FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Redmond, Wash. – If you live in Lake Washington School District and your child will be five years old on or before August 31, 2009, it is time to register them for kindergarten. Registration takes place at your neighborhood school, beginning on February 5 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

To register your child, parents should bring the following items:

• proof of the child’s birth date such as a birth certificate or passport
• child’s health history, including current immunizations
• emergency contact information; names, addresses, phone numbers of parents, physician, and dentist
• checkbook if interested in all day kindergarten
• verification of address: utility bill or lease agreement
• Kindergarten Questionnaire (found on the right of this page)
  
  

Parents interested in registering their child for all-day kindergarten will need to bring their checkbook, as they will be asked to pay for the first month of kindergarten at the time of registration.

Lake Washington offers half-day kindergarten for all children in the district. At times, the district may need to transport students to a school other than their neighborhood school due to enrollment levels. If that happens, a lottery will be held on February 12 to determine which students will be affected.

Most schools in the district offer an all-day kindergarten program as well. The district must charge tuition for the all-day program. The state of Washington pays for half-day kindergarten, so the tuition covers the other half of the school day. Tuition for the 2009-2010 school year will be determined on January 26. The fees are expected to be higher than last year. To give you an idea of the cost, for the 2008-09 school year, the fee was $2,650. Those who qualified for a reduced price lunch were charged $950 and those who qualified for free lunch paid $520.

If more than 21 children register for any all-day kindergarten classes, a lottery drawing will be held on February 12 to determine the students in those classes.

Parents will be able to register their children for kindergarten after February 5, up through the beginning of the next school year. However, they are less likely to be able to get into an all-day kindergarten class and may be more likely to have their child assigned to a different school.

For more information, go to www.lwsd.org/kindergarten. To determine which school is your neighborhood school, click on “District Map” or “School & Bus Finder,” or call the district transportation office at 425-882-5120.

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About Lake Washington: Lake Washington School District is a high-performing public school district serving Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish, Washington. It is the sixth largest district in the state of Washington, with over 23,000 students in 50 schools.