2024-25 Kindergarten

It's hard to believe that our 2024-25 school year will be starting in about 6 months! This means it's time to get information to families about how to enroll. Most of the information below is geared toward kindergarten families, although the enrollment information is similar.

If you have questions, please feel free to email me.

Tracy Thompson

Lester Park Admin Asst

tracy.thompson@isd709.org

Every ISD709 Elementary School has a Kindergarten Meet & Greet in March. This is a time for families to visit the kindergarten rooms, meet the teachers & principal, ask the office staff enrollment questions, finish enrolling, etc.

Any family with a child who will be 5 by Sept 1st can attend this event...even if they do not live within the school's boundaries, are still deciding on what school to send their child, or may wait another year to send their child to kindergarten.

Lester Park's Kindergarten Meet & Greet will be from 4pm-6pm on Thursday, March 21.

You can find more about it by clicking HERE.

We have a contact form for parents/guardians to fill out if they are interested in sending their child to Lester Park School for kindergarten this fall. It is here: 2024-25 Kindergarten Contact Information

Filling out this form will assure that we have your child's name and your contacts for emailing updates about registration & "Meet & Greet", and helpful late spring and summer information.

We found this contact form to be very valuable because:

• Normally, we only hear about incoming kindergarten students from Early Childhood Screening. Unfortunately not every family has signed up for this required screening (more info below), and therefore we don't know to send them registration information.
• The data we receive from Early Childhood Screening does not contain parents'/guardians' emails. Because most of our information goes out through email, families may miss some of this valuable information.
• Extra information is collected from this form such as nicknames and preschool history.

MN State Law requires a developmental and health screening for each child prior to enrollment in kindergarten. ISD709 Duluth provides free screening most weeks during the months of September to April, with one additional date scheduled each month from May to August.

View the Early Childhood Screening calendar online and arrange an appointment at isd.709.org/academics/early-childhood. Or Call 336-8816 or email ecscreening@isd709.org.

An equivalent screening can be accepted from another agency, county, or health care provider.

Click HERE to enroll your child

There are 3 required items that we must have before we can enroll your child:

• Registration - please complete online. We do have hardcopies but it can be difficult to read parents' handwriting, and sometimes parents miss required information on the hardcopy.
• Birth Verification - shows legal name and birthdate. Suggestions: birth certificate, hospital souvenir certificate, or passport.
• Residence Verification - Purchase or rental agreement, or tax statement. We cannot accept utility statements or a drivers license. Want to look up your property tax statement? Click here: https://apps.stlouiscountymn.gov/parceltaxlookup/

Enrollment information will be mailed to future Kindergarten families in late February. If your child has not had early childhood screening, or you have not filled out our contact form, we won't know to send you the mailing. Here is what's in our mailing:

• Our Family Letter
  
• Parent Input form
• A 4-page health and immunization form

When you come to the Meet & Greet, please bring:

• Parent Input form
• Health form IF it is filled out and signed by doctor & dentist. If your child does not have their next well check until later this spring or summer, please return it asap with the school office is open.

Here are some tips:

• If you are having troubles uploading a birth or residence verification, you can:
  
• email a picture of it to tracy.thompson@isd709.org
• bring it with you to the Meet & Greet on March 21st & we will copy it.
• Stop by between 7am-3pm and the office can make a copy of it.
• Other problems? Email tracy.thompson@isd709.org

• June 21 - School Office closes for the summer
• Aug 12 - School Office opens up for the school year
• Aug 23 - Typically when teacher assignments are available on the Parent Portal
• Aug 28 - Typically when we have our K-5th Grade Open House
• Sep 3 - First day of school for 1st-5th grades
• Sep 3&4 - Individual Kindergarten meetings with parents/children/teachers
• Sep 5 - First day of school for Kindergarten

Lester Park School Website has:

• Newsletter examples
• Calendar

Looking for contact information for other ISD709 Duluth Elementary Schools? Click here: https://www.isd709.org/academics/kindergarten