Full Day Kindergarten (south suburbs) (Denver, Littleton: day care, neighborhood, school districts)

[mommymaci]

Hi! We are considering a move to the Denver area for a job opportunity around the DTC/Meridian. I have been researching the south suburbs and just realized that Kindergarten is half day in most school districts. Can anyone tell me of any school districts that have free full day kindergarten? It could be a factor in where we decide to live. Thanks so much!

[Winter01]

We live in Jeff Co and it is half day kinder as well. You can pay $300 per month here for full day. Douglas County and Cherry Creek also have the option to pay for full day--I think most of the districts do. I don't know of any districts that offer it for free. I'm on the fence about what I will do when my 3 year old enters kindergarten. He misses the cut off by less than 2 weeks so he will be almost 6 when he starts. I might just pay and have him go full day to be on the same schedule as his older siblings.

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by mommymaci

Hi! We are considering a move to the Denver area for a job opportunity around the DTC/Meridian. I have been researching the south suburbs and just realized that Kindergarten is half day in most school districts. Can anyone tell me of any school districts that have free full day kindergarten? It could be a factor in where we decide to live. Thanks so much!

I am only familiar with the Cherry Creek school district so I will speak to that.

There are six schools that provide full-day kindergarten in the Cherry Creek School district: Eastridge, Highline Community, Holly Hills/Ridge, Independence, Ponderosa, and Village East.

Apparently there is no budget to extend it to any additional schools.


I found this on the district website:

"Extended-day kindergarten enrichment program - Many of our elementary schools offer a half-day extension to their regular kindergarten half-day program. This extension is not a regular part of the district curriculum, but an alternative to day care and is offered to parents for a fee. The program is approved on an annual basis after space needs for regular programs are determined."

Kindergarten Enrichment

Also, FYI, kindergarten registration officially starts this month (!) for the coming school year.

Kindergarten Roundup

[chilicheesefries]

In Littleton Public Schools, most of the elementary schools offer full-day 'enrichment' for a cost, but there are a few of them that offer free full day Kindergarten. Those probably fill up with open enrollment pretty quick though and the registration has already opened. The full-day ones include Hopkins, Moody, East and a few others.

[SnowinCo]

Full day kindergarten is done on lottery basis since the demand is high. I would check out Willows which is very convenient to DTC and has pool for swim lessons in summer.

[mommymaci]

Thanks for the responses, apparently I failed to "subscribe" to my post so I didn't see any of the responses until now.

The reason I was asking was that where we live now, we have full-day Kindergarten. My daughter makes the cutoff by 4 weeks. Her 3 older brothers missed the cutoff so they were all almost 6 when they started school and I liked it like that. She is the most immature of my kids an I strongly feel that she's not ready for full-time K. I had already decided to redshirt her and keep her in part-time preschool for another year, then send her to full-time Kinder when she turns 6. But our move to CO changes everything for me. For one thing, she makes the cutoff by almost 2 months (birthday is August 2) and with it being part-time, I could essentially get what I wanted and not pay for tuition. And then if I don't feel she's ready for 1st grade, there is the option to repeat K. Anyone have an opinion on this? Would a school fight me about repeating her if the parent feels strongly about it?

Thanks for any input!

[Metairie]

Do kids in the ASD program (special needs) get the full day without paying offered, or do the parents still need to pay and do the lottery?

[sdlaura]

We live in Parker/ The Pinery (Douglas County) and have an option for full-time kindergarten. I believe it's $400/month-ish... my kids are still too young, so I don't have exact numbers.

[momof4prek-12]

My kindergartener is enrolled at Collegiate Academy of Colorado in Littleton. I was hesitant at first because it was a charter school and I haven't had any experience with them. My oldest two children went to neighborhood elementary schools. I decided to try it because I couldn't beat the savings of $300 per month. It turned out to be a wonderful decision. I have been very impressed by the teaching staff and both principals of the school and their commitment to reaching each child effectively. On top of that the smaller school offers a small town community in the suburbs. Upper classmen intern in the lower grade classrooms, in the office, and at after school activities which benefits all of the children. The families are encouraged to spend time in the classrooms and at other activities which provides additional opportunities for relationships to build. It really has been a fantastic year so far and I encourage you to check them out.