The Online Registration portal is now accepting applications for Preschool for the 2023-2024 School Year. 

 Families, if you are having trouble with Parent Vue contact your school.

Information on the program:

Do you have a child that will be 3 or 4 years old by September 30, 2023? If yes, Norfolk Public Schools offers free, high-quality preschool for qualifying children ages 3 and 4. NPS Preschool classes are in-person and five days a week. Children learn how to be a part of a classroom, develop social relationships, use their creativity, build the use of language, and many other skills. With improved verbal skills, your child will be better able to communicate their needs. Furthermore, with strong pre-literacy, cognition, and math foundation skills, your child will be on a pathway to school readiness and success. NPS is accepting applications for the 2023-2024 School Year. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see if you qualify for this important first step in your child’s education because preschool matters! If you have any questions, please email the Department of Early Learning and Title I at preschool@npsk12.com or call us at 757-628-3944. We look forward to hearing from you!

Site Information:

Districtwide Preschool Sites and Specialty Locations:

Easton at Fairlawn (3 and 4 year olds) Norfolk Technical Center  (4 year olds )

Willoughby & Berkley/Campostella Early Childhood Centers  (3 and 4 year olds)

Application Information:

BEFORE YOU APPLY; 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.

Please click on the icon below to apply for SY 2023-2024

Phase I—

Enter information into the Preschool application online using the Preschool Matters button at the top or bottom of this page. If you already have a child in NPS, you will need to use your ParentVue Credentials to login. 

*If you do not have access to the internet, you can go to your local neighborhood school or Grandy Village and fill out the application online. 

You may call the NPS Preschool Registration Help Line at 757-628-3951 for more information, and/or email your questions to preschool@nps.k12.va.us.

When your application is received, the Department of Early Learning and Title I, will send an email of receipt to your email provided on the application.

Phase II—

Once your child’s application and all documentation have been received by the Department of Early Learning and Title I, it will be reviewed for eligibility into the preschool program. The preschool programs are mostly state and/or federally grant-funded and, as such, involve enrollment criteria. Therefore, acceptance into the Norfolk Public Schools preschool program is based, in part, upon the following requirements:

1. Residency: You must provide proof that you and your child are residents of the city of Norfolk.

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

3. Program-related eligibility criteria: The funds that support our preschool programs have various criteria that are taken into consideration before offering acceptance to any student including income. Therefore, income verification must be provided for the application to be reviewed for acceptance. For our three-year-old classes, students must live in a Title I school zone to be accepted (see the Title I section for a list of schools) unless otherwise notified by the Early Learning and Title I Department.

4. In addition, eligible students are selected based on the following VPI eligibility criteria and identified risk factors:

   • Having low family income (based on Federal Poverty Guidelines);
   • Having a parent who did not complete high school;
   • Lacking fixed, regular or adequate housing (homelessness); and/or
   • Having an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for the child while falling in a qualifying family income bracket—the IEP team will determine if this general education classroom is the most appropriate setting.

   Other factors are also considered but have lower risk values.

If your child is eligible for one of the preschool programs, an email will be sent by the Department of Early Learning and Title I to your email provided on the application to inform you of your eligibility and the next steps for Phase III. 

This eligibility email does not guarantee a position in the program. Its purpose is to inform you that your child has met the initial eligibility criteria, and your child has been placed on the waitlist. 

Children will be placed in their zoned school following VPI Guidelines. Any request for out of zone or other requests will be considered after the start of the school year.

Note: The programs are not first-apply, first-accepted.

Phase III

For placement into the preschool program, parents/guardians will need to respond to the email by the date provided, accepting the placement and school assigned for your child. If the placement is accepted, the Early Learning and Title I Department will send an acceptance letter by email and notify the school that parent/guardian will be making an appointment to finalize all registration documents within a specified time. 

Children will not be formally enrolled in the NPS Preschool program until parents and/or guardians have completed the registration process at the assigned school. Children who are not registered within a specified timeframe will forfeit their space in the NPS Preschool assigned class and be put on the waiting list.

*Please monitor your email and voicemail closely for placement assignment possibilities and further directions.

Documents needed to be eligible for Preschool:

1. Proof of child's birth (Your child must be three or four years old on or before September 30, 2022)
   Original certified birth certificate, child's passport or affidavit regarding birth (copies of these documents are not accepted);

2. Proof of legal guardianship (if applicable)
   This is only required if your name is not on the child's birth certificate:

   • Court ordered custody documents

   • Custody Registration Form
     (for anyone assigned custody other than the biological parents)

   • Kinship Care Form
     (required if an adult relative is providing care to the child without assigned custody)

3. Parent/Guardian proof of income (If it is a foster care situation, we do not need income verification)
   Because income is a primary qualifying factor, proof of income for all individuals contributing to the family is required to determine eligibility. This could include:

   • 2021 W-2 forms or income tax forms;

   • Social security/disability income;

   • 1099s;

   • Two recent paycheck stubs

   • SNAP/TANF/WIC benefit information

   • Self-employed (tax information)

Note: All income sources must be reported and verified.

4. Proof of Parent/Guardian Norfolk Residency

Mortgage or lease/rental agreement in your name, OR  an electric, gas, or water bill in your name. Cable and phone bills are not acceptable.

*If you are living with someone and you do not have a lease/mortgage and utility bill in your name, you must submit the NPS Shared Housing Form.

5. A copy of a comprehensive physical examination from a qualified licensed physician or licensed nurse practitioner, performed within the 12 months prior to the date the student enters kindergarten or elementary school. When a physical is completed for first-time entry to kindergarten, the Virginia Form MCH-213G can be used or a similar physical form provided by the healthcare provider. If transferring from another NPS school, school division, or from out of state, a copy of such an examination must be in the previous school’s record and available upon request. The need for a physical examination does not apply to students entering secondary schools.

• Proof of immunizations for all students entering a Virginia public school must reflect the month, day, and year of immunizations. Kindergartners entering school for the first time, must have immunizations verified on either a Virginia Form MCH-213G, public health department form, or an immunization document from a qualified licensed physician or licensed nurse practitioner. For your convenience, instructions are available for completing the MCH-213G form.

• Immunization Records – documented proof of adequate immunization with the prescribed number of doses of each vaccine as required by Virginia law.

6. Individualized Education Program (IEP)
This would only apply if your child has been found eligible for an IEP.