These services are for those whose academic needs are significantly different from their peers and need individualized instruction through things like: early entrance to kindergarten, single subject acceleration, grade level acceleration and individualized learning plans.
Early Entrance to Kindergarten
In Minnesota, children are required to be five years old on or before September 1 in order to enter kindergarten. However, there are some situations where a child’s advanced social, emotional, and academic skills make early entrance to kindergarten a possibility. Putting your child into kindergarten early is a very important decision that can have impacts on the rest of his/her school career. In order to make an informed decision on whether entering kindergarten early is the right choice for your child, please read the Frequently Asked Questions provided below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is my child eligible for early entrance? In the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District, early entrance to kindergarten can be considered if a child will be five-years-old on or before October 31 of their entry year. Students who have birthdays after October 31 are not eligible.
What skills should my child have in order to be considered for early entrance? Early entrance is considered the earliest form of acceleration and students will need to be able to handle the increased academic and social emotional demands put on them in Kindergarten. The expectations for early entrance are set high to ensure that students are able to be successful. Please read through the characteristics below in order to decide if your child is ready for early entrance to kindergarten.
My child:
- Regulates emotions and behavior
- Works cooperatively with other students
- Shows motivation to learn and go to school
- Can maintain focus when completing a task
- Likes books and being read to
- Asks and answers questions in order to seek help, get information or clarify information
- Recognizes upper and lower case letters and sounds
- Holds scissors correctly
- Cuts straight and curved lines with some skill
- Holds pencil, crayon and markers correctly
- Knows numbers 0–10 in any order
- Counts to 20 or higher
- Adds and subtracts with manipulatives
- Knows basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, etc.)
- Names colors
How do I apply for early entrance? To apply for early entrance, please download the SRR Early Entrance to Kindergarten Application and complete as directed. Application materials are due by March 15.
The application includes questions for the parent/guardian to complete and a questionnaire for the child’s preschool teacher to complete.
What process does the district use to determine early entrance? After receiving your application, the early entrance coordinator will call to schedule the early entrance screening. This will be a 20–30 minute appointment in which the early entrance coordinator and a kindergarten teacher interact with the student in a school setting and administer an assessment of his/her academic and social emotional skills.
A team consisting of the early entrance coordinator, kindergarten teacher, school principal and the director of teaching and learning will analyze and discuss the information gathered from the application and the screening and determine if early entrance would be beneficial for the student.
Parents will be contacted by the early entrance coordinator to discuss the decisions of the team and if necessary, give information on enrollment. Parents have the right to appeal any decision made by the team by submitting a written request to the director of teaching and learning.
If my child is identified for early entrance to kindergarten, is the decision final? No. As with all types of acceleration, there will be a trial period in order to monitor how the student is doing academically, socially and emotionally. At the end of the first six weeks of school, the early entrance coordinator will meet with the kindergarten teacher and determine if early entrance will become permanent. Parents/guardians will be contacted regarding this final decision.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Early Entrance Coordinator Amy Hopper at 320-258-1261.