Pre-Kindergarten

Wichita Public Schools offers free Pre-kindergarten programs for children who are 4 years old on or before Aug. 31 of the school year they will begin attending. 

Information for 2024-25

Applications for the 2024-25 school year opened in March 2024 for any students who turned 4 after August 31, 2023 or will turn 4 by August 31, 2024. We continue to accept applications during the school year as long as space is available. Please complete the interest form below to start the process.

Please note: Transportation and latchkey are not provided.

Para ayuda en español llame al (316) 866-8038.

Early childhood learning is important to academic success for the rest of a child's life! Pre-kindergarten provides students with a rich curriculum and an innovative, engaging environment where purposeful play leads to learning in reading, writing, math, music, arts and more.  

The district's pre-kindergarten (or pre-k) program for four year olds is free of charge when the students or families meet at least one qualifying factor. Beginning in 2023-24, a limited number of spots will be available only at Little Early Childhood Center, also free of charge, for three year olds (all three-year-old spots have been filled, and the wait list is closed as of May 22, 2023).

Students attend school for three hours each day, in either the morning or afternoon. If childcare is needed for the other portion of the day, please discuss this with your Early Childhood specialist. 

The family must be able to transport the child to and from school or arrange for the transportation, and they are required to complete the federal free and reduced meal program application to help the Early Childhood program receive the funding needed to make pre-k available to families for free. We also ask that parents ensure the student attends school regularly to develop positive attendance habits for future grades.

Pre-k spots are also available through Wichita Public Schools at The Opportunity Project (TOP) North and Northwest.