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Transition to Kindergarten

TK Logo

Tumwater School District will begin accepting applications for the 2025-26 Transition to Kindergarten (TK) classrooms on June 30, 2025. The application window will run until August 31st 2025 at 4pm. Families will be notified regarding their eligibilty for screening the week of September 3-5 2025.

student with paint on hands

Application Link
Application Link (Spanish)

TK provides a free full-day program for students who are not already participating in a regular early childhood program. This program is designed to support students who face barriers to future school success. Students are eligible to participate in the TK program the school year prior to their kindergarten year.

Tumwater School District’s TK program is designed to meet the needs of students who do not currently have access to a regular early childhood program. Tumwater School District is committed to non-competition with community-based regular early childhood programs. TSD offers Transition to Kindergarten classrooms at two of our elementary schools.

Family Information

All students deserve access to quality early childhood programming before they start kindergarten. While there are several community-based early childhood programs in Tumwater, current data indicates that there are significant numbers of students who are not participating in any educational programs before they enter kindergarten.

TSD hopes to help address this need with Transition to Kindergarten classrooms. TSD’s TK program is focused on identifying children who face barriers to school success and have not had access to a regular early childhood program.

Participating students will have access to a full-day kindergarten readiness program. The teacher and paraeducator in the classroom will use a developmentally appropriate preschool curricula. TK students will participate in lunch, recess, and educational specialist activities. District transportation will be available for students who reside within the Peter G. Schmidt Elementary and Michael T. Simmons Elementary attendance areas.

Which children are eligible to attend?

Students must meet the following criteria:

  • Students who are not currently attending a regular early childhood program, including Head Start, ECAEP, private preschool, and daycare classrooms.
  • Are age-eligible to attend, turning 5 between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026.

Priority access will be granted in the following situations:

  • The student’s family income meets free and reduced lunch requirements.
  • The student’s family speaks multiple languages.
  • The student’s family is experiencing housing instability.
  • The student’s family comes from another historically marginalized population.
  • The student’s family meets one of the priority criteria listed above AND lives within the Peter G. Schmidt Elementary or Michael T. Simmons Elementary attendance areas.

 Transition to Kindergarten Key Takeaways

  • Tumwater School District offers Transition to Kindergarten (TK) classrooms at two of our elementary schools: Peter G. Schmidt Elementary and Michael T. Simmons Elementary.
  • The first day of TK will be Monday, November 3rd 2025. TK follows the district calendar for early release days and non-school days.
  • District transportation is not provided for students who reside outside of the Peter G. Schmidt Elementary and Michael T. Simmons Elementary attendance areas.
     
TK Student

 

Link to helpful Age Calculator Tool

https://www.calculator.net/age-calculator.html

 

Frequently Asked Questions