Pre-School
The Orange Elementary School System operates a “Lottery" for acceptance into the Preschool Program. Our Special Education/General Education integrated Preschool Program enrolls children who are three or four years old who meet special education eligibility and lottery winners as community peers. Our Preschool Program enriches each child's social, emotional, physical, cognitive, intellectual, and creative abilities through early academic and social experiences. It is designed to prepare the children for early success and school readiness.
Community peer children are selected through the "Lottery". This fee-based Preschool Program is held 5-days/week, for 3-hrs/day. No transportation is provided for general education community peers.
The Preschool Program follows the district's school year calendar: the AM class is held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and the PM class is held from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Each classroom is a blend of three and four year old children. Class sizes are limited to a total of 12 students per class, which includes our students who receive special education services. By law, students with special needs identified with an IEP are placed in the Pre-School Program by the Dept. of Special Services through the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) process.
In order to participate in the lottery the child must be 3 yrs. old but not older than 4 years old by September 1st. All children must be toilet trained and a bona-fide Orange resident.
The lottery is conducted in two stages:
One: All names are ‘picked out of a hat' by age group for the “limited number of available spaces”, with the remaining names drawn and placed on a waiting list.
Two: The 2nd drawing decides if the child will attend the AM or PM class to balance each classroom with an equal amount of 3 yr. old and 4 yr. old children.
If you wish to have your child participate in the Lottery please call the Special Services Dept. during the months of Dec. and January at (203-891-8023) between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to place your child on the list. We will be accepting names for the blind lottery up until 4:00 p.m. on the last school day in January. Parents will be mailed a letter of the lottery results in the early weeks of February.
A tuition deposit will reserve the space in the classroom for your child. Your deposit is the first month's tuition for September. Registration paperwork needs to be completed by the end of March. Any further questions call the Special Services Dept. (203-891-8023) at the Orange Board of Education.