INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The School District of Indian River County Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program, which offers 540 hours of free instruction to children ahead of their first year in kindergarten, will begin accepting applications on June 3.To be eligible a child must be 4 years old on or before Sept. 1, 2010, and the family must reside within an eligible home school zone. The classes, to be held at at Dodgertown Elementary, Fellsmere Elementary, Pelican Island Elementary, Sebastian Elementary, and Thompson Lifelong Learning Center, will be filled by a computerized random lottery. Families in the Fellsmere Elementary school zone are eligible to participate in the lottery for the slots at Fellsmere Elementary; families in the Pelican Island Elementary, Sebastian Elementary and Treasure Coast Elementary school zones are eligible for the lottery for the slots at either Pelican Island Elementary or Sebastian Elementary; families in the Dodgertown Elementary school zone are eligible to participate in the lottery for the slots available at Dodgertown or the lottery for Thompson Lifelong Learning Center; families in the Beachland Elementary, Citrus Elementary, Highlands Elementary, Glendale Elementary and Vero Beach Elementary home school zones may participate in the lottery for the slots available at Thompson Lifelong Learning Center. Parents must provide proof of their child’s age and residency at the Pre-K Office Portable located in the east parking lot of the Freshman Learning Center at 1507 19th Street in Vero Beach. Dates and times for sign-ups are:• Thursday, June 3 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. • Friday June 4 from 8 a.m.to noon• Tuesday, June 8 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. • Wednesday, June 9 from 8 a.m. to noon• Aside from the above dates, a special sign-up date has been scheduled for Fellsmere Elementary. Interested Fellsmere families should bring documentation to the office at Fellsmere Elementary on Monday, June 7, 2010 anytime between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Contact information and complete eligibility documentation must be received at the Pre-K Office no later than Noon on June 9, 2010, to be included in the selection process. Letters informing families if their child has been accepted or wait-listed will be mailed out the week of June 21. If a child is not selected for the school district’s Pre-K program he or she will be eligible for another eligible Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten provider during the school year or from the school district during the summer prior to their entry into Kindergarten. A list of eligible voluntary pre-kindergarten providers can be obtained from the Early Learning Coalition of Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee counties at 1-877-220-1223 extension 260. For more information contact Kim McCorrison at 564-4169.
