FAQs/Contact Us

Your child must be 4-years-old on September 30 of the school year in which he/she will attend Pre-K.

Birth certificates may be obtained from the Department of Vital Statistics in the state where the child was born. DMV will also issue original birth certificates with no wait if your child was born in Virginia. The Virginia Beach Health Department may also be able to assist you if your child was born in Virginia. It can sometimes be a long process, so we encourage you to obtain the certificate before your screening. If you are accepted and register, you will have to have the original birth certificate. If you have a birth affidavit, you only have 30 days to produce the original. Without it, your child may not attend school.

Proof of birth, proof of legal guardianship (if parent/guardian name is not on the birth certificate), parent/guardian proof of identification, proof of income and proof of residency are required. Additional documents may also be required. A comprehensive list of all required documents, with detailed information, can be found by clicking on the "Required Documents" link to the left.

If the parent/guardian who has physical custody of the child does not live in Virginia Beach, your child is not eligible to attend Virginia Beach Schools. Since there are not Pre-K classes in every elementary school, Virginia Beach families are assigned to out-of-zone schools as long as they are able to provide transportation. There is no bus transportation for out-of-zone students.

If your home school does not have Pre-Kindergarten, assignments to an out-of-zone school will be made as follows:

Occasionally, based on openings, the Pre-K office may make other assignments.

Bus transportation is only provided for students living within a school’s zone. If you are attending a school outside of your home-school’s transportation zone, you must provide your own transportation.

Schools do not provide before/after school care for Pre-K students. In some schools, there are nearby daycare providers who will transport students to/from their centers. Contact the school you would attend for more information.

No, you may only apply for the home school if it has Pre-K, or the school assigned for out-of-zone. In some instances, you may request a different school based on child-care needs, but you may still only be on the list for the one school.

No. There are no exceptions to the age requirement for Pre-K. Your child must be four-years-old on September 30 of the year for which you are applying.

Your child is expected to be able to take care of self-help tasks such as dressing, undressing and toilet needs. If a child is not toilet-trained, the school staff will work with families to develop routines and procedures for home and school to help the child learn.

No, employees who are residents of Virginia Beach must go through the same application/eligibility process as any other family.

Students are not automatically enrolled. Once an application has been submitted and the student has been tentatively selected for placement at a school, the IEP team must meet to consider the student’s needs and least restrictive environment. If you have questions about your child’s needs and least restrictive environment, you should contact your child’s IEP case manager to schedule an IEP meeting.

Pre-K students are assigned to their home schools if that school has Pre-K. If not, there is an out-of-zone assignment.

The first step in the process is to contact the Preschool Assessment Center. Phone calls can be made during regular business hours Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. or a message can be left on the Center's answering machine any time after office hours.

The Preschool Assessment Center is located at:

FACE Center - OPEC
641 Carriage Hill Road Suite 200 
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452
Office: 757.263.2800
Fax: 757.263.2801

Hours: Please call for an appointment.

VBCPS policy states that a child must have a Physical/Health Immunization form on file before the start of school.

Regular and consistent attendance is an expectation of all Pre-K students. Additionally, the teacher, family engagement specialist, school counselor administrator, and/or social worker will contact parents/guardians to schedule meetings, provide support and set goals if a child has a pattern of being chronically late or leaving school early or has persistent absences. Continued and significant absences without excusable cause may lead to the child being withdrawn from the program.

You may apply for the waitlist during the summer. After September 6, the application closes for the year.

Applications are accepted from February until June and meetings to verify documents will occur sometime after the application is submitted. Applications are then evaluated so that children with the highest risk factors affecting kindergarten readiness receive a placement. Families will be notified by the end of July.

Please contact us at VBPre-Kinfo@vbschools.com.