Capuano student in class

Enroll in Preschool

Enroll your child now: Enrollment 2024-2025

OVERVIEW

Somerville Public Schools offers three publicly available preschool programs that do not require referral and are free: prekindergarten, Sonrisa prekindergarten, and Early Childhood Intervention Program. 

Prekindergarten/Sonrisa Enrollment Timeline

For Students Starting School in Fall 2024

  • Online enrollment starts January 3, 2024 for the 2024–2025 school year. Enrollment 2024-2025 webpage.
  • Ongoing enrollment assistance is available through a scheduled appointment at the Enrollment Office (167 Holland Street). Please call 617-629-5670. The office is open Monday–Friday from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. The last appointment starts at 3:00 p.m.
  • February 23, 2024: enrollment deadline for participating in the first batch of school assignments. Prekindergarten assignment letters or emails are sent out by the Enrollment Office for first batch registrations during the week of March 18.
  • November Prekindergarten Registration Information Sessions (past). Watch a video to learn about SPS enrollment in EnglishSpanishPortuguese or Haitian Creole
    • Recording of November 14, 2023 online registration information session
    • Prekindergarten from November 14, 2023 Information Session Slideshow
  • November–January: PK–8 School Open Houses and School Tours. Learn more about our schools by looking at the Open House webpage for slideshows about schools, visiting school websites, and talking to school liaisons.
    • Wednesday, November 29, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
    • Thursday, December 7, 2023 from 9:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.
      • Snow date (if necessary): Wednesday, December 19, 2023
    • Tuesday, January 9, 2024 from 9:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.
      • Snow date (if necessary): Thursday, January 11, 2024

Prekindergarten Program Overview

The Somerville Public Schools offers free prekindergarten for a limited number of children at the Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center, Argenziano School, East Somerville Community School, West Somerville Neighborhood School, Kennedy School, Arthur D. Healey School, and Winter Hill Community Innovation School. Students must be 4 years old by August 31st. The prekindergarten program runs from 8:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., Monday–Friday. 


SONRISA BILINGUAL PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM for Spanish Heritage Speakers

The Sonrisa program is a bilingual prekindergarten classroom located at the Arthur D. Healey School. The program serves four-year-old students from families who speak Spanish at home. In Sonrisa, all children will have the opportunity to affirm their cultural heritage while they develop age-appropriate literacy skills in Spanish and English. Children will receive 80% of their instruction in Spanish, focusing on foundational literacy, and 20% of their instruction in English. This program follows the same curriculum as other SPS prekindergarten classrooms. Spanish-speaking families may enroll their children in Sonrisa through the SPS enrollment portal. Watch a video about the program.


AFTERSCHOOL FOR STUDENTS 4 YEARS AND OLDER

Separate from the SPS preschool programs, the district also offers afterschool programming for students ages 4 and older, based on a lottery system through a separate enrollment process than the one described on this page. Somerville Community Schools offers afterschool programming until 5:30 p.m. at all preschool sites, but there are limited spaces available and families are charged a weekly rate. Financial assistance is available. For more details including program curriculum, fee scale, and enrollment information, visit the Community Schools webpage.


Enrollment links for current 2023-2024 School Year

The links below are for the CURRENT school year, NOT for students matriculating in fall 2024.

  • Register for the 2023-2024 School Year using this link: English
  • Usando este enlace usted está haciendo la registración para el año escolar actual 2023-2024: Español
  • Matricule seu filho para o ano letivo de 2023-2024 usando esta link: Português
  • Enskripsyon pou ane eskolè 2023-2024 la sèvi avèk lyen sa-a: Kreyòl Ayisyen

ECIP Program 

The Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP) is an inclusive, multi-sensory program. The ECIP program is designed to meet the needs of children ages 3-5 that have been identified in need of specially designed instruction due to a disability. ECIP includes peer partners from the community. Students with and without disabilities benefit from this philosophy, as the classes provide a rich, language-based curriculum with a multisensory, developmental approach to teaching. Peers being considered for admission must be three years old, toilet trained, and will participate in age-appropriate developmental screening. Classrooms are located at the Capuano Early Education Center and the program hours are 8:30 a.m. – 1:45 p.m., Monday through Friday, following the Somerville Public Schools calendar. Visit the ECIP informational page to learn more.

Register for ECIP

Enrollment for peers in the ECIP program is completely separate from the prekindergarten and Sonrisa prekindergarten enrollment process.

ECIP Enrollment Timeline

2024–2025 Enrollment Information 

The following is a list of the steps toward enrollment. Dates, a meeting link, and links to forms will be added at a later point.

  • January 29, 2024: Registration form goes live at 9:00 a.m. Link to register
  • March 27, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.: In-person parent information session meeting at the Capuano Early Childhood Center
  • April 3, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.: Virtual parent information session (link coming soon)
  • April 12, 2024: Application deadline for lottery screening participation
  • April 30, May 1, and May 2, 2024: Developmental screening
  • May 10, 2024: Lottery announced in the Capuano cafeteria

Please visit our Somerville Public Schools Preschool Programs webpage on the Early Education website, for a broader overview of our preschool programming within early education in Somerville.