Kindergarten Enrollment & Readiness
Do you know a child who will be five years old on or before August 31? Maybe it's your neighbor, family friend or even your own child. Spread the word... now is the time to register for kindergarten.
Kindergarten registration for the 2018-19 school year began on January 16.
How to Enroll
To register your child, please visit our school during regular school hours.
You can also use our online registration portal to enroll by creating an account using an email address or mobile phone number.
Enrollment Requirements & Recommendations
What you need to register
- Your child’s birth certificate
- Proof of your address (rental agreement, purchase agreement, or utility bill)
- Your child’s immunization records for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, and varicella (chickenpox)
Recommended
- Two emergency contacts, including addresses and phone numbers
- Physician, dentist, and child care addresses and phone numbers
If your child has a life-threatening condition, including allergies, asthma, diabetes and seizure disorders, you will need to meet with the school nurse before the first day of school or any of the kindergarten readiness programs. The nurse will confirm all medications, medical supplies and healthcare provider orders are in place.
Kindergarten Readiness Programs
Highline offers unique programs for incoming kindergarten students to help them be “ready for kindergarten” in the fall. These programs include PreK Play & Learn, Kindergarten Jump Start and WaKIDS. The programs are free for registered kindergarten students. For more information, contact Elisa Turner at 206-631-3190.
PreK Play & Learn
Children are learning all of the time and they learn best with the support of those who care about them. Highline's PreK Play and Learn is a free preschool program that provides a structured time for children to learn the skills they need to be successful in school.
The program is open to children who will attend kindergarten the next school year. A parent or guardian attends the program with each student. This provides an opportunity for parents to learn how to teach their children at home.
At Highline's PreK Play & Learn, children will experience:
- Circle Time: when we gather as a group to sing songs, learn finger plays and read books.
- Learning Stations: where engaging activities support math, reading, art and language skills.
Parents and their child can drop in for any session; need to register and younger siblings are welcome to join.
To qualify, students must be enrolled at a Highline elementary school for kindergarten for the upcoming school year. To enroll, families should visit their neighborhood school during regular school hours.
Parent Testimonies:
"We are reading more & focusing on the individual words & sounds. We spend lots of time drawing. We started viewing new opportunities to make every task or outing a learning opportunity.”
"I read to my child more frequently than before. I do more activities with my son. I noticed my son learns better while he is playing."
Questions? Contact Elisa Turner at 206-631-3190.
Jump Start
Kindergarten Jump Start is a week-long learning experience to help incoming kindergarten students and their parents be ready to start school. This program is free and open to all incoming students who are registered for kindergarten at a Highline elementary school.
The next Jump Start session will be offered in August 2018. The start time of the program is 8:40 a.m. or 9:10 a.m., depending on your school's regular school year start time. Please check the top left corner of your school's website to see this time.
Jump Start helps children familiarize themselves with their new school, kindergarten teacher, classmates, and daily schedule before school starts in September. Children participate in typical kindergarten classroom activities, tour the school campus, and experience outdoor play just like they will at recess.
Breakfast is served at each Jump Start school site. Transportation is available for students who are registered in time to set up the bus route.
Students must be registered for kindergarten to attend Jump Start. To register for kindergarten, please visit your neighborhood elementary school.
WaKIDS
The Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) is a transition process that helps to ensure a successful start to the K-12 experience and connect the key adults in a child’s life.
Three Components
- Family connection welcomes families into the Washington K-12 system as partners in their child’s education.
- Whole-child assessment gives kindergarten teachers information about the social/emotional, physical, cognitive, language, literacy and mathematics development of the children in their classrooms, so they may tailor their instruction to the individual needs of each child.
- Early learning collaboration aligns practices of early learning professionals and kindergarten teachers to support smooth transitions for children.
Resources
- What is WaKIDS? (PDF) English | Spanish – a one-page document that provides an overview of this program.
- Family Brochure (PDF) is an invitation for families of students who are participating in WaKIDS this year to get involved in the program and find out what to expect.
Readiness Activities
Parents and families have a very important role as their child's first teacher. Children learn in different ways and at different rates. They come to school with varying skills.
We encourage our families to work with their students at home. To help, we've created the Kindergarten Readiness Guidelines which highlight some of the skills children need to be prepared for kindergarten. These guidelines are a parent resource designed to help families prepare children for school.
This document does not need to be completed and turned in at the school, but rather is for parents to keep as a guide to kindergarten readiness.
Kindergarten Readiness Guidelines
If you have questions about the document, please contact Anne Arnold.