Jefferson Preschool Program
The Jefferson Early Childhood Center serves children ages 3 to 5 who reside within the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 boundaries. We offer a half-day program five days a week. Preschool classrooms are multi-age, with 15 students per class.
Each classroom has a certified early childhood teacher and a teaching assistant. A speech and language pathologist, occupational therapist, and school social worker also support the classrooms.
We are thrilled that eligible children can attend our preschool program at no cost to the family, thanks to the Preschool for All grant. Children and families must complete a developmental screening before enrollment to determine Preschool for All eligibility.
We are excited to share information regarding enrollment for the 2026–2027 school year. This year, our preschool is updating our registration and enrollment process to ensure we remain in full compliance with the Preschool for All (PFA) Grant requirements. In addition to these requirements, we continue to experience high demand for our wonderful preschool program and have a limited number of available spots. Because more families are interested than we can currently accommodate, it is essential that our process is consistent, transparent, and fair to everyone.
Please review the details below carefully, as several important dates and procedures will guide our registration process.
Classroom placement (AM or PM) will be determined through a computerized random drawing. The lottery application window will open on December 5th and close on December 12th. This lottery is for returning students only who are currently enrolled at Jefferson.
Please follow this link to complete the lottery application: https://forms.gle/T6Dh1SN5QSkzR8mM7
Lottery Notifications
Families will be notified of their child’s lottery results on December 19th, 2025. This notification will include all required information to complete registration for the 2026–2027 school year, including your child’s placement (AM or PM).
Please note that families who do not register by the deadline will lose their preschool spot and move to the bottom of the waitlist.
Waitlist Information
Families who do not receive their preferred placement through the lottery will be placed on a waitlist and/or may be offered the opportunity to enroll in the alternate placement option (AM or PM).
We appreciate your understanding as we work to provide an enrollment process that supports all families, meets state requirements, and continues to offer high-quality early childhood education to our community.
- Proof of residency within District 64.
- Proof of income.
- New applicants will be scheduled for a developmental screening prior to the child starting. Parents will be contacted by a member of the diagnostic team to schedule the screening.
- In addition to the completed registration form and proof of residency, a copy of the original birth certificate and immunization records are required.
School Hours
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8:50 AM - 11:25 AM (except on Wednesdays - 8:50 AM - 11:00 AM)
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12:25 PM - 3:00 PM (except on Wednesdays - 12:00 PM to 2:10 PM)
Curriculum:
- Creative Curriculum, which is a research-based and developmentally appropriate curriculum that is aligned to the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards.
- Research-based curriculum helps children gain the range of skills they need to be successful in kindergarten.
- Students dive deeply into topics of interest through monthly units of study.
- Play-based environment supports children in developing their language, pre-academic, play, learn-to-learn, motor, and social and emotional skills.
- Children are encouraged to become independent through developing their self-help and self-regulation skills.
- Music, art, and physical education/movement are featured daily.
- Teachers conduct ongoing assessments to monitor student progress.
- Teachers are highly qualified with certification in early childhood, special education and teaching children learning English.
- In addition to the teacher, there are specialists (speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and social worker) providing instruction and support in every classroom.
- Small class sizes (15 students) with a low student to teacher ratio (1 adult per 5 children at a minimum).
- Technology-rich environment with iPads, SMART Boards, and SMART Table activities integrated into the curriculum.
- Special activities scheduled on a monthly basis include Dog Therapy, and Library Lady.
- Monthly parent education workshops are offered that relate to different aspects of child development. Previous topics include: play with purpose, vocabulary development, stress reduction, summer activities, and community resources.
Calendar:
Jefferson follows the District 64 calendar for holidays and vacations.
This site provides information using PDF, visit this link to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software.