Pre-kindergarten applications for the 2011-12 school year will be available on Feb. 1. You may pick up an application from any of the schools, the Effingham County Board of Education Office (and on the Board’s Web site www.effinghamschools.com), the Effingham County Health Department or from the Department of Family and Children Services in Springfield.  

Your child must be 4 years old on or prior to Sept. 1, 2011 to be eligible for the pre-k program as required by the Bright From the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

The Effingham County pre-kindergarten program has a total of 24 classes housed at the school campuses as follows: Blandford Elementary - three classes, Ebenezer Elementary - two classes, Guyton Elementary - four classes, Marlow Elementary - four classes, Sand Hill Elementary - three classes, Rincon Elementary - two classes, South Effingham Elementary - two classes, and Springfield Elementary - two classes.

Effingham County High School has one Springfield Elementary class and South Effingham High School houses one class from South Effingham Elementary School.  

You will have from Feb. 1-28 to complete the application process. Applications may be turned in at any Effingham County school (front office), the Board of Education Office or Board of Education Registrar’s Office. Upon completion of the application process, a lottery style drawing will be held in the auditorium at the Effingham County Board of Education, 405 N. Ash St. in Springfield on, March 3.

All applications received after Feb. 28 will be placed on a class roster if there are available slots, or they will be assigned to a waiting list on a “first-come, first-serve” basis.)   

The pre-k administrators will direct the drawing of names for the 4-year-old state lottery funded pre-kindergarten program on March 3 at the Effingham County Board of Education for each school district (if necessary) according to the following times:

12:30 p.m.    Ebenezer Elementary
12:45 p.m.       Blandford Elementary
1 p.m.       South Effingham Elementary
1:15 p.m.       Marlow Elementary
1:30 p.m.       Guyton Elementary
1:45 p.m.       Rincon Elementary
2 p.m.       Sand Hill Elementary
2:15 p.m.    Springfield Elementary

Your attendance is not required at the drawing. However, you may attend or you may call the school site your child will be attending or the Board Office (754-6491 or 754-5628) after 3:30 p.m. to find out if your child has been selected. If your child’s name is drawn, you will be formally notified by mail during the month of March.  

Please remember, you may only submit one application per child for the school district in which you live. You may call the Bus Shop at 754-3574 for information concerning the school district you reside in. You will risk losing your placement if you submit more than one application