Kindergarten early entrance

*Partial fee waivers granted based on requirement of yearly income for free or reduced lunch. Please see Education Benefits form.

**Classroom observation fee is only for children who meet the minimum threshold score on all assessments

Applications will be available to print from the website. You may also go to an elementary school office to have the application printed for you, or you can pick up a preprinted copy from the Vancouver Public Schools administrative offices (located next door to Roosevelt Elementary School). Included in the application packet are two social-emotional questionnaires. One questionnaire will be completed by the parent and submitted with the child’s application. The other questionnaire will be completed by the child’s lead preschool teacher along with the documentation of preschool experience form. The documents completed by the child’s lead preschool teacher can be submitted with the application or may be submitted at the child’s scheduled assessment appointment, but will not be accepted after that date.

Completed applications for students who meet the eligibility criteria must be received (or postmarked) by the application deadline. Applications received or postmarked after this time will not be processed.

Completed application packets should be mailed or hand-delivered to the kindergarten early entrance office, c/o curriculum and instruction department. Please do not return a completed application to an elementary school office.

Parents with a child who meets the eligibility criteria and wish to apply for early entrance to kindergarten must attend one of two parent information sessions in order for their child to be scheduled for an assessment date.

Parents will be contacted to schedule an initial assessment time for their child. The initial assessment takes between 20 and 30 minutes. A certificated early childhood teacher will assess your child in three major areas of kindergarten readiness. The area of acquired knowledge tests number counting, number use, number naming and alphabet knowledge tasks. The area of verbal-conceptual knowledge tests the ability to name or describe the function of everyday common objects or body parts, opposites, sequence of order and location of objects. The area of visual-skills knowledge tests the ability to use hand and eye coordination to draw and remember shapes, write letters and numbers and compare like and unlike objects.

Results of the initial assessment will be mailed to parents with a report of your child’s performance in the three major areas of kindergarten readiness: acquired knowledge, verbal-conceptual knowledge and visual-skills knowledge. Each part of the assessment gives the following readiness ratings based on children of the same age across the country: significantly below average, below average, average or above average.

In addition, your child will receive an overall readiness rating which combines the three major areas of the assessment (mentioned above). Children with an overall readiness rating of above average will continue on to attend the classroom experience which will determine final eligibility for kindergarten placement for the upcoming school year.

Parents who wish to appeal results from the initial assessment must submit a completed appeals packet. The appeals packet must be received by the district within 10 days of the postmarked date on the notice that the child has been determined not eligible. The appeals packet will include a questionnaire that asks for additional reasons and/or evidence that would suggest the child is an above-average learner who would be successful in a kindergarten setting. Please note that there will be no retesting of the initial assessment as retesting would compromise the validity of the results.

The Appeals Committee will review the request, make a decision and notify parents. The committee’s decision is final.

Completed appeals packets should be mailed or hand-delivered to the kindergarten early entrance office, c/o the curriculum and instruction department.

Early entrance to kindergarten candidates who have met the initial assessment criteria will participate in a classroom experience, spending two-and-a-half hours each day in a kindergarten setting. During this time, children will be working on basic kindergarten-readiness skills through a variety of activities with a certificated kindergarten teacher. The teacher will observe each child’s school-readiness behaviors based on rubrics of typical group and independent behaviors related to school success. Only those children who meet the predetermined rubric criteria will be placed into kindergarten for the upcoming school year.

Parents will be notified of the final placement decision within 10 days of the conclusion of the classroom experience. Please note that the decision resulting from the classroom experience is not eligible for appeal.

Children who meet the district’s established application criteria, assessment criteria and classroom experience criteria will be placed in kindergarten at their resident elementary school location (based on your current address). In the event that you wish for your child to attend an elementary school other than your resident school, you will need to complete an in-district boundary exception as per District Procedure 3131. In-district boundary exceptions are granted on a space-available basis and must be renewed each year. Forms are available in every school office.