On September 1st, names for the waiting list are accepted each year for the following school year. Please call the admissions line at (619)522-6460 to be put on the current wait list.
The process begins with school visits for all interested junior kindergarten and/or kindergarten parents of students who are 4 years 9 months old by September 1st the year of admission. The admission process for these grades for the following school year begins on the first of January. In early March we begin school visits for parents with children in grades one through six. By this time we have received contracts for currently enrolled students and know the number of openings, if any, in each grade level.
The visits are an opportunity for parents to observe the individual classrooms and ask questions about all aspects of the school experience at CCDS. We believe this is the best tool we can give you as a parent to help you determine if this is the right learning environment for your child. The initial visit is structured to discuss many issues of school life, and we recommend that your child not join you on this visit. Following the visitation, the process for a kindergarten child proceeds differently than children in grades one through six.
Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten
In order to help us better determine if a child is ready for the junior kindergarten or kindergarten classrooms, we administer the Gesell Readiness Assessment. This helps us look at a child's development in several areas, but most importantly provides a picture of cognitive and social maturity. The assessment takes about twenty minutes and consists of such tasks as copying and drawing, building with blocks, and verbal interaction. There are no right or wrong answers, and for the child it is experienced as a structured play time. A fifty-dollar fee charged for the screening.
For the 2012-2013 school year, the Gesell sessions will begin during the last two weeks in February for the first group of applicants. It is administered one-on-one with your child. We contact the parent within a couple of days to discuss any readiness issues and make a recommendation.
If it is decided that your child will attend CCDS, we ask you to respond with a deposit and enrollment contract within approximately two weeks. It is mandatory that all paperwork be returned within this time period.
JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN AND KINDERGARTEN PARENTS PLEASE NOTE: CCDS does give preference to siblings of all currently enrolled students and families that are pledging Christ Episcopal Church parishioners. All children in these categories will be screened prior to general admission. It is our desire to screen only children for whom we have openings. It is also important to note that all junior kindergarten students accepted into this program will need to reapply for kindergarten in the fall of 2012 for the 2013 - 2014 school year. Preference will continue to be given for students of parishioners and current siblings enrolled at CCDS, and while we hope this does not happen, there is a possibilty that there will not be room in the next year's kindergarten class for all students enrolled in junior kindergarten. Enrolled kindergarten students do not need to reapply for the following first grade year.
First through sixth grade
New applicants in first through sixth grade take a test which usually lasts from one hour to one hour and forty-five minutes. (There is a $50 charge for testing.) The order of the admissions process includes:
- Visiting the school and observing classrooms.
- Sending the child's school records to CCDS.
- Scheduling an appointment for student placement testing and a meeting with teacher (includes completion of the Registration Form and $50 testing fee).
- Upon acceptance, returning Enrollment Contract and nonrefundable $500 enrollment deposit.