Pre-Kindergarten Program

VPKlong

Who is eligible to attend?

Any student who resides in the attendance boundaries of Sunset Elementary, and will be four on or before September 1st, of the incoming school year, is eligible to apply.

What will I need to submit with the application?

The application consists of the following:

  1. Original Birth Certificate
  2. Parent Picture ID
  3. Updated Immunizations Forms
  4. Certificate of Eligibility (Obtained from Child Development Services)
  5. Two Documents (listed under parent’s name) showing proof of address
  6. Original FPL Bill, Proof of Purchase, Warranty Deed, Homestead Exemption, or Properly Executed Lease Agreement
  7. No phone, water or cable bills will be accepted.

How will students be selected?

As the documents are returned, the children’s names will be placed on a preliminary roster. The preliminary roster is not a waiting list and is only a worksheet. Eighteen randomly selected students will be chosen. If selected, the student will be placed on a Final Roster. Students not selected will be placed on a waiting list and will be notified if and when a space becomes available. Parents will be notified of lottery results by school personnel via phone and/or mail and must register their child within 10 days of notification. Parents of children accepted into the program must sign their Certificate of Eligibility (Obtained from Child Development Services) and complete the registration process by the deadline or forfeit their slot. Parents of children selected after the deadline are subject to available slots. However, all forms must be signed and completed at time of acceptance.

VPK covers the first 3 hours of school (8:20-11:20). If registering for a full day program (8:20-1:50), first payment is due before the 1st day of school. Contact the Main Office at (305) 661-8527 for fee schedule information.

When do I apply for admission to the school?

The Application dates are given by the school district and usually announced in February. There is a 2 week window for the application process, which is the same for all Miami-Dade County Public Schools, concluded with a Lottery open to parent viewing. Registration is to be completed within 10 days of the lottery. There will be a Parent Orientation in May and a Student Orientation in August. All dates are to be announced. Children accepted into the Pre-K program must reapply for Kindergarten and are not guaranteed a spot for the following school year.

For additional information, contact the Main Office, at (305) 661-8527.

About Pre-K

The Pre-K day is from 8:20 to 1:50 which consists of two parts: 1) 8:20 -11:20: VPK and 2) 11:20-1:50: Enrichment, which includes lunch and outdoor activities. There are 18 students in the Pre-K classroom with one teacher and one paraprofessional. We use the Houghton Mifflin Pre-K Curriculum, which was adopted by MDPS in 2008. It teaches through 10 themes which last about 3 weeks each. You may visit www.EduPlace.com for more information. Phonological Awareness, Shared Reading, Small Group (Math and Literacy) Activities, Large Group Discussions and Writing topics are taken from this curriculum. To enhance the program, we also use Handwriting With-out Tears to promote proper handwriting skills and Heidi Songs to introduce and teach sight words.  

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