Preschool FAQs

 Your child must be age 3 or 4 by September 30th of the school year you are applying to enroll.

If the parent/guardian’s home address where the child resides is not zoned for Norfolk Public Schools, then the child is not eligible to participate.

You will need to have an email account, your child’s birth certificate, proof of residency (lease, mortgage, utility bill - gas, water, or electric), physical or date of when the physical will take place, and proof of income (pay stub, W2, SSI verification, unemployment, child support, etc.). If your child has an individualized education plan (IEP) for specially designed instruction, please provide all of the documentation with your application. Without this information, your child’s application cannot be reviewed for acceptance into the program. If you already have a child in NPS, please login with your ParentVue information/credentials. 

If you do not have proof of address, are homeless, or living with family/friends, this will need to be identified on the application.

If your child has a documented disability, please be sure to provide all information including the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). If all documentation is not provided during the application process, it could result in your child being moved to a different program or school which may have different operating hours. If you have any questions regarding your child’s disability-based needs or suspect your child has a disability, please contact the Preschool Assessment Team at 757-852-4630 ext. 3510 or preschoolassessmentteam@nps.k12.va.us.

A: Birth certificates may be obtained from the Department of Vital Statistics in the state where the child was born. DMV will also issue original birth certificates (this can be faster). The Norfolk Health Department may also be able to assist you if your child was born in Virginia. It can sometimes be a long process, so we encourage you to obtain the certificate before your screening. If you are accepted and registered, you will have to have the original birth certificate. If you have a birth affidavit, you only have 30 days to produce the original. Without it, your child may not attend school.

NPS policy states that a child must have a Physical/Health Immunization form on file before the start of school.

NPS 

• JHCA (Student Physical Examinations) - Student physical examinations must be submitted to the school office within 15 days of receipt from the physician.
• JHCB (Student Immunizations) - Within 30 calendar days after the beginning of each school year or entrance of a student, each admitting official files a report with the local health department. The report is filed on forms prepared by the State Department of Health and states the number of students admitted to school with documentary proof of immunization, the number of students who have been admitted with a medical or religious exemption, and the number of students who have been conditionally admitted, including those students who are homeless children or youths as defined in Va. Code § 22.1-3.

No, completed applications are reviewed to determine a child’s eligibility to participate in the preschool program. Eligibility children are selected based on the following Guidelines for the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) through The Virginia Department of Education. Information regarding acceptance or waitlist will not be provided until later in the summer.

No, employees who are residents of Norfolk must go through the same application/eligibility process as any other family as required by the Guidelines for the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) through The Virginia Department of Education.

Students are not automatically enrolled. Once an application has been submitted and the student has been tentatively selected for placement at a school, the IEP team must meet to consider the student’s needs and least restrictive environment. If you have questions about your child’s needs and least restrictive environment, you should contact your child’s IEP case manager to schedule a meeting and Learning Support Preschool Assessment Team.

The first step in the process is to contact the Preschool Assessment Center. Phone calls can be made during regular business hours Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. or a message can be left on the Center's answering machine any time after office hours.

The Preschool Assessment Center is located at:

FACE Center - OPEC
641 Carriage Hill Road Suite 200
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452
Office: 757.263.2800
Fax: 757.263.2801

Hours: Please call for an appointment.

Daily attendance is an expectation of all preschool students. Additionally, the teacher, family engagement specialist, school counselor, administrator, and/or social worker will contact parents/guardians to schedule meetings, provide support and set goals if a student has a pattern of being chronically late, leaving school early, or has persistent absences. Continued and significant absences without excusable documentation may lead to the student being withdrawn from the program.

Bus transportation is not provided for our three-year-old preschool students. Bus transportation is provided for our four-year-old preschool students if they live more than a mile away from their school.

Your child is expected to be able to take care of self-help tasks such as dressing, undressing, and toileting needs. If a child is not toilet-trained, the preschool staff will work with families to develop routines and procedures for home and school to help children learn these skills.

Schools do not provide before/after school care for Pre-K students. In some schools, there are nearby daycare providers who will transport students to/from their centers. Contact the school you would attend for more information.

No. There are no exceptions to the age requirement for preschool. Your child must be four-years-old on September 30th.

You may apply for the waitlist from August 10 until November 30 by following the steps outlined for the application process. After November 30, the application closes for the year.