Your child is entitled to attend kindergarten the year he or she turns five. (If your child has his birthday in late September, October, November or December, he may begin school in September when he is still four.) For information on how to enroll, see our page on New to NYC   or call the Department of Education at (718) 935-2009.

You may "apply" to kindergarten at any public school but your child will usually be assigned to a school according to your address - that is, your zoned school. If your zoned neighborhood school is overcrowded, your child may be assigned to a school with more space. Call the parent coordinator at your neighborhood school to see if there is typically a waiting list for kindergarten. Remember, you are guaranteed a seat in kindergarten.

Special education services and English as a Second Language are available in your neighborhood school.

If you are unsatisfied with your zoned school, you may want to considerother options.

Some public schools have pre-kindergarten classes for 4-year-olds. Pre-kindergarten classes tend to be concentrated in high-poverty areas.