Capuano student in class

Preschool

Enroll for 2024–2025 (current) school year

Preschool Overview

Somerville Public Schools offers three, free public preschool programs.

  1. Prekindergarten: 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. 
  2. Sonrisa bilingual prekindergarten program for Spanish heritage speakers: The Sonrisa program is a bilingual prekindergarten classroom located at the East Somerville Community 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.
  3. Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP): Click here to learn about ECIP enrollment. Please note that ECIP enrollment is a fully separate process from our prekindergarten and Sonrisa enrollment process.

 

Enroll in Prekindergarten or Sonrisa

For School Year 2025–2026

Get Ready to Enroll

  • Somerville children eligible for preschool will be 4 years old by August 31, 2025. Many families will receive information packets in the mail on the week of November 4, 2024. 
  • We held information sessions about enrolling a child in Somerville Public Schools. You can watch the recorded presentation Prekindergarten Enrollment Information Session or review the PK Slideshow.
  • Visit PK schools during Open House Days and take a school tour. 12/6/2024, 1/9/2025, 1/30/2025. Learn more on the Open House page.

Information and Timeline for Enrollment 

  • Enroll online between January 3, 2024 and February 21, 2025. This is called the priority enrollment period and by enrolling before the deadline, you increase the chances your child will be able to attend your first choice school.
  • Enrollment assistance is available online, in-person, or by phone at the Enrollment Office. Families are encouraged to call ahead for an appointment to speak with multilingual staff. Appointments are available Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visit the Enrollment Office homepage to learn more.
  • School assignments are sent to families who enrolled before the February 21 deadline during the week of March 17, 2025.

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Enroll in ECIP

Details about 2025-2026 ECIP Enrollment Coming Soon. The program full for 2024-2025 School Year. 

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. 

Information and Timeline for ECIP Enrollment

2025–2026 School Year

  • January 1, 2025: Registration form goes live at 9:00 a.m. 
  • March 26 at 9:00 a.m.: In-person parent information session meeting at the Capuano Early Childhood Center
  • April 2 at 6:00 p.m.: Virtual parent information session
  • April 11: Application deadline for lottery screening participation
  • April 29, April 30, and May 1: Developmental screening
  • May 9: Lottery announced in the Capuano cafeteria, if necessary
  • Visit the ECIP informational page to learn more.

 

AFTERSCHOOL at SPS 

Visit the Community Schools webpage to learn about our in-house, tuition-based SPS after school program for students ages 4 and older. Enrollment is a separate enrollment process from preschool enrollment, administered by the Community Schools Office. The program runs at all preschool sites until 5:30 p.m. Spaces are limited spaces and not all students who get a preschool spot will get an afterschool spot. Families must apply directly through Community Schools and spots are assigned through a lottery system. Financial assistance is available to those who qualify. 

SPS works closely with City of Somerville departments and partner early education providers to deliver early education and care to as many families as possible. Learn more on the Early Education and Care website.