News & Information
All Bellingham Public Schools are now enrolling for fall. Please contact our schools to learn more about program offerings, events to welcome new students and families, tour schedules and opportunities to meet school leaders.
Only a few spaces remain for full-day kindergarten at Alderwood, Carl Cozier, Happy Valley and Roosevelt elementary schools. Families who are interested in full-day kindergarten and live inside or outside of these schools' attendance areas should contact the school of interest as soon as possible. Following lotteries held earlier this spring, the few remaining spaces for full-day kindergarten are being filled on a first-come, first-serve basis with tuition on a sliding-scale based upon a family's qualifying income for free and reduced meals.
A half-day kindergarten program is offered at no cost to families at all elementary schools with openings available and registration continuing. Families are encouraged to learn more about the district's kindergarten program by contacting their neighborhood school for the tour schedule and to meet the principal. Families living throughout the district who will have kindergarteners in the fall that are not yet registered are encouraged to attend a District Kindergarten Program Open House from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4 at Happy Valley Elementary School, 1041 24th St. Please call 676-6420 if you plan to attend. Children will have an opportunity to explore and play in kindergarten classrooms, parents/guardians can learn about the program's "plan-do-review" approach, and kindergarten teachers will be available to answer questions and interact with children.
To learn more about kindergarten and for school contact information, please click here.
Children must be 5 years old before Sept. 1 to attend kindergarten or they need to take a district assessment to determine if they qualify for early entrance. Early admittance will be considered for children born between Sept. 1 and Oct. 1. Click here if you need more information about entrance age.
For more about what to bring for registration, required immunizations and early entrance, click here.
Full-Day Option at Pilot Schools
All elementary schools are offering a half-day, every day kindergarten program from 9 to 11:35 a.m. or 12:55 to 3:30 p.m. There is no cost for half-day kindergarten. In addition, Alderwood, Carl Cozier, Happy Valley, Northern Heights and Roosevelt elementary schools are offering full-day kindergarten from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on a space-available basis.
Because Washington state does not fund full-day kindergarten in our district, Bellingham needs to operate this program at no cost to the district due to budget challenges. Therefore, monthly tuition is being charged on a sliding scale based on a family's qualifying income for free/reduced meals. A set number of full and reduced pay opportunities for full-day kindergarten are being offered at each of the pilot schools. Deposits are required to hold assigned spots. Full-day kindergarten is limited to the six pilot schools during the 2009-10 school year to allow the program to develop with plans to expand in the future.
New for Fall: High Scope
Beginning in fall 2009, children attending kindergarten in the Bellingham Public Schools will receive instruction through a nationally renowned method known as High Scope. This instructional approach is based on the philosophy that children should be actively engaged in their own learning. Students become involved in their learning through interactions with people and hands-on experiences with materials, events and ideas. The program recognizes that children enter kindergarten with a range of skills and abilities. High Scope allows for personalization of instruction and for every child to learn and grow. The method involves teachers and parents in supporting children's emotional, intellectual, social, and physical skills and abilities. Literacy, math, science, music and the arts, play and physical education are all part of children's learning program. To learn more about High Scope: www.highscope.org
Return on Investment
A landmark, long-term study of the effects of high-quality early care and education on low-income 3 and 4 year olds shows that adults at age 40 who participated in a preschool program in their early years have higher earnings, are more likely to hold a job, have committed fewer crimes, and are more likely to have graduated from high school. Overall, the study documented a return to society of more than $16 for every tax dollar invested in early childhood education. The High/Scope Perry Preschool study was conducted over four decades.