Prince Street Elementary Now Registering Students for New Full-Day Prekindergarten; Special Registration Event July 6-7

Wicomico County Public Schools is pleased to announce that Prince Street Elementary will have full-day Prekindergarten for the 2017-2018 school year, providing greater educational opportunities for students as they prepare to enter Kindergarten.

Prince Street will hold a special Prekindergarten Registration Event from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, July 6 and Friday, July 7. On these two days the school will have extra registration staff as well as Spanish and Haitian Creole interpreters on hand to provide the best possible service to families.

“I feel that full-day Prekindergarten will give a better opportunity for us to get children school ready, educating them early and for a full day so they’ll be prepared to be successful in Kindergarten. We are delighted that Prince Street Elementary has just received a Prekindergarten Expansion Grant to expand our Prekindergarten program to four full-day classes starting this fall,” Principal Jason Miller said. “We’re eager for parents in the Prince Street serving area to come in as soon as possible so all of us – students, parents, and school staff – can begin preparing for full-day Prekindergarten in September.”

Children in the Prince Street attendance area must be age 4 by Sept. 1, 2017 to sign up for full-day Prekindergarten at Prince Street. No special permission requests to attend Prince Street for Prekindergarten will be considered, due to grant stipulations. Prince Street’s expansion to full-day Prekindergarten is made possible by a federal and state grant awarded by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Prince Street is open weekdays (except July 4) and is ready now to register children for full-day Prekindergarten. Families may visit the school office to register from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. each day. Please call 410-677-5813 for information.

Prince Street families that registered children for Prekindergarten at the spring Registration Fair do not need to register again, as the child will automatically be considered for the full-day Prekindergarten program.

To register a student, please bring:

• Student’s birth certificate
• Student’s Social Security card
• Proof of income: Current pay stubs for any household income (2 if paid bi-weekly, 4 if paid weekly), notarized letter of income (if applicable). Proof of any additional income (State of Maryland Benefit Eligibility Letter or any state/federal assistance letter, etc.) 2016 tax return.
• Immunizations records and record of current physical
• IEP or 504 (if applicable)
• Court custody documents (if applicable)
• Two proofs of residency. Homeowner must present property tax bill plus one of the following: current gas, water or electric bill stating service and billing address. Renter/lessee must present current rental/lease agreement plus one of the following:current gas, water or electric bill stating service and billing address.

Priority Prekindergarten admission will be given to Prince Street children meeting any of these criteria:

• come from low-income (automatically eligible up to 300% level), at-risk, or homeless situations
• have prior participation in Head Start 
• experience challenges like emergency or health problems, limited English proficiency, or other home or family circumstances
• recommended for the program by government or court referral

The first round of acceptance letters for children who meet the criteria will be mailed June 30. Parents or guardians whose child does not meet these criteria can put the child’s name on a waiting list, which will be used to fill any remaining Prekindergarten slots at Prince Street. Documentation must be submitted prior to a child’s acceptance into the program. Families on the waiting list will be notified in late summer if space is available.

Wicomico Schools is growing its Prekindergarten program, and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donna C. Hanlin’s goal is to have Prekindergarten available for all children in the near future. In 2016-2017, 600 children were enrolled in Prekindergarten classes (compared to 1,156 in Kindergarten). Wicomico’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment data show that students who participated in public school Prekindergarten show greater readiness for Kindergarten.