Enrollment

Any family living in Durham County with a child who will be 4 by August 31 of the preschool year is eligible to apply. Eligibility for preschool services in Durham is not limited by income.

You can apply online for the 2020-2021 school year in English or in Spanish or download the paper application here. To receive assistance in completing the application, schedule a virtual application appointment by leaving a message at 1-833-PREK-EDU.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, however, we encourage families to apply by May 15th to be considered for all Durham Public Schools pre-K classrooms. Families that submit an application after the May 15th deadline, will only be considered for Durham PreK, NC Pre-K, Head Start and the Whitted School.

An application appointment is not an interview. During your virtual appointment, an application counselor will help complete your application, provide information on how to submit your documents and answer any additional questions. You can find more information on applying for Durham PreK on our Enrollment page. 

Download our preschool flyer in English or Spanish.

(If you do not have an income to report, please be sure to review the parent packet linked above for copies of the Statement of No Income form to be included with the rest of your required documents.)

All families will need to submit the child’s birth certificate, proof of current address (current lease, mortgage statement or utility bill) and proof of one month’s income (one month’s paystubs or letter from employer if paystubs are not available).

The following documents are also considered part of your monthly income, and you will need to provide documentation of any or all that apply to your family:

• Child support (for any child in your household)
• Pension
• SSA/SSI
• Disability
• Alimony payments
• Commissioned Sales
• Scholarships or grants
• Proof of parent enrollment in school
• Financial assistance
• W-2 (self-employed) - required to be considered for a Head Start classroom

We understand not every family will have access to all of these documents. If you,

• are residing with a family member
• do not currently have an income
• are self-employed and paid in cash

our application counselors will help you fill out alternate forms needed to complete the application.

Some families may be asked to provide additional information. Examples include:

• Military families – will need to provide one or all of the following documents, if applicable:
  • Valid military I.D.
  • Separation forms
  • Active Duty income paystubs
  • Proof of Deployment (current or future)
• Children with additional services – will need to provide one or both of the following documents, if applicable:
  • Documentation of a chronic health condition
  • Copy of Private Service Plan

Upon receiving a placement offer, families will nee to submit their child's immunization records as part of the enrollment process.

Child citizenship does not determine eligibility. All 4 year old children in Durham County are eligible for all programs, regardless of citizenship status.

Families can choose to leave the citizenship question blank, but it will limit program options for that child to Durham Public Schools, Durham PreK and Head Start.

Until further notice, all pre-K screenings for the 2021-22 school year application will be completed over the phone due to COVID-19.

School year 2021-22 applicants will receive a call within a couple of weeks of submitting the application online, by phone or by mail based on the time preference indicated in your online application.

Calls will likely show up as private because staff are working remotely and are using their personal phones. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

For questions about the online application, families can email prek@childcareservices.org or call 1-833-773-5338. For questions about screenings, families can email kelly.cosby@dpsnc.net.

For most families, preschool services will be free. For the 2020-2021 school year, families with incomes at and above 400% of the current year's Federal Poverty Level will contribute parent fees based on income and family size. To determine whether and what your parent fee might be, click here to read more about the sliding scale.

For families with more than one child eligible for Durham PreK for the same school year:

• The monthly parent fee for the first child will follow the Durham PreK Sliding Scale based on household income and family size.
• For each additional child, the monthly parent fee will be 50% of the parent fee assigned for the first child.

For example, if you have two children sharing an academic year, and your family size and household income indicate a $300 parent fee, then you will pay $300 per month for one child, and $150 per month for the second child.

To determine what your monthly parent fee may be, please see the Durham PreK Sliding Scale below.

Preschool classrooms in Durham are supported by a mix of programs, including NC Pre-K, Head Start, Durham Public Schools, and Durham PreK. Participating preschool classrooms may be in a public school setting, a Head Start facility, or at a private child care facility that meets certain quality standards. Some facilities will have seats from only one of these programs, others will have a mix of seats. Every child with a Universal Preschool application will receive a developmental screening. The results of the screening, general program eligibility, parent preference, and distance from home are all taken into consideration on during the placement process.

Care outside the preschool day is called Wrap Around care. Wrap Around Care is a separate service from preschool and is neither guaranteed at every facility nor free. Individual preschool providers will determine whether they have the staffing to host Wrap Around Care and for what hours. Families should ask the facility where they are placed whether Wrap Around Care is an option and, if so, make Wrap Around Care arrangements with that facility.

Vouchers and Scholarships can sometimes help to cover Wrap Around Care costs for qualifying families, but eligibility for these services is not guaranteed or universally applicable to all types of preschool.

Click here for the Before and After School Care Information Packet (en español) to view the hours and fees at each of the Durham PreK, NC Pre-K and Head Start sites. During the regularly scheduled school years, Durham Public Schools does not offer after school care, with the exception of The Whitted School. However, due to COVID-19, The Whitted School is also not offering Before or After Care.

If your family needs additional child care, you can contact the Child Care Referral Central at CCSA for assistance in finding a program that meets your family's needs. Visit their website or call 1-855-EARLY-ED to speak with a referral counselor.