How to sign child up for kindergarten
Kindergarten
In New York City, children enter kindergarten in the fall of the calendar year they turn five, and are guaranteed a kindergarten seat at a public school. Once your child starts kindergarten, they can remain at the same school until its final elementary grade. Scroll down and watch our video series to learn more about kindergarten admissions.
Happening Now:
The kindergarten application is currently closed. If your child was born in 2018 and lives in New York City, they are eligible to attend kindergarten in fall 2023.
If you missed the deadline to apply to kindergarten, you can still participate in admissions by adding your child to programs’ waitlists! The way to do this is online with MySchools, learn how in our "How to Add Your Child to Waitlists” video. Please keep in mind that you can no longer apply to kindergarten G&T programs or add your child to kindergarten G&T waitlists.
Elementary Admissions Events
All NYC families with children born in 2018, 2019, and 2020 are invited to join us at a virtual information session covering 3-K, pre-K, kindergarten, and Gifted & Talented admissions. To learn about event dates and times, and how to join, visit our ES events page.
Sign up now for updates about the 2023 kindergarten admissions process.
- Learn if your child has a zoned school by entering your address at schoolsearch.schools.nyc (this website includes schools' contact information) or by calling 311.
- Contact your zoned school directly to enroll.
- If you don't have a zoned school, contact schools of interest directly or visit a Family Welcome Center for help finding a school.
Questions?
We’re here to help! Call us at 718-935-2009, get support from a Family Welcome Center, or email us at ESEnrollment@schools.
nyc.gov.
Who Can Apply?
Every five-year-old New York City resident is guaranteed a seat in a public school kindergarten program. Children start kindergarten in the September of the calendar year they turn five. If you have a child born in 2018, they will begin kindergarten in September 2023.
We welcome all of the following to apply to kindergarten: pre-K students currently attending DOE public schools, Pre-K Centers, NYC Early Education Centers, charter schools, private schools, or parochial schools; children who are attending school for the first time; students with disabilities; students with accessibility needs; students learning English; students in temporary housing; and LGBTQ and gender nonconforming students.
Find Elementary Schools
Start exploring kindergarten programs around the time your child starts pre-K.
School Types
There are two types of schools that you can add to your kindergarten application.
- Zoned Schools.
Most NYC families have a zoned school, which means they live in an area zoned for a specific school and their children have priority to attend it. Your zoned school, if you have one, is the school where your child is most likely to go to kindergarten. Most zoned schools make kindergarten offers to all students living in the zone. Some zoned schools have room to make offers to children living outside of their zone. - Non-Zoned Schools. These schools do not have a zone. Families throughout the district or borough can attend them. Most non-zoned schools give priority to students who have older siblings attending, who are current pre-K students, or who live in the district.
New York City has 32 school districts. There are three districts in NYC where all the schools are nonzoned, and students living in these districts have priority to attend all schools in the district. These districts are:
During the application period, use MySchools to learn if you have a zoned elementary school.
Year-round, you can enter your address at schoolsearch.schools.nyc or call 311 to find your school district and learn about any zoned school(s).
Program Types
When you apply to kindergarten, you are not just applying to schools—you are applying to programs. Think of a program as a “doorway” to get into the school. Most elementary schools have only one program, but some have two or more, such as a general education program and a Gifted & Talented (G&T) program. In your kindergarten application, you will be able to see both the school and program name for each of your choices.
Gifted & Talented Programs (G&T)
Gifted & Talented programs offer accelerated instruction to eligible elementary school students in New York City.
You can add G&T programs to your kindergarten application. If you list G&T programs on your kindergarten application, eligibility will be determined after you apply.
- Current pre-K students at DOE/district schools, Pre-K Centers, NYC Early Education Centers (NYCEECs), or charter schools are evaluated by their current pre-K teachers.
- Current pre-K students at private or parochial school programs, or for children who are not yet in school will be contacted by the Division of Early Childhood Education to set up interviews that will determine eligibility.
Dual Language Programs
In Dual Language (DL) programs, students are taught in two languages. The goal is for English proficient students and English Language Learners to not only develop new language skills and learn academic subjects in two languages, but also practice and share language and culture with each other, becoming bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural.
If you are interested in a Dual Language program, be sure to add that specific program—not the school’s English-only program—to your kindergarten application.
Charter Schools
Charter schools have a separate admissions process. Contact charter schools directly to learn how to apply.
Learn How Students Get Offers
All NYC children born in 2018 are guaranteed a kindergarten seat in a public school. However, please note that G&T seats are limited, and offers are based on eligibility. Learn more about the G&T admissions process on our G&T page.
How can you know your child’s chances of getting an offer from one of your favorite schools? It helps to start by learning how offers are made. Students get kindergarten offers based on four key factors:
Your application choices
The number of choices that you add to your child’s application AND the order in which you place them matter! Add up to 12 choices to your child’s application in your true order of preference.
Then submit the application.
Program's seat availability
- Each kindergarten program has a certain number of available seats.
- Schools vary in size and demand. When a school has more applicants than seats, we can’t make offers to everyone who wants to attend it—in this case, offers are made first to the students who have the highest admissions priority to attend the school.
Admissions priorities and your priority group for a program
- Kindergarten programs give admissions priorities to specific groups of applicants before others, such as to students who live in a specific zone, who have siblings at the school, who live in the district, or who currently attend pre-K at the school.
- Your child has a better chance of getting an offer from some schools than others. A school’s admissions priorities determine the order in which groups of applicants are considered for offers.
- All students in a program’s priority group 1 will be considered first for offers.
Then, if seats are still available, students in that program’s priority group 2 will be considered next, and so on. Learn which priority group your child is in for each kindergarten program. They will be in different priority groups for different programs.
Randomly assigned numbers
Each kindergarten applicant is also assigned a random number. If there are fewer available seats than applicants within a priority group, these random numbers determine the order in which students get offers.
TIP: Use MySchools to learn about a school’s admissions priorities and who got offers last year. This information will help you know your child’s chances of getting an offer to a particular school. The higher priority your child has to attend a school, the higher the chance that your child will get an offer to that school.
If a school made offers to a specific group of students in 2021, they may be able to make offers to this group again. For example, if a school was able to make offers to children living outside of their zone who had an older sibling in the school, they may be able to make offers to siblings living outside of the zone again.
There are several types of admissions priorities:
Sibling Priority
Elementary schools offer an admissions priority to applicants whose siblings attend the same school. If your child has an older sibling at a school that you’ve added to their application, your child may have a higher chance of getting an offer from that school than an applicant without an enrolled sibling. To make sure your child gets sibling priority, be sure to provide sibling information when you apply.
A sibling is defined as an applicant’s brother or sister, including half-brothers, half-sisters, step-brothers, step-sisters, foster brothers, and foster sisters who live in the same household and are currently preregistered or enrolled at that school in kindergarten through grade 12, and who will be enrolled at that school in any grade level between kindergarten and grade 12 in September 2022. This includes students enrolled in District 75 programs in the same school building.
Pre-K Priority
If your child is currently enrolled in pre-K at a DOE public elementary school, they will have an admissions priority to attend kindergarten at that school.
Not all elementary schools have pre-K.
Reminder: Students currently attending pre-K at a public elementary school still need to apply to kindergarten.
District Priority
Most schools give an admissions priority to students in their own district over students who live in other districts.
Admissions Priorities for Zoned Schools
All zoned elementary schools make offers to students in the following order:
- Students who live in the zone and have a sibling at the school
- Other students who live in the zone
If space allows, students living outside the zone may also be admitted, in the following order:
- Students with a sibling at the school who live in the district
- Students with a sibling at the school who live outside the district
- Students who live in the district and are currently enrolled at the school for preK
- Students who live outside the district and are currently enrolled at the school for preK
- Other students who live in the district
- Other students who live outside the district
Tip: Use MySchools to see which zoned schools admitted non-zoned students last year.
Admissions Priorities for Non-Zoned Schools
Different non-zoned schools have different admissions priorities, but most non-zoned schools give an admissions priority to students who live in the same district as the school. When you are logged in to your MySchools account, you can look up any school’s admissions priorities in MySchools, find out which priority group your child is in for that school, and learn which groups of applicants received offers from that school last year.
District-Specific Admissions Priorities
Some districts—such as Districts 1, 7, and 23 have district-specific admissions priorities.
Diversity in Admissions
Elementary schools across the city are participating in an initiative to increase diversity in their programs by giving admissions priorities to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch (FRL), students in temporary housing, English Language Learners, and other groups. Learn more about diversity in admissions (DIA) in the current list of schools participating in diversity initiatives.
Open Houses and School Events
Many schools will list their open houses and tours in the centralized MySchools events calendar. You can also contact schools directly or check their websites to learn if they are holding virtual or in-person open houses or information sessions.
How to Apply
When the application period is open:
- Choose up to 12 kindergarten programs that you’d like your child to attend.
- Add these programs to their kindergarten application.
- Order these school choices in the application in your order of preference, with your favorite school at the top as #1.
Your child will get an offer to your highest possible choice considering the factors discussed in the “Learn How Students Get Offers” section above.
Please note:
- Some elementary schools also offer Dual Language program or programs. To apply to a Dual Language program, add it to your child’s application.
- If you’d like your child to attend your zoned school, be sure to add it to your application; however, you don’t have to place it as your first choice.
- Submit only one application per child.
You can submit your kindergarten application one of three ways:
- Online with MySchools in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Haitian Creole, Korean, or French. We’ll let you know when the application opens and you can apply online!
- By phone at 718-935-2009. If you are applying by phone, interpretation services are available in more than 200 languages.
- By visiting a Family Welcome Center. To learn more, please visit our Family Welcome Center webpage.
Kindergarten admissions is not first come, first served—all applications submitted online, by phone, or in person by the deadline will be treated the same based on admissions priorities.
Get Your Kindergarten Offer
Kindergarten offers are released in the spring. Your offer letter states where your child will go to kindergarten in the fall. It also includes information about waitlists, including where your child is waitlisted, if applicable.
G&T Offers
Learn about how G&T kindergarten offers are made on our G&T page.
Waitlist Offers
Schools use waitlists to fill seats that become available after kindergarten offers are made in the spring. Your child will automatically be on the waitlist for any school you listed higher on your kindergarten application than the school where your child got an offer. Schools will contact you directly if they are able to offer your child a seat from the waitlist.
Accept Your Offer and Register
First, accept your kindergarten offer to secure your child's seat. You can accept your offer in one of the following ways:
- If you applied online, you can accept your offer online at MySchools.
nyc - If you applied by phone, you can accept your offer:
- By contacting the offered school
- By phone at 718-935-2009 or
- By emailing [email protected]
Then contact the school directly to learn how and when to register.
Students Who Move During the Admissions Process
If your family moves during the admissions process, call 718-935-2009 or contact your new zoned school to update your information and talk about changes to your kindergarten application or program.
- If you're unsure what your new zoned school is, enter your home address here.
- If you don't have a zoned school, learn what to do on the New Students page.
- Your child’s priority to attend certain programs may change if you move.
2023 NYC Public Schools Admissions Guide
View or download the 2023 NYC Public Schools Admissions Guide! This book provides an overview of admissions processes and resources for EarlyLearn (childcare for eligible families), 3-K, pre-K, kindergarten, middle school, and high school, including a section on how to use MySchools.
Print copies will be available in 10 languages at schools, early childhood programs, libraries, and other sites soon.
-
2023 NYC Public Schools Admissions Guide available in:
Documents
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Registration Checklist available in:
How to Find a School and Enroll Your Child
Although public schools are available to any child who lives within the residential boundaries of the school, it’s important to start the process of finding and enrolling your child for TK or kindergarten early. There are some key things parents and children need to know.
Once you know if your child is eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) or kindergarten, you’ll want to find out what your local school district and other schools offer in terms of school options and enrollment periods.
For example, some school districts provide TK classes only at certain schools.
It’s never too early to start looking at what your local schools can provide. Preparing your child for school includes getting to know your local schools and available options. You may choose your neighborhood “assigned” school, or consider other schools based on their specialties and programs. The public-school system has a variety of options that vary by county and district. For example, some school districts have science magnet schools or schools that specialize in the arts. Learn more about what programs are available for your child by contacting your local school district or going to your local school and asking for more information. There are also private schools that you may want to consider for your child.
Schools and school districts often hold informational sessions for incoming students and families. Be sure to ask about the process for requesting a specific school for your child to attend if you’ve found an option that you think would be a great fit for your child.
The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to make the best school choice for your child.
Enrollment for TK or kindergarten usually starts in March of the year before your child starts school and continues throughout the school year. You’ll need to visit your child’s school to pick up and complete an enrollment packet which typically includes:
A request for up-to-date vaccine records
Proof of residency
Medical/dental forms
Emergency forms
Informational questionnaires
If your child has special needs, some school districts provide certain services at specific schools. Remember, the school district must conduct its own assessment to help determine a child’s needs and appropriate services. If your child received preschool special education services, then by California law, the school district must conduct a Kindergarten Transition assessment before your child enters TK or kindergarten to help the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team determine the right placement and services for your child in TK/kindergarten.
Get started on your public school research here and here.
Parent Tip: Be sure to enroll your child as early as possible to avoid a late start to the school year. The first days of school are an important period when everyone is learning and adjusting together. Schools are often closed during the summer, so be sure to complete your child’s enrollment before the school year starts.
How to register a child for enrollment in kindergarten
In this article we will tell you how to enroll a child in kindergarten through the MFC. Unfortunately, simply taking the child to the kindergarten of your choice at the right time for his age will not work, because there are still not enough public kindergartens. It is necessary to register in advance in order to get a place in kindergarten at the right time. This can (and is recommended) be done immediately after the birth of the child, as soon as you have a birth certificate in your hands.
Contents
Kindergarten queue: how to get into it
Parents (or legal representatives) of a child of preschool age have the right to enroll a child in the kindergarten queue.
There are different ways to enroll a child in a kindergarten:
- submit an application and the necessary documents to the Department of Administration (Government) at the place of residence;
- through the State Services portal www.gosuslugi.ru by submitting an electronic application;
- apply through the multifunctional center (MFC) "My Documents".
Please note: some categories of citizens have priority (benefits) when applying for kindergarten. These categories are listed below (click to enlarge).
How to apply through the MFC
Getting into the queue for kindergarten through the MFC is not a problem. Often this is more convenient than contacting the administration of your district directly, since the MFC has a more convenient work schedule and employees who are always ready to help.
You just need to follow the next 4 steps.
Please note that this service is free.
STEP 1.
Appear in person at Multifunctional Center if you are one of the child's parents or their legal representative, taking with you the documents required for registration.
List of documents:
- application for registration, in which you can indicate 3 preschool institutions (by priority) in which you want to enroll a child; you can fill out this application right on the spot with the help of an MFC employee and certify with your signature. In the application, indicate the date from which you plan to send the child to kindergarten.
Download a sample application for placing a child on the waiting list for kindergarten - an identity document of the applicant (usually a passport). If you are permanently registered in another region, you may need proof of your residence in the municipality where you are applying (for example, a tenancy agreement)
- a document confirming the right to represent the interests of the child, if the applicant is not a parent
- birth certificate of a child
- if you have benefits that make your child eligible for priority or out-of-priority kindergarten, please bring supporting documentation
- if the child needs to be enrolled in a compensatory group (for example, a kindergarten speech therapy group), then bring the conclusion of the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission.
STEP 2. Take an electronic queue ticket at the terminal . Full official name of the service: "Acceptance of applications, registration and enrollment of children in educational institutions that implement the main general educational program of preschool education (kindergartens)" . In many MFCs, you can make an appointment through the MFC website.
STEP 3. Go to the indicated window with the electronic queue coupon and hand over the documents to the MFC employee who will check them, help you fill out and sign the application and issue you a receipt.
STEP 4. After 3-10 working days, come to the MFC and get a certificate of registration of your child with a queue number.
Next, you can check the progress of your queue by calling the Administration at your place of residence. If you applied through the gosuslugi.
ru portal, you can also view the queue through the gosuslugi.ru website by following the link, after logging into your personal account.
When the desired date of your child's enrollment in kindergarten approaches, indicated in the application, you will receive a notification from the administration about which preschool institution the child is enrolled in. You should contact this institution and prepare the following documents:
- medical report on the state of health of the child (medical card f-026/u)
download the form of the medical card f-026/u
sample of filling in the medical card (click to enlarge):
- if necessary, enrollment in compensatory and combined groups - the conclusion of the psychological, medical and pedagogical commission.
Please note that if you do not show up, your turn may be given to another child.
How to enroll your child in a kindergarten in Moscow or St.
Petersburg If you live in Moscow, you can enroll your child in a preschool through the mos.ru website (services - education - preschool - kindergarten enrollment).
Once your child has been assigned a queue number, you will be able to find out where they are in the application queue on the same page and make changes to the application if needed.
General phone number of the Public Services Centers in Moscow: (495)777-77-77.
If you live in St. Petersburg, you can sign up for a queue for enrolling your child in a kindergarten using the link.
On this page you can choose whether to apply online or in person at one of the MFCs in St. Petersburg.
Phone for information: (812) 573-90-00 City Call Center MFC St. Petersburg. A list of all MFCs in St. Petersburg with their contact details and opening hours is available on our website.
The term for the provision of the service, grounds for refusal, compensation approximately 6 days to send documents between the MFC and the administration of your area.
There are no state fees: the service is provided free of charge.
The enrollment service may be denied in the following cases:
- required documents not submitted
- child older than 7 years or younger than 2 months.
Kindergarten enrollment may be refused in the following cases:
- failure to submit required documents
- failure to appear at the institution on time without good reason.
Many are interested in the question: is there any compensation for not providing a place for a child in a kindergarten? The answer is this: such a law should have been adopted back in 2012, but it has not yet been adopted at the federal level. However, in many regions such compensation is indeed paid. At the same time, each region has its own practice established by local authorities, and its own list of documents for processing compensation. If compensation is paid, then, as a rule, at the age of the child from 1.
5 to 6 years. For more information, please contact the social security authorities in your area.
Please note that if none of the preschools you have listed on your application are available on the date you have entered, you may be offered another facility. This result is not considered a failure.
Conclusion
We told you how you can enroll your child in kindergarten through the MFC or via the Internet.
If you have any questions, please call the toll-free hotline:
8 (800) 350-84-32 for Russian regions
8 (499) 938-49-63 for Moscow
8 (812) 425-60-96 for St. Petersburg
or use the form for a free consultation.
Electronic registration of a child in kindergarten
July 28, 2016
To queue up for kindergarten through gosuslugi.ru, you must first register and then fill out an application. Then just watch the queue progress.
All this is done on the Internet, and important news will come by e-mail. An application through public services has the same force as going to the RONO.
How to enroll a child in kindergarten
Usually children are taken from 1 year old (in nursery) or from 2 years old (in regular groups). But this does not mean that you need to go to kindergarten when the child is one year old - by this time there may be no place left for him. Take care of a place in the kindergarten in advance.
There is a limited number of places in any kindergarten. How many children are released in the spring, the same number are taken into it in the fall. They accept in turn: whoever signed up earlier will be offered a place earlier. Privileges are only for beneficiaries: military or single parents, children from large families, especially if their brothers and sisters already go to the same kindergarten. They move faster in line.
In order not to be left without a seat, get in line in advance.
Ideal - as soon as you receive a birth certificate. When your turn comes, you will be invited to sign the contract.
There are two ways to enroll in kindergartens: remotely through public services or in person through the RONO. Both options are equally valid.
Get in line for kindergartens in advance. It is possible - from birth.
Option 1: register through the public services portal
To queue up for kindergarten through gosuslugi.ru, you must first register and then fill out an application. Then just watch the queue progress. All this is done on the Internet, and important news will come by e-mail. An application through public services has the same force as going to the RONO.
Step 1. Register on the portal. Go to gosuslugi.ru, enter your name, email and phone number. And then - passport data and SNILS number.
Next, you need to confirm your data - show your passport. Otherwise, it is impossible to be sure that it was you who submitted the application, and not someone else on your behalf.
The easiest way to do this is by mail, the procedure itself takes less than a minute. When you register, the portal will tell you where it is most convenient to go to verify your identity.
It may seem that registration is rather difficult, but it is not. You just need to go to the service center for five minutes. But then you will be able to receive any public services - even get a passport, even register a car, whatever. One trip to the post office is worth it.
When you register, you will need to fill out an application.
Step 2. Fill out the application: go to the public services website using your login and password, select "Enroll in kindergarten". Fill out the application and attach photos of documents to it:
- Main page of the passport or other proof of identity of the parent.
- Child's birth certificate.
- Passport page with parent registration information or certificate of temporary registration.
- If you are not a parent, a power of attorney or other document confirming the right to represent the interests of the child.
In addition, you can attach:
- a document confirming the right to an extraordinary provision of a place in a kindergarten (for example, a certificate from a university for a student mother).
- a medical certificate that the child needs to join the health group.
- conclusion of the commission regarding the compensating group.
Choose the four kindergartens that you like the most - they will look for a place for you in the first place. If there are no free places by the deadline, you will be offered another kindergarten to replace it. If you do not know which kindergartens to choose, you will need to take care of this issue in advance: go and see the kindergartens in person.
Choose four kindergartens at once - it will be easier to move in line.
If necessary, you can edit or delete the application on the website.
For example, if you are moving and want to choose other kindergartens. But then you will lose your seat and end up at the end of the queue again.
Step 3. Check the status of the application once every six months or a year: go to the public services website and see how the queue is progressing. But don't worry, you definitely won't miss important news - they are sent by email.
When the queue approaches, you will receive a letter with instructions. Go with your child to the kindergarten to conclude an agreement. Take a child's health certificate (form 026/U) with you.
The good thing about the entry through public services is that if you filled out something incorrectly or some other problem appeared, you do not need to go to the RONO or any other department again. Most issues can be resolved immediately through public services, within one or two days.
Everyone can sign up for a kindergarten through the public services portal, except for residents of Moscow and Sevastopol.
City portals work for them: pgu.mos.ru and sevastopol.gov.ru.
Option 2: write through RONO
You can queue for kindergarten at the RONO (district department of public education). This organization protects the rights of minors, including maintaining lists of kindergartens and schools.
Apply. To do this, you need to find out the schedule of your RONO, wait in line. Then fill out the application by hand and show the original documents: passport, birth certificate and medical certificates. This is a half day job.
Find out the result. In a few days, the answer will be ready - you need to call and find out if you have been enrolled in the queue. If yes, then we recommend calling every few months and checking how the queue is progressing. When she approaches, RONO will notify you by regular mail.
In RONO, you must definitely call back on your own in a few days.
But you can come to RONO not only in person. All departments are connected to electronic public services — you can queue for kindergarten on the public services website.
