fort worth area schools?? (Amarillo: day care, elementary schools, income)

[jsullivan5]

we are thinking about moving to the fort worth area or surrounding cities. trying to find out which elementary schools offer pre k in with their elementary school! Will have a 7 year old who will be in 2nd grade and a 4 year old who wants to start school!

[TurtleCreek80]

1. You need to post in FW.

2. Public PreK in Texas is need-based. You have to be below a certain income level (near poverty or just above) OR be military/vetran to qualify.

[jsullivan5]

We live up in the panhandle by Amarillo, and in these small little towns all the schools have PreK! and its open for everyone! So everyone sends their kids when they are 4 years old at the beginning of the school year! I had no idea that it would be so different in the city! Do most people just not send them until Kindergarten? Or do alot of people send them to some kind of other pre school?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Many churches offer pre-K, actually starting at 3 y/o. My grandkids go to their church's program which is NOT day care, it is an academic program.

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by jsullivan5

We live up in the panhandle by Amarillo, and in these small little towns all the schools have PreK! and its open for everyone! So everyone sends their kids when they are 4 years old at the beginning of the school year! I had no idea that it would be so different in the city! Do most people just not send them until Kindergarten? Or do alot of people send them to some kind of other pre school?

Most kids go to pre-K at churches, private schools or community centers. The parents pay. Many of the parks & recreation departments offer low priced pre-K programs. But to qualify for public Pre-K, as has been noted, you need to be typically a food stamp eligible family, have English as the second language in the household, or be a military family.

[artforall]

Also, a special need, like speech, will qualify you for public pre-k. Can be a long process, though.