Is it too late to go to open houses and enroll my kid in preschool for Sept?

[Anonymous]

I had no idea I was supposed to be looking at preschools NOW for september enrollment. A friend told me she has already gone to all open houses and applied for preschools for Sept. Our kids are both going to be 2 in the spring. I want my 2 year old to go to preschool in Sept -- is it too late for me to see the schools and enroll? I had no clue I had to do this stuff so far in advance. What if I have missed the advertised Open Houses (most of which were in January)?? someone help me and guide me. I have no idea what I am supposed to do!

[Anonymous]

Where are you located? I can give you some suggestions if you let me know in what part of the Metro area you're looking.

But generally you are correct - many, many preschools are sending their admissions decisions out this week. Admissions closed in late January or eary Feb.

[Anonymous]

don't fret!! =you're not late--you're early, but for fall of 2014, not 2013. Most true preschools (as opposed to full-time daycares with preschool programming) won't accept kids unless they're 2.5 (in the case of St Columba, for example, 3) by September--meaning your child is likely too young for this fall anyway.

You might check out this recent post which asked a similar question--but again, most of these schools are unlikely to accept your DC this year because of age cutoff:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/287524.page

[Anonymous]

some have rolling admissions - where are you located?

[Anonymous]

I am located in the Falls Church area. my child will be 2 years and 5 months by September 2013. Can I still get her into a preschool that is close by?

[Anonymous]

Start calling nearby schools. Most have rolling admissions but you need to get on a wait list asap.

[Anonymous]

I've heard good things about Dulin. Looks like you can still apply for their 2s program.

[Anonymous]

In general, yes, it's too late for the Arlington/falls Church preschools.
Have you checked the Falls Church Day School?

[Anonymous]

Tender Roots in Arlington has a great 2 year old program but a parent (or caregiver) attends with the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tender Roots in Arlington has a great 2 year old program but a parent (or caregiver) attends with the child.

And it is definitely not too late to apply there.

[Anonymous]

Falls church day school should still be open, also check out pine crest. I started late too, and was on the wait list for most places, and turns out, they all called in June or July to offer me a spot.

[Anonymous]

If you can still apply to at least get on the wait list, I'd do it. We've gotten DS into 2 programs at the beginning of Dec - 1st when 2.5 yo, then again (for complicated reasons) at 3.5 yo. The first place was really more of a daycare, but the 2nd one was a preschool that is otherwise hard to get into during the regular admission process. They happened to have a family leaving, and we were able to slide into the spot. These places were in Fairfax and Falls Church, so they're in your area. It may not be ideal, but you may be able to get in a little after the school year starts. And presumably, your DC will be there for a few years after that, so not too bad in the grand scheme of things.