Pre-Kindergarten

A Pre-K student will…

Students will establish positive relationships with teachers and peers which enable them to participate effectively in the classroom community.
Students build vocabulary knowledge through hands-on experiences and develop concepts related to language and literacy including vocabulary, phonemic awareness and letter recognition.
Participate in a variety of activities using thinking, reasoning, remembering, problem solving, number concepts, counting, and understanding the physical and social worlds.

State-Funded

Pre-Kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year opens in April 2023 for those meeting state eligibility guidelines for Pre-Kindergarten. More information coming soon!

Go to www.nisdtx.org/enrollment

You need to have the following enrollment documents ready to upload when registering:

Birth Certificate
Proof of Residency
Immunizations
Parent Driver's License

Program Information
Eligibility Guidelines

Eligibility Guidelines

Please check below for eligibility guidelines and documentation needed for the state-funded Pre-K program offered at no cost for those that qualify.

Registration is completed when all registration and eligibility documents have been received and approved. Incomplete registrations cannot be processed.

Eligibility	Documentation Needed
Language Be unable to speak and comprehend the English language	Eligibility is determined by language assessment. Once your online registration is complete you will be contacted by the Language Testing Center to make an appointment for the language assessment.
Economically Disadvantaged The student is eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program	Eligibility determined by the total combined household income and the number of family members in the household. Income is determined by the gross income. 2-3 months of income documentation are required. 2022-2023 Income Eligibility Guidelines for Determining Free and Reduced Price Benefits
Military Be the child of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active duty by proper authority; (mobilized) or is the child of a member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving on active duty	DoD ID for active duty military Documentation for Texas National Guard members or military reservists that they are in face on active duty. Documentation stating the former military member sustained injury while on active duty, not necessarily in combat. The links below contain detailed information for military qualification. Prekindergarten for Dependents of Active Duty Members of the Military
Foster Care Currently, or has ever been in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (foster care) following an adversary hearing held as provided by Family Code §262.201 or has been in foster care in another state or territory, but currently lives in Texas.	Acceptable documentation to verify prekindergarten eligibility for children who have been in foster care in Texas include: DFPS foster/kinship placement documentation PreK verification letter (this letter can be requested by sending the child’s full name and date of birth to: Prekverificationltrs@dfps.texas.gov) or contacting a DFPS Education Specialist Acceptable documentation to verify prekindergarten eligibility for children who have been in foster care outside of Texas include: Foster care documents stating closure of a case Court documents stating “state foster care” involvement Adoption paperwork completed by the originating state.
Star of Texas Award Be the child of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award as a peace officer (3106.002), firefighter (3103.003), or emergency first responder (3106.004) that were seriously injured or lost their lives in the line of duty.	The office of the Governor, Criminal Justin Division honors recipients annually in September, The resolution (certificate) awarded to an individual serves as proof of eligibility to enroll their child in free Pre-K if they are age-eligible.
Homeless Defined by 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1143a

Eligibility

Documentation Needed

Language

Be unable to speak and comprehend the English language

Eligibility is determined by language assessment. Once your online registration is complete you will be contacted by the Language Testing Center to make an appointment for the language assessment.

Economically Disadvantaged

The student is eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program

Eligibility determined by the total combined household income and the number of family members in the household. Income is determined by the gross income. 2-3 months of income documentation are required.

2022-2023 Income Eligibility Guidelines for Determining Free and Reduced Price Benefits

Military

Be the child of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active duty by proper authority; (mobilized) or is the child of a member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving on active duty

DoD ID for active duty military

Documentation for Texas National Guard members or military reservists that they are in face on active duty.

Documentation stating the former military member sustained injury while on active duty, not necessarily in combat.

The links below contain detailed information for military qualification.

Prekindergarten for Dependents of
Active Duty Members of the Military

Foster Care

Currently, or has ever been in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (foster care) following an adversary hearing held as provided by Family Code §262.201 or has been in foster care in another state or territory, but currently lives in Texas.

Acceptable documentation to verify prekindergarten eligibility for children who have been in foster care in Texas include:

DFPS foster/kinship placement documentation
PreK verification letter (this letter can be requested by sending the child’s full name and date of birth to: Prekverificationltrs@dfps.texas.gov) or contacting a DFPS Education Specialist

Acceptable documentation to verify prekindergarten eligibility for children who have been in foster care outside of Texas include:

Foster care documents stating closure of a case
Court documents stating “state foster care” involvement
Adoption paperwork completed by the originating state.

Star of Texas Award

Be the child of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award as a peace officer (3106.002), firefighter (3103.003), or emergency first responder (3106.004) that were seriously injured or lost their lives in the line of duty.

The office of the Governor, Criminal Justin Division honors recipients annually in September, The resolution (certificate) awarded to an individual serves as proof of eligibility to enroll their child in free Pre-K if they are age-eligible.

Homeless

Defined by 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1143a

Tuition-Based

Program Information

Northwest ISD offers tuition-based, 1/2 day Pre-Kindergarten for children who:

Are 4-years-old on or before September 1, 2023
Live within the Northwest ISD boundaries and
Does not qualify for free, state-funded Pre-K or Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE).

Tuition-Based Pre-Kindergarten is a half-day program. See Pre-Kindergarten Class Schedules below for morning and afternoon session times.

Tuition Pre-K is not available at full-day campuses. See Pre-Kindergarten Class Information for a list of half-day campuses.

A non-refundable registration fee of $125 is required upon acceptance into the tuition program.

Annual tuition for tuition-based Pre-K is $3065.00. Tuition can be paid annually, by semester, with two payments of $1532.50 or monthly in 10 installments beginning in August.

The first tuition payment, $181.50 ($306.50 less the $125.00 fee) is required by the due date in your tuition-agreement. Further payments ($306.50) are due according to the schedule located in the parent agreement and on the Pre-K webpage. A $25 late fee is charged to late payments.

A limited number of tuition-based seats will be available at campuses with a half-day Pre-Kindergarten programs. Because space is limited placement is initially decided through a lottery system. Lottery information is located in the next section.

Tuition-Based Lottery

Online Payment Information

Northwest ISD utilizes an online payment system designed to streamline payments for school activities. You may use it to pay for many school expenses including: Pre-K tuition, field trips, libraries, and other activities. New items will appear as they become available.

You will log in using the parent Home Access Center (HAC) account username/password. Make sure you go to the link for InTouch to pay your tuition. A direct link is included below.

If you do not know your HAC username/password combination, please contact your respective campus to have your account created and activated. The first thing most people do is change the password. If you change your password, it may take up to 24 hours to update. It is better to use the password given to make your first payment and then change the password.

NOTE: If you have more than one child in Northwest ISD, please contact your campus Registrar. They will be able to “link” multiple children to the same account. This will allow you to have a one-stop-online-shop to take care of all of your children’s needs.

You can pay your tuition at the campus with check, cash, cashier’s check, debit or credit card (Visa, Discover, MasterCard).
You can pay online with your debit or credit card (Visa, Discover, MasterCard).
Any automatic payments from your bank or charge account must be received by the payment due date. We are not responsible for payments that are scheduled and do not reach us by the correct date.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Online Payments

Pay Here

Payment Schedule

Additional Information

Campuses with Pre-Kindergarten

Campuses with Pre-Kindergarten Classes

Parents register their child for the Pre-K in their attendance area. Not sure of your attendance area? Click here.

Half Day Pre-K

For qualifying and tuition-based students available at:

Berkshire
Curtis
Haslet
Hatfield
JC Thompson
Lakeview
Lance Thompson (2)
Nance
Peterson
Sendera Ranch
Seven Hills

Full Day Pre-K

Students must qualify for Pre-K and live within the school attendance zones.
Tuition Pre-K is not available at full-day campuses.

Clara Love
Hughes
Justin
Prairie View (Prairie View and Seven Hills attendance zones)

Dual Language Pre-K

Students are assigned to the DL classroom designated by their attendance zone

Prairie View
Roanoke

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the age qualification for Prekindergarten?
To attend Prekindergarten children must be four-years-old by September 1st of the school year in which they are applying. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

Can my 3-year-old attend PreKindergarten?
No. Children who are three-years-old on September 1st are not eligible to attend PreKindergarten.

Where are Pre-K classes located?
Please go to the webpage Schools With Prekindergarten Classes for this information.

Can I attend any campus that has Pre-K?
Students attend Pre-K at the campus within their attendance zone. If there is not a Pre-K at your elementary home campus your child will attend the Pre-K campus designated for your attendance zone.

What are the times for Prekindergarten?
Prekindergarten is a five-day-a-week program. There is a morning and an afternoon class. The morning class is from 7:40am until 10:50am. The afternoon class is from 11:50 am until 3:00 pm.

Is there a school supply list for Prekindergarten?
Yes, there are designated supplies for Prekindergarten. If you have any questions about school supplies please contact your child's teacher or the school they will attend.

Is transportation available?
Prekindergarten students living in the attendance zone of the school they are attending and living outside a two mile radius of the school may ride the bus to school if attending a.m. Pre-K and may ride the bus home if attending afternoon Pre-K.

Is there mid-day bus service?
Mid-day bus service is available for students that live in the attendance zone of the school they are attending or the PreK transportation zone assigned to the PreK campus. To be eligible for mid-day transportation to the afternoon class or home from the morning class, the family home address must be outside the two mile radius of the PreK campus. Parents must fill out a transportation form requesting bus service before school begins so that the route can be established. This form will be available at the PreK campus during document review.

Does attendance really count in Pre-K?
Yes, it does. To receive the full benefit of the Prekindergarten program your child needs to be here every day for their class. Once you have enrolled your child in school they are expected to attend and fall under Compulsory Attendance Law. Refer to the link below to access the Student Handbook and Code of Conduct regarding state and district attendance laws and policies.

Registration

When do we register?
Kindergarten and Prekindergarten Round-Up will be held in the spring for the next school year. Families can register this week or any time through the end of the school year. Families can also qualify and register during new student registration in August.

We don't live in Northwest ISD. Can we transfer from another district?
No. We do not take out of district transfers.

We will be out of town during Pre-Kindergarten registration. Can I still register?
Yes. Pre-Kindergarten registration continues through the end of the school year. Families can also qualify and register during new student registration in August.

Does my child need to attend registration?
If you are qualifying for the English as a Second Language (ESL) program there will be an English language assessment in order to qualify. Your child will need to at that appointment.

What if I do not have the necessary paperwork?
Please refer to the parent checklist page. All information is required. If all paperwork is not complete we cannot complete the registration process and place your child in a class.

Do I get a choice of attending the morning or afternoon class?
You may choose for your child to be placed in the morning or afternoon class as long as there are spaces available. Once your child is enrolled in a class that is the class they will be attending.

Immunization Requirements

4 year olds (Pre-K)

4 doses of DPT/DTaP/DT/TdaP/Td
3 doses Polio
1 dose MMR received on or after the 1st birthday*
3 doses Hib (one of which must be on or after 12 months) or 1 dose Hib after 15 months of age
2 doses Hepatitis A
3 doses Hepatitis B
Pneumococcal Conjugate (Prevnar, PCV7) - 4 doses given in infancy with one dose after age 1, or 2 doses if given between 12-24 months, or 1 dose if given after 24 months
1 dose Varicella (if child has not had chickenpox) *

*Doses given up to (and including) 4 days before the birthday will meet the requirements for school entry.

Exclusions from compliance are allowable on an individual basis as specified in Texas Education Code 2.09, Chapter 97. For further information, contact the school nurse.

Immunizations must be up to date in order for registration to be complete.

Please make sure your child's immunizations are up to date before coming to registration.

We are unable to complete your child's registration and place them in a class if immunizations are not up to date.

Planning ahead:

Prior to the start of Kindergarten or the age of 5 whichever comes first, each child is required to have another DTaP (#5), Polio (#4), MMR (#2), and Varicella (#2).