Kent County Public Schools is pleased to offer full-day pre-kindergarten at all three of our elementary schools in addition to kindergarten. The State of Maryland requires children to attend kindergarten before entering first grade.

Kent County Public Schools offers free full-day pre-kindergarten to all children who reside in Kent County and will be 4 years of age on or before Sept. 1. The overall goal of the program is to provide learning experiences to develop and maintain school readiness skills necessary for successful school performance. The program achieves this goal by providing developmentally appropriate experiences that address the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical needs of young children.

Maryland requires children who are 5 years of age by Sept. 1 to register and attend kindergarten before going into first grade. There are some exceptions to the law.

Each elementary school holds a registration day in the spring for pre-K and kindergarten. Call your child's home school to schedule an appointment on registration day. 

This year's elementary registration dates are:

The State of Maryland requires a physical examination by a physician or certified nurse practitioner be completed within nine months prior to entering the public school system or within six months after entering the system.

Evidence of complete primary immunizations against certain childhood communicable diseases is required for all students in preschool through the 12th grade. Click here to view the Maryland Department of Health's Vaccine Requirements for the 2024-25 school year.

The state also requires blood testing for all students who reside in a designated at-risk area when first entering prekindergarten, kindergarten and first grade.

• Record of Physical Examination

• Immunization Certificate

• Blood Lead Testing Certificate

• Medication Administration Authorization

Copies of the forms in Spanish and action plan forms for allergies, asthma and diabetes can be found on the Kent County Health Department's School Health page: https://kenthd.org/childrens-health/school-health.

• the child’s birth certificate

• completed Immunization and Health Inventory forms

• proof of residence, such as a utility bill, tax bill or lease agreement

• the child’s Social Security card

• the child's health insurance card

• the parent’s driver’s license or government-issued photo ID

• proof of custody if not a birth parent.

Kent County Public Schools has developed a process and guidelines for Early Admission to prekindergarten. The purpose is to provide guidelines for enrolling students into pre-K when they do not meet the mandatory age requirement. Applicants for early admission to pre-K will be considered only after all age eligible applicants at the school have been placed in pre-K.