Some parents have contacted the Vancouver School Board to ask about processes for kindergarten enrolment given that the process begins on November 1. With the potential of school closures, we wanted to clarify our kindergarten registration processes for those parents who may be impacted should any school close by a Board decision in December.

The common question we receive is:

I live in the catchment of a school selected for possible closure and need to register my child for Kindergarten for September 2011.  Where do I register?

The Vancouver School District provides parents registering for Kindergarten with a 3 month priority time period to register at their neighbourhood in catchment school. Applications for all Kindergarten programs (including regular English, French Immersion, Montessori and Fine Arts) for the 2011/2012 school year will be accepted starting Monday, November 1, 2010. 

Catchment students applying for registration between November 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011 will be given first consideration over those who apply later.  Read here for the District's registration procedures for Kindergarten.

The Board of School Trustees will not be making a decision about school closure until December 14, 2010.  As such, the District encourages you to follow the below process:

 

• If your child was born in Canada, register at your local neighbourhood school for Kindergarten, even if the school is being considered for possible closure.  You can register as early as November 1, 2010 and as late as January 31, 2011.

• If your child was born outside of Canada or if does not speak English astheir home language, please follow the District's registration procedures and register your child at the District Reception and Placement Centre.

• If it is decided on December 14, 2010 that your school will be closed, and you have submitted your Kindergarten registration information to that school, your registration information will be included in the District's plan for the overall placement of students in that school community.

 

Under the District's Kindergarten registration procedures schools are expected to provide all families who submit a Kindergarten application prior to January 31, 2011 with notification of the school their child will be attending by March 31, 2011. 

The District's expects that by March 31, 2011 all Kindergarten parents who registered prior to January 31, 2011 will know of the school their child is attending, including those families who registered at a school that may be closing.

You are entitled, as any other parent, to apply cross-boundary if you wish to do so.  Cross-boundary applications for a school other than their neighbourhood school will be accepted from February 1, 2010 through March 1, 2010.

For further information about the new Kindergarten registration procedures, please see the Kindergarten Frequently Asked Questions.

Click here for more information on potential school closures.