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Kindergarten Enrollment
- If your child attended Pre-K at the home school you will not need to re-enroll.
- If your child attended Out of District for their Pre-K program – you will need to re-enroll for the upcoming academic year.
Register your student & upload your documents
To enroll your student for School Year 2026 starting Wednesday, August 20, 2025
- School Year 2025-26 PowerSchool online enrollment portal
- School Year 2025-26 Portal de inscripción en linea de PowerSchool
If you are unable to enroll your student using our online portal, you may download an official FCPS Enrollment Form and return to your student’s school.
Not sure of your child's home school? Check the boundary maps or contact Student Services at 240-236-5323.
All FCPS kindergarten programs are full day, most starting at 9 a.m. and dismissing around 3:30 p.m. To enter kindergarten in August, a child must turn 5 years old on or before September 1st of that calendar year. Children entering first grade must have completed public kindergarten or have been approved for entry by FCPS. Whenever possible, parents are encouraged to register their children well in advance of the first day of school so that schools and teachers are prepared to accommodate enrollment.
Parents who do not wish to enroll a 5-year-old in a kindergarten or other approved program may request a Kindergarten One-Year Maturity Waiver. At the end of the waiver year, the student will enter kindergarten rather than first grade. ECE Office will accept K Waiver Forms for the next school year starting on April 1st of the current school year.
Early Entrance to Kindergarten
Applications must be received by 4 PM, Friday, May 30th, 2025.
The intent of early entrance is to identify children, who are born within 45 days of the September 1st deadline, (September 2nd – October 16th) and whose capabilities warrant early admission. In order to be considered for the early entrance exception, the child must exhibit advanced skills in language arts and mathematics. In addition, information will be gathered to verify the child’s developmental readiness.
Early entrance to kindergarten in FCPS is limited to students who demonstrate advanced academic skills in literacy and math in alignment with the Ready to Read Act, the Maryland Comprehensive Literacy Plan, and the FCPS Comprehensive Literacy Plan. FCPS strictly adheres to expectations that students eligible for early entrance demonstrate advanced skills, scoring “above benchmark” on composite scores for English Language Arts and Mathematics. Eligible students must also demonstrate developmental, social and emotional readiness. Parents of children turning 5 by October 16th, are eligible to apply. Applications for consideration must be submitted by 4pm May 30th.
- Review the video detailing Early Entrance to Kindergarten
- Review Regulation 400-89, Kindergarten - Early Entrance
- Download and save the application. Submit completed application as an attachment to earlyentrance@fcps.org, by the deadline date, or mail to Early Childhood Education, Attention: Early Entrance, 191 South East St. Frederick, MD 21701.
- Expect a confirmation email of the received application.
Students applying for early entrance to kindergarten will be screened to assess Kindergarten readiness. The screening process will take approximately 20-30 minutes and will be administered by a trained examiner. The assessment is administered only 1 time to each child. Retesting will not occur for any reason. The assessment includes a variety of activities that measure each child’s ability in the following domains: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematical Thinking, Personal and Social Emotional Development. It is not necessary to study or prepare for the early entry assessment. Resources regarding kindergarten readiness can be found in the Resources tab below.
- Receive an email to schedule the assessment at FCPS Central Office, 191 East Street Frederick, MD 21701
- Provide consent for testing by reading the Early Entrance to Kindergarten Testing/Authorization Waiver in advance and signing the document at the time of assessment.
Parents/legal guardians will be notified about the approval or denial of their request for early admission to kindergarten, in a timely manner. The outcomes of the Early Entrance to Kindergarten assessment will be communicated through email. Students are expected to demonstrate accelerated development both socially and academically in order to be eligible for early entrance to kindergarten. See Policy 430.1.C. Parents/legal guardians may appeal the decision, within 10 days, as outlined in the email notification.
- Students approved for early entrance to kindergarten, may proceed with the kindergarten enrollment process, as detailed in the next step.
- Students denied early entrance to kindergarten may enroll when they are age eligible, the following year.
- If you’d like to discuss your child’s assessment results, please contact the early childhood office.
Enrollment
Upon acceptance to early entrance to kindergarten, parent/legal guardian(s) may enroll their child in Kindergarten. The enrollment form and information will be included within the acceptance notification.
45-Day Probationary Period
Per Regulation 400-89, there will be a 45 instructional day probation period. If there are concerns about the child’s academic progress, either by the parent/guardian or by school personnel, a re-evaluation will occur prior to the end of the probation period. The child will be expected to meet grade level expectations for Quarter 1 and will have shown academic progress since entry. If the child is not meeting these expectations, school personnel and/or the parent/guardian may decide to withdraw the child. However, if the parent/guardian disagrees with the decision of school personnel to withdraw the child the parent/guardian may follow the same appeal process as outlined above.
Should you have additional questions, please contact the Early Childhood Office:
- Phone 240-586-PREK (7735)
- Email PreKEnrollment@fcps.org
or EarlyEntrance@fcps.org.
Readiness Resources
- 2025 Countdown to Pre-K Activity Guide
- Frederick County Public Library Storytime
- Ready @ Five - Parent tips, parent-child activities, school readiness resources, and other information is included in this site to support families in promoting school readiness.
- ReadyRosie - This is a FREE app for families with children from birth to 5 years old living in Frederick County. Sign up is easy and each week you will receive by text or email, brief videos modeling activities you can do with your child to encourage school readiness.
Developmental Milestones and State Resources
- Maryland Early Learning Standards
- Maryland’s Guide to Early Childhood Pedagogy – Birth to Age 8
- Maryland State Department of Education Division of Early Childhood Development - Families
- Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts Grade PreK - K
- Developmental Milestones (for children 2 months to five years)
- For more information about the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, please see https://blueprint.marylandpublicschools.org/ece/
Regulations and Policies
Contacts
Main Number: 240-586-PREK (7735)
EarlyEntrance@fcps.org
| Sandy Truax Administrative Assistant 240-586-7761 |
Leslie Frei Supervisor of Early Childhood Education and Judy Centers |
| Kelly Robbins Teacher Specialist for Early Childhood Education 240-586-7796 |
Christy Donnelly Teacher Specialist for Early Childhood Education 240-586-7772 |