All-Day Kindergarten

Ohio law requires a taxpayer-supported half-day kindergarten program to be offered in every school district. Some communities have elected to expand their kindergarten programs to full day, which is why it is inconsistent from district to district. With available state and local school funding scarce, the option for all-day kindergarten in New Albany requires parents whose children directly benefit from the program to pay the full cost for the additional half-day at school. Funds from the district’s operating accounts are not used for the program.

The tuition for all-day kindergarten will remain $5,424.00 for the 2024-25 school year, the same cost since the program’s creation in 2015. The tuition is divided into three payments of $1,808.00 each.  Please see the tuition schedule below.  Failure to pay will result in your child being moved into a half-day class for the remainder of the school year.

To guarantee a spot for your child in the tuition based, all-day kindergarten program, parents/guardians must have met all registration requirements.

• Complete all online enrollment forms.

• Upload all enrollment supporting documents.  Please click here for a list of the required documents.

• Sign and return the all-day kindergarten tuition agreement. Click here for the form.

• Submit the deposit/first tuition payment of $1,808.00 by March 1, 2024.

  • Mail check to the Early Learning Center, 5101 Swickard Woods Blvd., New Albany, Ohio 43054 

  • If you would like to pay online, please contact ELC Secretary, Heidi Harper at harper.15@napls.us.  Please note, there is a 3.9% credit card processing fee.

After March 1, 2024 the tuition-based all-day kindergarten spots will be filled on a first come first served basis. If space is not available, your child may be placed on a waitlist. Please contact Elisa Carpenter at carpenter.10@napls.us to be placed on this list.

The March 1 2024 deadline for the all-day kindergarten guarantee allows the school district to  determine staffing needs for the all day program and the half-day program for the 2024-2025 school year.  This will eliminate the risk of having class sizes that are significantly larger or smaller in either program.  After March 1, 2024 the tuition-based all day kindergarten spots will be filled on a first come first served basis. Your child may be placed on the waitlist if space is not available. Please contact Elisa Carpenter at carpenter.10@napls.us to be placed on this list.   

If you decide not to participate in the program after enrolling, please contact the ELC main office at 614-413-8700 as soon as possible (but no later than May 15, 2024) in order for another student to be offered the opportunity to attend all-day kindergarten. Your deposit will be refunded by following the protocol and notifying the ELC main office by May 15, 2024.  No refunds after May 15, 2024.

If you qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or the federal free and reduced lunch program, your tuition will be discounted as dictated by Ohio law. The enrollment process for the all-day kindergarten program is conducted without financial need as a consideration, so being eligible for reduced tuition neither helps nor harms your status. Students qualifying for free lunch will have the tuition rate reduced by 50% (annual tuition of $2,712), and students qualifying for reduced-lunch will have a reduction of 25% (annual tuition of $4,068).

If you qualify for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), you will qualify for the free lunch program. If you are not part of SNAP, you can visit the Ohio Department of Education website for a chart to review this school year’s income eligibility guidelines for the federal free and reduced lunch program. Please know that New Albany Schools cannot predict what the income levels will be for next school year. That information will be released this summer. For more information, click here to go to the Ohio Department of Education website and review the file titled “Income Eligibility Guidelines.” Currently, fewer than 10% of families in the New Albany School District qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program.

Please visit the "Our School Day" webpage for the New Albany Early Learning Center to learn more about the 2024-2025 school calendar and current start and end times.  Please note that the start and end times are subject to change.  

The children in the all-day kindergarten program will receive the same level of bus service as the other students in the district. Currently, all elementary students are eligible for bus service. Bus stop locations and pick-up and drop-off times will be established this summer.

The tuition is not altered based on a student’s attendance at school.

If a child is transferring to another school, or if a parent elects to discontinue the all-day program for the half-day program, future tuition payments will not be required past the child’s final day in the program. If a student withdraws after a tuition payment has been made - a refund will not be given.

Residing in the school district is a requirement to participate in New Albany’s kindergarten registration. If a parent moves into the district after the guarantee date, the parent can request to be placed on the waitlist. The order on the waitlist for new families will be based on when their enrollment paperwork is submitted, accepted and noted as complete by the District Registrar.

The all-day kindergarten student’s schedule will be similar to the routine of a first grade student. There will be a daily lunch period, where students may either purchase or bring lunch. There will also be a daily “specials” class taught by a specialist, which will likely rotate between art class, music class, and wellness (physical education) class.

Regardless if the 2024-2025 school year is your child’s first or second year of kindergarten this will not impact eligibility for all-day kindergarten.  You can enroll in kindergarten when registration opens and by following the all-day Kindergarten guarantee enrollment option explained earlier in the FAQ. 

The goal is to have the number of students in the all-day classes be similar to the enrollment in the half-day classes. It will be difficult to predict the class sizes until kindergarten enrollment is complete at the end of summer.

The teachers will be determined this spring.  Parents are informed of their child’s teacher assignment by logging into the Parent PowerSchool account in August.

Kindergarten registration is only for children who turn five years old on or before August 1, 2024.  Testing for early entrance will not begin until April, 2024.  Please contact ELC School Counselor, Christina Kottenstette at kottenstette.1@napls.us with any additional questions.