Registration for school choice, early learning to open

JEFFERSON COUNTY – Registration for Jefferson County Schools’ 2010-2011 kindergarten, pre-school and school-choice enrollment begins this month, the district announced Monday.

Families who want their children to attend a school other than their neighborhood school, can begin enrolling children in grades 9-12 in their schools of choice Wednesday, Jan. 6. That first-round registration period ends Monday, Jan. 25. Parents will be notified of the decision on school-choice requests by February. Second-round registration for those grades begins Feb. 16 and closes Aug. 30.

For grades K-8, first-round choice enrollments begin Jan. 6 and close Monday, March 1.

Any Colorado student may enroll in any Jeffco Public School that has classroom space. For enrollment forms, visit:  http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/enrollment, then submit the completed form to the school of choice. . A separate application must be completed and submitted for each child. 

Students are accepted on a space-available basis.

A lottery process will determine priority for first-round applications and waiting lists will be created if applications exceed available space. A separate application must be completed and submitted for each child. 

Registration district’s tuition-based preschool program begins Jan. 19 for the fall semester. The program is available to all for all children ages 3 or 4 and is offered at 35 sites throughout the district. To enroll, children must turn 3-years-old on or before Oct. 1 of the year they enter preschool.

The preschool is offered as either two-, three- or five-day a week sessions, depending on location.  The registration fee is $60 per student or $85 per family. The tuition rate schedule for 2010-2011 is available on the Jeffco Web site at www.jeffcopublicschools.org/schools/profiles/preschool/.

All the district’s preschool programs are licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services and meet Colorado Department of Education Quality Standards for Early Childhood Care and Education Services. They offer curriculum designed to help prepare students for kindergarten. 

To find a preschool near you, call the district’s School Boundaries Office at 303-982-2339 or the Early Childhood Office at 303-982-1737 or visit the district’s Web site at www.jeffcopublicschools.org/schools/locator/boundaries/index.html for more information.

To register for preschool, parents must provide a birth certificate, an address and proof of immunizations for DTP/Td, polio, measles, rubella, mumps, chickenpox and Hepatitis B.

The district’s elementary schools will conduct kindergarten registration from Jan. 19 through Feb. 26.

Neighborhood elementary schools offer full or half-day kindergarten programs. The district suggests that parents contact the closest elementary school for and registration dates and times. If parents don’t know the name of their neighborhood school, they should call the district’s school boundaries office at 303-982-2339, or visit www.jeffcopublicschools.org/schools/locator/boundaries/index.html.

 Free full-day kindergarten will continue to be offered in some schools. Other kindergarten programs will charge $300 for the 2010-1011 school year.