Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District families interested in enrolling a student in the district’s new full-day prekindergarten program must let the district know by Oct. 29.
The district is planning to accommodate up to 64 four-year-old students total with instruction beginning Jan. 31. Families with children who will be four years old on or before Dec. 1 will be able to submit their interest notice online or call 315-445-8300 if they do not have access to a computer. The online interest form, which is not the same as the district’s K-12 student registration form, will be posted Oct. 18 on the district website’s homepage.
In the event that families indicate interest in enrolling more students than the district’s 64 placements, the district will hold a lottery to select students. The district will begin notifying accepted families Nov. 5, which is also when pre-K registration will begin. The district plans to hold an in-person registration day to assist families in completing the required paperwork, which will be mailed prior to registration opening to those families selected in the lottery.
Pre-K registration will close Dec. 3, and placement letters are expected to be mailed to families Dec. 20.
“We are very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to our families and to launch these students’ educational journey,” J-D Superintendent Peter Smith said.
The district is anticipating one pre-K classroom in each of its elementary schools, and each classroom would have a maximum of 18 students. The Rothschild Early Childhood Center is partnering with J-D to house one additional pre-K classroom that will include 10 students already attending that program.
The district is in the process of selecting the program’s curriculum, hiring staff, purchasing classroom supplies and materials and developing a daily schedule. Administrators are planning to visit several local pre-K programs to meet with teachers and administrators to learn from their experiences.
Families of enrolled students will be invited to visit their child’s pre-K classroom so they and their children can meet their teachers during the week of Jan. 24, and a curriculum night for families only will be held during the week of Feb. 28.