Ready for Kindergarten?

Under the Clarkston Community Schools open-enrollment (“school-of-choice”) program, Kindergarten and Young Fives students who reside outside of district boundaries are eligible to enroll in Clarkston Community Schools for Kindergarten and Young Fives and continue with the district throughout their academic career. School-of-choice open enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year has not yet been Board approved.

The application period is typically held in May-June, and families are notified of their acceptance and school placement in early August. 

Application Information

Parents who reside within district boundaries may request that their child attend a Clarkston school outside of their home-school attendance area. Parents must complete an “In-District School of Choice Request” and submit it to centralenroll@clarkston.k12.mi.us. Parents will be notified by mid-August regarding the status of their request. Approvals for School of Choice are based on class size. Transportation is the parent/guardian's responsibility. 

If a child turns five years old between June 1– December 1, 2021, he/she is eligible to attend our Young Fives Program for the 2021-2022 school year. It is Clarkston’s practice that students turning five years old between September 1 and December 1 to attend our Young Fives program to develop:

• Confidence
• Social skills
• Oral language development
• Motor skills
• Attention span
• Independence
• School readiness

Our Young Fives Program is a full-day program with classes located at our elementary sites.

Please contact the principal of the building your child will (or may) be attending. They will be happy to speak with you and answer any questions you may have.

Please contact your home school to discuss this placement decision.

Clarkston residents attending Kindergarten or Young Fives at their home school will be provided district transportation. (District transportation is provided to children living more than one mile from their home school.)

Parents will be required to provide transportation for children attending Kindergarten or Young Fives outside of their home school attendance area.

Kindergarten and Young Fives Orientation is a time for parents to introduce their future Kindergarten or Young Fives student to their enrolled school. Parents receive information about the school and the Kindergarten or Young Fives day. 

At a typical orientation, students spend time with teachers listening to a story, drawing, playing, and getting to know other children; however, in 2020, the pandemic required that Kindergarten and Young Fives Orientation to be held virtually. (You can take a look at last year's Orientation materials by visiting your home school's website and selecting Kindergarten or Young Fives under "Academics.")

Virtual Orientations for Young Fives and Kindergarten will be available on your school’s website on April 29, 2021. Efforts will be made to bring students and teachers together in-person prior to the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

The enrollment process does not have to be done again if your student is currently in the Young Fives Program. Your student will be rolled up to Kindergarten in their home school. This is also true for Kindergarten students, they will be rolled up to First Grade.