Question about Kindergarten (Colorado Springs: to rent, daycare, houses)

[MaggieMae813]

Hi Everyone!
I've been checking out this fantastic forum for the last few weeks and finally decided to poke my head out and say HI.
I've gotten so many answers to so many questions here so thank you to everyone!
My husband's company has relocated their Regional Office to the Colorado Springs area and we will be moving in that direction in a few weeks. We are super excited about the move... but everything is happening so fast that my head is spinning!
Our daughter starts Kindergarten this year and I'm a little confused by the whole Full Day / Half Day Kindergarten thing. Here in Albuquerque we only have Full Day Kindergarten so that's what she's been getting ready for. My husband and I both work full time so she's been in daycare all day since she was 18 months old.. and the daycare that she went to had a wonderfull Kindergarten Prep class that she has been in for the last year. She's super excited about starting school and I have no doubt that she's ready for full day classes and all of her teachers agree.
That being said...
I know that, in theory it should be stupid-proof to figure out (full day means she goes all day... half day means she only goes for half the day) but what's confusing me is how each district decides which child gets to go for the full day and which goes for half a day. And what are the odds of her getting a spot in a full day class since we are registering so late in the summer? I've checked the district websites and done searches here and all I've come up with is that Dist. 11 is the only one that offers Free Full Day Kindergarten.

The three districts that we keep finding houses in are Dist. 11, Dist. 20 and Dist. 49. I know that Dist. 20 is one of the best and I'm pretty sure that's where we will eventually buy a house... but we are looking to rent for a year before we do that.

If anyone could shed some light on this mystery for me I would really appreciate it!

Thanks so much!

[sskkc]

D20 has half day kindergarten, AM and PM classes. If you want her to go to full time (approx 8:20 to 3:15) then you have to pay. At the D20 school my kids attend, the full time class was never full. As the half day kids follow the same curriculum as the full day kids, you're essentially paying for daycare. (My youngest just finished kindergarten in D20)

D11 has full day kindergarten district wide. I don't know about D49.

I wanted to add...

if you are looking to move "in a few weeks", heads up. The neighborhood you choose to live in, may not be the neighborhood school she will attend. In D11, where the schools are "hit or miss", the good ones fill up early and late registrations get bussed to the schools that perform poorly. So, before you decide on a home based on it's local school, call the District and see if they can give you availability estimates. (This I learned when I called D11's office before our move last year)

As most folks wait til the last possible minute to register (late July/early August), expect long lines when you do register and harried district employees (This is what D20 told me when I moved here from Abq last year. We moved in June and the FIRST thing I did was register the kids, just in case - and do the online registration before you go too, it will cut your wait time down - you can do it up to 30 days in advance of going in person. You can do this part as soon as you have an address, you won't need to show proof of address til you get to the district offices. I used the address of a house in the neighborhood we were looking to rent in, to hold my kid's place until we got a real address).

[MaggieMae813]

Thank you so much!
That helps alot!

My husband is looking at 2 houses today (both in Dist. 11) so hopefully one will work out and we'll atleast have an address to go with. I know they both feed to good Elementary Schools but I had not considered that she wouldn't be able to attend the school for the neighborhood we were in. I will call the district to check availibility at both and that may just help us make our decision.
Thanks for the heads-up!

The school system in Colorado Springs really confuses me... but I guess it's just not what I'm used to. In Albuquerque everyone goes to Full Day Kindergarten at the school that's in their neighborhood. You can apply for a transfer if you need to but (atleast in the schools that I went to) most people don't. But... then again... Albuquerque only has one District. It's all Albuquerque Public Schools so that probably makes it easier.

Thanks again for your help!

[winter_wisteria]

we have permits available for most schools if there are openings, depending on where you live i don't think its hard to get the school of your choice. d-11 is a huge district, i believe its the 2nd largest in the state. full time kindergarten is 8am to 2:30, i agree with sskkc, call now and see what is available.

[kristie73]

I'm in district 49 and my son is about to start full-day kindergarten this August. I have to pay for it, but it's worth it. I pay anyway for preschool and daycare so it's actually going to be cheaper for me to do paid full-day kindergarten and before/after school daycare. I'm excited for him. He also had to apply through a lottery and he got in. I'm not sure about it otherwise. I don't know if all elementary schools offer full day kindergarten in District 49. He will go to Ridgeview elementary.