DEARBORN— Dearborn Public Schools invites parents of next year’s kindergarten students to attend Kindergarten Roundup meetings at their local elementary school to learn more about starting school and how to enroll their child in the district.
Kindergarten Roundups will be held at all 21 of the district’s elementary schools this spring.
Kindergarten Roundups provide information to parents with details about the kindergarten schedule, needed student assessments, classroom structure and instruction, preparing your child for school, and more. Enrolling students this spring, if possible, is also important so the district has accurate information to make staffing decisions for the fall.
To enroll in kindergarten, students must be 5 years old by Sept. 1 and live within the district. Waivers are available for students who will turn 5 after Sept. 1 but before Dec. 1. For parents living in the district, the waivers need to be submitted by June 1. See the district website, https://dearbornschools.org/enroll, for the waiver and more information.
DPS also offers a free Young Fives program for students who will turn 5 between June 15 and Dec. 1 this year. That all-day program is offered at select schools and follows the kindergarten curriculum. The extra year allows those children to better develop the academic and emotional skills they need to succeed in school. The following year they would enroll in kindergarten at their neighborhood school.
Space is limited for Young Fives, so interested parents should check for availability at the school they are interested in attending. Young Fives is held at DuVall, Geer Park, Haigh, Henry Ford, Lindbergh, Maples, McCollough, Oakman, River Oaks, Salina, Snow, Whitmore-Bolles and William Ford elementary schools. For more information, contact Student Services at 313-827-3005.
Busing is available only if the student will attend his or her home elementary and lives in an area where busing is provided. In most cases, parents will need to provide transportation for their child.
DPS this year will again use a special schedule for kindergarteners. They will have a soft start, meaning half days of school for the first week of class from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. There will also be three additional kindergarten-only days off school on Sept. 25 and Nov. 20, and Feb. 5, 2021, to allow for additional professional development for kindergarten teachers.
Parents have the option of starting student enrollment online. Parents can save much of the paperwork by entering information online such as student name, birthday, address, and emergency contact information and completing some required forms electronically.
Parents or guardians will still need to visit the elementary school to provide documents and complete the kindergarten enrollment. Online pre-enrollment also can be found at https://dearbornschools.org/enroll.
To see which school children would attend, look at the DPS elementary school enrollment map, which is also available at www.dearbornschools.org/enroll, or call Student Services at 313-943-3005.
