QACPS Announces Pre-K & Kindergarten Registration Schedule

Queen Anne’s County Public School System, has announced the dates for pre-kindergarten application and kindergarten registration for Queen Anne’s County residents.

The State of Maryland requires children to attend kindergarten before entering first grade. Children who are five years of age by September 1, 2014 must register and attend kindergarten before entering the first grade. There are some exceptions to the law. Parents may: apply for a home school instruction program as an alternative to the school attendance requirement; or request a one year level of maturity waiver if they believe a delay in school attendance is in the best interest of their child; or enroll their five-year old child in one of the following three alternative settings:

– Full-time in a licensed child care center
– Full-time in a registered family day care home
– Part-time in a Head Start five-year-old program

A parent who elects to enroll a child in one of the three alternative settings shall file their intent to do this with the local school system before the opening of school of the year in which the child becomes five years old. The parent must provide the following information:

a.) Name of program
b.) Address of facility location
c.) License or registration number and registration data

PREKINDERGARTEN ELIGIBILITY

Children who will be four years old on or before September 1, 2014 and who reside in Queen Anne’s County, are eligible to apply for the prekindergarten program. Prekindergarten is a state-mandated/county-funded program for four-year-old children who are potentially at-risk of failing in school. The overall goal of the program is to provide learning experiences to help develop and maintain school readiness skills necessary for successful school performance. The program achieves this goal by providing developmentally appropriate experiences that address the cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs of young children.

The State of Maryland requires that QACPS provide prekindergarten for students who are economically disadvantaged or homeless (Tier 1). Students who lack school readiness, but are not economically disadvantaged or homeless (Tier 2) will be provided prekindergarten if slots are available at their home school. Students are assessed during the registration process and those who meet these criteria are placed in the program.

Parents will need to bring their child with them in order to complete an information survey and an academic screening during the registration period. Information from the survey and the screening will be utilized to determine each child’s level of school readiness.

On registration day, parents should bring their child to school along with the following documents:

-the child’s birth certificate;
-the child’s social security number;
-the child’s completed Immunization and Health Inventory forms;
-proof of residence (one of the following): electric, gas, or water bill; property tax/real estate tax bill;
lease or rental agreement; contract of sale (including settlement or mortgage statement); homeowners/renters insurance statement/policy.

If claiming Income Eligible a Household Application for Meals Benefits will be completed at the registration. To complete the form one of the following is necessary:
-Food Supplement Program (FSP) or Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) case number for any member of the household (nine digits) OR
-Knowledge of weekly or monthly earnings from work before deductions for everyone living in household and not attending public school and copies of last three paystubs or W-2 for each OR
-An older sibling already enrolled in the program.

Health Form: Part 1 of the health form must be filled out by a parent or guardian. Part 2
of the health form must be completed by your family physician.

NOTE: IF THE CHILD HAS BEEN EXAMINED AFTER NOV. 1, 2013 AND A COPY OF THE RESULTS IS PRESENTED AT REGISTRATION TIME, ANOTHER CHECKUP IS NOT REQUIRED.

REGISTRATION DATES AND PLACES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Call the School for an Appointment

PRE-KINDERGARTEN/KINDERGARTEN

Centreville Elementary School April 07, 2014 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (PreK)
410-758-1320 April 08, 2014 9:00 am – 6:00 pm (PreK)
April 09, 2014 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (K)
April 10, 2014 9:00 am – 6:00 pm (K)
April 11, 2014 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (PreK/K)

Church Hill Elementary School April 03, 2014 8:30am – 5:30 pm
410-556-6681 April 04, 2014 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Grasonville Elementary School April 03, 2014 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
410-827-8070 April 04, 2014 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

Kent Island Elementary School April 08, 2014 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
410-643-2392 April 09, 2014 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
April 10, 2014 9:00 am– 12:00 pm

Matapeake Elementary School April 03, 2014 8:30 am – 6:00 pm
410-643-3105 April 04, 2014 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

Sudlersville Elementary School April 03, 2014 10:30 am – 5:30 pm
410-438-3164 April 04, 2014 7:30 am – 2:30 pm
Parents having questions about registration are invited to phone their area elementary – school. County residents are also asked to contact the school’s principal if they know of a child who should be enrolled but whose family have not received registration information.

As a reminder for parents, a regulation pertaining to lead poisoning went into effect in 2003 for students residing in areas designated as at risk for lead poisoning. For a child entering a public Pre-K program, K program or first grade, documentation from a physician will have to be provided that certifies the child has undergone blood testing for lead poisoning or lives in a zip code area that does not require testing. Forms for this purpose will be available on the county website and at individual schools.

Parents with questions may contact the school or Dr. Elaine O’Neal, Supervisor of Instruction for Early Childhood, 410-758-2403, ext. 172 or [email protected]. For more info contact the QACPS Office of Public Info: Jeff Straight at 410 758-2403 x148 – [email protected] or Andrea Hearn at 410 758-2403 x198 [email protected]