was left), or electronically (by e-mail), are notified that the child is in a certain group. nine0003

Parents are therefore encouraged to check which email address is on the application so they don’t miss out on the invitation. It is also important to assess whether all registered applications are still relevant. Because there are changes here too.

Parents have 15 days to accept or refuse the offer and wait in line (and an invitation) to the next kindergarten. If the parents accept the kindergarten’s invitation, they must conclude an agreement with it within 15 days, otherwise this application will be canceled in the electronic database. nine0003

Important! Usually parents worry that they cannot prepare a medical record by this time. But a medical card is not needed at the stage of signing an agreement with a kindergarten. You can go through the necessary doctors later – in early September.

Important! If a child is 1.5 years old (or 3 years old if the kindergarten recruits children from that age) turns, say, September 15, or later, then the invitation will not come in the spring. The earliest when an invitation can come is when the child is one and a half years old, if by that time there is a free place in the selected kindergarten. nine0003

If one kindergarten is denied, when can we expect an invitation from another?

Changes have also taken place here. Now parents will not receive an invitation from another kindergarten as long as the first invitation is active. That is, the parent must decide whether to accept the invitation or not. If a refusal followed, only then can a letter from another garden be expected, if groups have not yet been formed there. Therefore, it is important to make a choice before May 1, when they start compiling lists of those who enter kindergarten. And, if it is clear that the queue has come up in all the declared kindergartens, then make a choice and refuse other applications in favor of the one that is more important. A sample contract is available at www.iksd.riga.lv

According to Iveta Nagly, Head of the Department of Pre-School Institutions of the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council, this change was made in order to complete the groups as quickly as possible. Previously, due to the fact that parents were in no hurry to refuse applications that they did not need, other parents who no longer counted on a place received an invitation only at the end of August, or even at the beginning of September. By this time, many have already signed contracts with private kindergartens and even made an advance payment. nine0003

Which children can be given priority in kindergarten?

There is a certain algorithm for creating priorities in kindergartens in addition to enrolling in turn. There are children of compulsory education age (5-6 years old) – they are the highest priority and a place in kindergartens must be found for them. The next priority is for children who, by decision of the commission, receive the status of out of turn. Further priority is given to those children whose older brothers and sisters are already attending this kindergarten and whose declaration address matches at least one of the parents and is located in Riga. This is followed by all the children declared together with at least one of the parents in the administrative territory of Riga, then the children who are “registered” in Riga, and the parents in another municipality. And the last – children who live outside of Riga according to the declaration. nine0103

Do I have to queue for a municipal garden if I want to get into a private one?

Parents have the right to choose a private kindergarten. There is a list of private kindergartens that have signed an agreement with the city government and you can get co-financing to visit them. In order to receive co-financing for a private kindergarten, a child does not have to be registered in the electronic queue for municipal kindergartens.

The amount of co-financing is reviewed every year in accordance with the methodology of regulatory enactments. Now it is:

• For children up to 5 years old – 307.85 euros per month,
• For children over 5 years old – 229.27 euros per month.

Also, private kindergartens are paid extra for children’s meals (the same as municipal ones). It’s 1.99 euros per day.

If the children are from low-income or large families, then 2.77 euros per day is due for food.

You can change one kindergarten for another in both directions (from private to municipal and vice versa) at any age. nine0003

In what cases does the local government pay for a babysitter?

To receive municipal co-financing for a nanny, the child, unlike the situation with private kindergartens, must be registered in the waiting list for a place in any municipal kindergarten. Various criteria are also evaluated. For example, if a parent declines a place offered at a municipal kindergarten, they can only receive co-financing for a private kindergarten, but not for a nanny. Also, the nanny must be registered with the State Service for the Quality of Education (GSKO). More about this on the website www.ikvd.gov.lv. A nanny must also be registered in the State Revenue Service as a person carrying out economic activities. In addition, you need to conclude an agreement with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports. An application for a nanny can still be submitted on the website eriga.lv. Relatives can work as nannies. nine0103

• The monthly co-financing amount for babysitting services is 181.09 euros.

Will kindergartens work in summer?

During the summer, many employees of kindergartens go on vacation. Therefore, preschool institutions work in a special mode. The time that children spend in kindergarten is reduced to a maximum of 10 hours. Watch groups are formed. In the spring, kindergartens conduct a survey of parents about who will need the services of on-duty groups in the summer. Iveta Nagla asks parents to take summer planning seriously so that kindergartens do not run idle. It happens that the application is written, but the children do not attend the institution, because the family’s plans for the summer have changed. nine0003

Kindergartens often go on vacation for a month. For example, for the whole of July, to carry out some kind of repair or maintenance work.