Pre-Enrollment for Transitional Kindergarten and Full-Day Kindergarten Begins February 27

Friday, February 15, 2019

Pre-enrollment for Fall 2019/20 full-day transitional kindergarten and full-day kindergarten classes in the Garden Grove Unified School District begins Wednesday, February 27. Parents should pre-enroll online as early as possible at https://enroll.ggusd.usand contact their child’s home school for further assistance. Additional information about the enrollment process is available at www.ggusd.us (link). Please note that all GGUSD elementary school offices will be closed throughout the summer and will resume enrollment when the offices reopen in the fall.

Transitional kindergarten is provided at all GGUSD elementary schools and is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program. Transitional kindergarten features a modified kindergarten curriculum with lessons that are age and developmentally appropriate. The daily, full-day sessions will include whole group and small group discussion and independent and hands-on learning. Participation in transitional kindergarten is voluntary; however, the district strongly encourages the enrollment of all eligible children because an additional year of learning will provide a stronger foundation for building academic success in school.

For the 2019/20 school year, children entering kindergarten must turn five on or before September 1, 2019. A child may be admitted to transitional kindergarten only if the child’s birthday falls between September 2 and December 2, 2014. There are no exceptions to the minimum age requirements for transitional kindergarten or kindergarten. However, if your child does not meet the minimum age requirement for enrollment at the beginning of the school year, at any time during the year, when he or she turns five, you may enroll them in kindergarten or transitional kindergarten, as determined by the best placement for your child.

For transitional kindergarten or kindergarten enrollment, parents are required to present one of the following documents to the school office as proof of the child’s birth date: certified copy of the birth record; statement of the local registrar/county recorder certifying the date of birth; baptism certificate duly attested; passport; immigration visa; or an affidavit from the parent, guardian, or custodian of the minor when no other document is obtainable.

Address verification is required for all students new to GGUSD. Acceptable forms of address verification include one of the following: correspondence from Social Services or other government agency; deed to home; mortgage escrow paperwork; property tax bill; rental lease agreement; or tax return; or two of the following: automobile insurance; cable bill; California driver’s license or California identification card; or a utility bill (electric, gas, or water).

Before children can be legally enrolled in school, California law also requires they receive the following immunizations: the MMR series - red measles (rubeola), mumps, German measles (rubella); the DTP series - diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis); polio; Hepatitis B; and chicken pox (varicella). The requirement for the chicken pox immunization may be waived if a health care provider documents immunity. Contact the local school for specific immunization dosage requirements.

Immunizations are available from private medical providers or at clinics maintained by the Orange County Health Care Agency (714) 834-4722.

Children are required by state law to receive a full physical exam, which includes a tuberculosis risk assessment and test, if indicated, within 18 months of entering first grade. Parents should arrange for this checkup with their pediatrician, at which time, the child must obtain a TB test if indicated and update any required immunizations. To satisfy first-grade admission requirements, the physical must not be completed earlier than March 1 of this year. All required forms are available from the school office.

Along with the immunization requirements, all children must receive an “oral health assessment” – a dental check-up – by May 31 in either kindergarten or first-grade, whichever is his or her first year in public school. Oral health assessments administered up to 12 months before a child enters school also satisfy this requirement. The assessment must be performed by a licensed dentist and/or other licensed or registered dental health professional.

An “Oral Health Assessment/Waiver Request” form, available in the school office, must be completed by the parent or dental professional and returned to the school. Please contact the school office for additional information.

Information on school attendance areas is available online by accessing the “Find-a-School” link from the main GGUSD website www.ggusd.us., at any GGUSD elementary school, or by calling the Office of Student Services at (714) 663-6391. Address verification is required for all incoming students.

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