Kindergarten Information
LWSD offers free all-day kindergarten for all students
All kindergarten classes are all day classes. The state of Washington requires that school districts provide the option of kindergarten part-day attendance. Parents/guardians interested in part-day attendance for their child should contact their principal. Mid-day transportation will not be available.
Additional kindergarten options
Early Entrance to Kindergarten
Children younger than five may qualify to enter kindergarten early
Some students do not meet the state age guidelines for kindergarten but they may still be highly capable and ready for school. The Kindergarten Early Entrance process uses a formal and informal assessment to determine if your child meets or exceeds specific criteria in the areas of mental ability, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, auditory discrimination, visual discrimination, and emotional/social development. Parents who are interested in this option for their child should follow the instructions for early kindergarten entrance.
Choice School programs
Choice Schools and programs are open to all students in the district. Students must apply to be considered for enrollment in the school or program: the schools are small by design, so there are enrollment limits. The lottery typically opens in November for enrollment (except for Emerson K-12 which is not lottery-based) in the following school year. Visit the Choice Schools page for more information.
Discovery Community School
Discovery Community School (DCS), an elementary choice school, also offers a kindergarten option. Entrance into DCS is by lottery and district bus transportation to choice schools is not provided. Parents interested in DCS must register for kindergarten at their home school in addition to applying for entrance into DCS through the choice school lottery process.
Einstein Dual Language Program
Lake Washington School District has developed a dual language Spanish-English program at Einstein Elementary School. The program serves students from Kindergarten through fifth grade.
The dual language program has instruction in two languages. In general, in grades K-1 the language division is 80% Spanish and 20% English and in grades 2-5 the language division is 50% Spanish and 50% English. Each dual language class is composed of around 50% native Spanish speakers and 50% English speakers. Parents interested in the Einstein Dual Language Program must register for kindergarten at their home school in addition to applying for entrance into the program through the choice school lottery process.
Emerson K-12
Emerson K-12 is a parent partnership program that partners with families to educate children under the auspices and with the support of the LWSD. Emerson K-12 values and monitors learning that happens both at school and at home. Kindergarten students are on site at least 2.5 hours a week for supervised instruction and complete additional hours of instruction at home. For more information, please visit the Emerson K-12 website or call 425-936-2311. Emerson K-12 is not part of the lottery process.
