Shonneice Wallace wants to give her 3-year-old son Malik a jumpstart on his education, and in the process continue a family legacy at Dallas ISD’s Birdie Alexander Elementary School.
“A lot of my family members have gone there,” Wallace said. “I just want to better his learning, and to have him learn how to interact with other kids.”
In another room set up to allow children to play while their parents completed the enrollment process, Malik was already on his way to being a great pre-K student. He played respectfully with the other children and found several toys that interested him.
If all goes well, Malik will join his sister, who will attend the first grade this fall at Alexander.
Stella Kastl, Enrollment Manager for Early Learning, said that more than 9,118 pre-K applications had been submitted online as of Monday, Aug. 1. That leaves an estimated 3,000 seats still available of the roughly 12,000 total spots across the district.
“It’s been going very, very well,” Kastl said. “We want to maximize the seats. Some areas are full, while others have spots available. Parents have to decide whether they can get their child to a school that may be further from home.”
A new service this year is offering transportation for pre-K students. Students in 4-year-old pre-K can be transported to and from school; 3-year-olds may either be transported to school or to home.
Parents can register their children for pre-K until Tuesday, Aug. 8, at the Early Learning offices at Nolan Estes Plaza, 3313 S. Beckley Ave., Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75224.
The process to apply for a spot in a Dallas ISD pre-K classroom starts with filling out the application, which is available at www.prekdallas.org. Then, parents can visit the Early Learning offices to complete the process through Tuesday, Aug. 8. After that, enrollment must be completed at the campus the child will attend.
After application documents are reviewed and verified, parents receive a school ID number for their child and can complete the rest of the process on site at computers set up just for them. Children receiving language testing if necessary, for example, if English is not their home language. Parents receive an answer on site about their child’s enrollment.
Another convenience offers more information by use a mobile phone to text the word PREK to (972) 687-7735.
Kastl recommends that parents with children eligible for pre-K should apply as soon as possible, because the spots are filling fast.
