Early Enrollment
North Carolina Early Entry to Kindergarten Process
The North Carolina General Assembly passed BH-1099, allowing early admission to kindergarten for a child who has reached his/her fourth birthday by April 16th and is demonstrating extraordinary academic ability and social maturity. North Carolina has created standards for principals to use in determining if early entrance to kindergarten is an appropriate placement for a child. Once the principal receives the minimum requirements, the principal shall confer with a committee of professional educators to consider various standards that will indicate school readiness for a child.
Standards established by North Carolina are described as follows:
- Student Aptitude: The child shall score at the 98th percentile on a standardized assessment of aptitude such as the Stanford-Binet, The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, the Kaufman Anderson, or any other comparable tests, that shall be administered by a licensed psychologist. *
- Achievement: The child shall score at the 98th percentile on either Reading or Mathematics on a standardized assessment such as the Metropolitan Readiness Test, the Stanford Early School Achievement test, the Mini Battery of Achievement, the Woodcock-Johnson, the Test of Early Mathematics (TEMA), the Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA) or any other comparable tests that shall be administered by a licensed psychologist. *
- Performance: The child shall be able to perform tasks well above same-age peers as evidenced by behaviors in one or more areas, such as independent reading, problem-solving skills, advanced vocabulary, and some writing fluency. The parent shall submit a sample of the child’s work that shows outstanding examples of ability in any area including, but not limited to, art, mathematics, writing, dramatic play, creative productions, science, or social interactions.
- Observable Student Behavior/Student Interest: The child shall demonstrate social and developmental maturity sufficient to participate in a structured setting for a full school day. The child shall be capable of following verbal instructions and functioning independently within a group. The parent shall provide two recommendation letters (from non-family members) with specific documentation of physical and social maturity from preschool teachers, childcare workers, pediatricians, or others who have direct knowledge of the child.
- Motivation/ Student Interest: The principal or principal’s designee shall conduct an informal interview with the child and a more structured interview to determine if the child displays a thirst for knowledge and seeks new and challenging learning situations.
*Families are responsible for arranging and paying for this test. Kannapolis City Schools is not permitted to recommend a psychologist. It is recommended that families obtain recommendations from the child’s pediatrician or primary care physician.
Parents who wish to have their children considered must submit information within the first 30 calendar days of the school’s instructional year. All testing should be administered after April 16th, which follows the child’s fourth birthday. The principal shall decide whether to grant the parents’ request for enrollment within three weeks of receiving this information. The principal may conditionally enroll the child for up to 90 days in order to observe whether the child is able to adjust to the school setting. If the principal determines that the child has not adjusted to the school setting, the principal shall deny the request for enrollment. However, before the child is exited from school, the principal shall invite the parent to assist in the development of intervention strategies for the child. If those strategies are not successful, the principal shall provide the parents with at least 10 days notice before exiting the child from school, so the parent may arrange childcare, if needed.