As the halfway mark of the current school year approaches, registration for next year’s group of Somerville Public Schools (SPS) pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students is set to begin this coming weekend. Online pre-K and Kindergarten registration for the 2019-2020 school year begins January 12, 2019. All students who will be 4 years old by August 31, 2019 are eligible for the district’s preschool program. All students who will be 5 years old by that date are eligible for Kindergarten.

For families who do not have computer access at home, registration assistance will be available by contacting the Parent Information Center (617-629-5670; 42 Prescott St.), or by attending a Registration Support drop-in session. Drop-in sessions are scheduled at the Capuano Early Childhood Center computer lab (150 Glen St.), on Tuesday, January 22 and Wednesday, January 23 from 9am – 2pm. Another session will be held at the Arthur D. Healey School (5 Meacham St.) on Thursday, January 24, 2pm – 5pm.

As Dr. Lisa Kuh, Director of Early Education explains, “Thefirst 5 years of a child’s life are the most important for brain development, socialization, and play. Children who have the opportunity to engage in quality early education experiences learn to make friends, be curious about learning, and do better in school. The city of Somerville is committed to providing strong early childhood programming to make sure every child has the opportunity to learn.”

All complete applications received between January 12, 2019 and March 21, 2019 will be considered for the first batch of assignments. An electronic lottery system is used for assignments, designed according to the criteria established in the district’s Controlled Choice Assignment Plan. For more information about the district’s Controlled Choice Assignment Plan, please visit www.somerville.k12.ma.us/district-departments/parent-information-center/tips-choosing-school. Parents/Guardians will receive their assignment letters via email/mail by the week of April 15, 2019.

Preschool in the Somerville Public Schools, also known as the SMILE program, is held from 8:45am – 1:45pm, Monday through Friday. SMILE classrooms are located at the Capuano Early Childhood Center, Albert F. Argenziano School, West Somerville Neighborhood School, and the Winter Hill Community Innovation School. There is also a SPS/Head Start collaborative classroom at the Arthur D. Healey School. Head Start eligible families follow a separate registration process for this classroom at the Healey, as well as two other Head Start classrooms co-located at the Capuano Early Childhood Center. You can learn more about these classrooms atwww.somerville.k12.ma.us/early-education.

SPS also offers ECIP (Early Childhood Intervention Program) mixed-age special education inclusion classrooms at the Capuano Early Childhood Center, For information about the ECIP registration process, visit www.somerville.k12.ma.us/preschool.

Kindergarten is held 8:10am – 2:35pm, Monday through Friday. Kindergarten classrooms are located at all district elementary schools.

For online registration support, information, or to schedule an appointment, the Parent Information Center (42 Prescott St.) is available at 617-629-5670 andwww.somerville.k12.ma.us/Kindergarten. If a child’s first language is not English, a PIC staff member will contact the parent or guardian to schedule an appointment for an English language proficiency assessment.

Afterschool programming for preschool and kindergarten children is available until 5:30pm through the district’s Community Schools program on a sliding scale basis at all schools. Registration information for Community Schools can be found at: http://www.somerville.k12.ma.us/district-departments/somerville-community-schools/afterschool-programs.

Transition Day, when rising kindergarten students and their families visit their prospective school and teacher, will be Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Families will receive additional information about Transition Day as the date gets closer.