Kindergarten In Westerville

If your child has attended preschool, talk with his/her teacher.

Westerville City Schools has prepared a listing of ways you can help your child prepare to begin school (see website). The Ohio Department of Education also has resources at education.ohio.gov/Parents

Typically, children must turn five years old before August 1, to enroll in kindergarten for the coming school year. However, children who turn five between August 2 and December 31 can be considered for under age admission upon meeting the criteria set by the district as per the Ohio Department of Education guidelines. In such instances, the child is evaluated to measure his or her maturity to do satisfactory work in kindergarten. Children identified as being academically, socially and emotionally prepared for school may enroll in kindergarten early if recommended to do so by the Gifted Education Department of Westerville City Schools. You may contact personnel within this department at 614-797-5887.

Yes, state law requires compulsory attendance of children between the ages of 6 and 18.

Yes, Ohio Revised Code 3321.01 specifies a child must successfully complete kindergarten. The kindergarten requirement may be waived in the case of a child who is at least six years of age by August 1 of the year of admittance and who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the committee that he/she possesses the social, emotional, and cognitive skills necessary for first grade.

Contact your child's school of attendance should you have additional questions regarding building-based opportunities and activities

In order for your child to attend Westerville City Schools, you must be both the Legal Guardian and a resident of the school district.

Please visit the district's Health Services page for immunization information.

School district boundaries within the school district are established by the Superintendent. Students attend the school in their designated attendance area in which they reside, unless open enrollment is requested and approved.

Yes, the Board permits students to apply for attendance at their school of choice provided parents transport their child and meet other established guidelines per the district's open enrollment policy.

You can quickly identify your child's school of attendance by CLICKING HERE and inserting your home address. For further clarification on attendance boundaries, contact either the Office of Transportation at 797-5950 or our Enrollment and Family Resource Center at 797-7700.

You may complete an application at www.lunchapplication.com or pick-up a paper application available in the school offices after July 1.

Parent Orientation is for the purpose of meeting the building principal and kindergarten classroom teachers, reviewing building procedures, distribution and quick review of the student handbook, and an overview of curriculum. Your child should not attend this meeting. Your school will determine a date for the Parent Orientation Meeting and it will be in a letter sent to your home in July.

A letter is sent to your home the end of July. indicating whether our child will attend the AM or PM session, your child’s teacher, and your child’s “Gentle Start” date and time.

Requests for AM or PM sessions may be made by contacting the building secretary after the completion of the enrollment process. While every effort is made to accommodate requests, it may not be possible based upon enrollment numbers and transportation routes and scheduling. Decisions are based on many factors including the number of students in your building who walk or ride. Other determining factors can include enrollment in neighboring schools.

Bus transportation schedules are available through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. (In July, you will receive a letter from your building with information on how to create an account.) For additional information, please go to www.wcsoh.org/mybus or contact transportation at (614) 797-5950.

There is not an assessment designed to determine if your child will attend kindergarten. The only requirement for entrance into kindergarten is that he or she be five years of age by August 1 of the current year. Kindergarten students will take a series of assessments throughout the fall, as part of the Ohio Department of Education’s KRA (Kindergarten Readiness Assessment). This assessment will provide teachers specific information on what each student knows and is able to do. This information will be used to drive instruction and identify areas of intervention for students.

If you know, or suspect, your child has a disability, contact Westerville City Schools’ Special Education office at (614) 797-5900.

Though physical development is very similar, gifted preschoolers differ from their same age peers in the way they think and feel. This is referred to as asynchronous development. Recognizing giftedness allows the young child to develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and enthusiasm for learning. Eight areas where a gifted child may exhibit differences as described by the National Association of Gifted Children (www.nac.org) are: curiosity, memory, learning, attention, reasoning/critical thinking, vocabulary, sense of humor, and fluency/creativity/perspective…

Families, teachers, and caregivers should be aware of:

• Intense personalities,
• Hypersensitivity on many levels (welfare for humans, environment, animals and justice),
• Issues of perfectionism and organizational extremes, and
• The child’s need to feel normal at sometimes detrimental costs.

Children should be allowed to follow interests, provided with added opportunities, and loved for who they are, not what they can do. The Ohio Association of Gifted Children (www.oagc.com) and “Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom (ages 4-9)” by J. F. Smutny, S.Y. Walker, and E.A. Mechstroth can be helpful resources for more information on the young gifted learner. WCS students are evaluated in 2nd grade to determine giftedness in reading, math, and overall cognitive ability. Students who are identified as gifted begin receiving gifted services in 3rd grade.

Parents are not permitted to attend school with their child. Your school may provide an opportunity to visit the classroom for a brief amount of time during that first day. Please contact your school with specific questions.

You will receive a copy of supplies needed in the Back-to-School mailing.

Student fees cover the costs of consumable items including: paper and student record keeping folders, art supplies (clay, paper, paste, paint), science supplies, math supplies (straws, yarn, dry erase markers, graph paper), printer cartridges and other technology-related consumable supplies. Fees for the upcoming year are posted on the district website.
 

Ohio’s Learning Standards define what your child should know and be able to do at every grade level.

Westerville City Schools has aligned our elementary progress reports with Ohio’s Learning Standards.
 

Westerville City Schools welcomes volunteer participation. Volunteers provide needed assistance at all levels of district programming and serve as excellent resources to enrich the lives of our students. Volunteers may be assigned to assist in school activities and programs without recompense.

Though the school district does not offer a traditional “latchkey” program, there is a school age child care program, YWCA Kids Place, available before and after school through the YWCA for all of our elementary schools. This is a fee-based program that operates independently from the school district. For more information, call the YWCA at (614) 224-9121, ext. 1204.

Measures are in place in every building to make certain new students board the proper busses, including teachers and volunteers who walk students to their bus, bus numbers indicated on student nametags, and assistance from older students.