EARLY ENTRANCE TO KINDERGARTEN

Children may be considered for early entrance to kindergarten if the pupil turns five years of age in September of the school year requesting early admission.  

EARLY ENTRANCE PROCESS

1. Contact the Prairie Woods Elementary School Principal to inform of interest and review steps in process.
2. Complete the Enrollment Application form and provide a birth certificate on or before August 1st (changed from August 15).
3. The school principal will have the School Psychologist reach out to you to coordinate testing. 
   
   The school psychologist will determine whether or not your child meets the following standards;

• ​​​​​​​Intellectual curiosity, interest in kindergarten type activities, and superior attention span.
• The school psychologist will contact prior teachers or daycare to gather information about your child.  They will ask you to sign a release of information form.
• At least one year advancement in mental age over an average five year old, or the development of a six year old.
• Superior social maturity as measured by an instrument selected by the school psychologist.
• High language ability, ability to articulate clearly, and high ability in the use of verbal symbols
• Good physical development.

EARLY ENTRANCE DECISION

1. The school psychologist will make a recommendation to the elementary school principal based on information and evaluation results. 
2. The school psychologist may reach out to share the evaluation results with parents, upon their request.
3. The elementary school principal will make the final decision for admittance or rejection.  The principal will contact the parent by phone, email, or letter regarding the decision.
4. The determination of admittance or rejection is final. 

• If your child still needs to complete their Early Childhood Screening, please make an appointment by calling, Jennifer Hellickson, 320-354.2252, Ext. 2463 
• If your child or other children will be under the age of 5 at the start of the upcoming school year, they are not eligible for Kindergarten but they will be eligible for Preschool. Complete this application to apply for our Cub Kids Preschool. Our Prairie Meadows Preschool received the 4-Star Parent Aware Award, which is the highest rating a preschool can receive. 

During the summer of 2025 there will not be Kindergarten tours as our elementary building is closed for an HVAC system/construction project. Tour information will be posted upon completion of the project. 

For information about NLS Schools or to schedule a tour, contact:
Megan Norgren, Director of Communication
320.354.2252 ext. 2422
norgrenm@isd345.org