Kindergarten/Young 5

Kindergarten and Young 5 Enrollment

The Dexter Early Elementary Complex (or DEEC, pronounced “Deck”) is made up of two school wings, Anchor and Beacon. Incoming students are placed in classes in order to balance demographics and class sizes. We attempt to keep Y5-grade 2 siblings in the same wing.

Michigan law requires students to be five years old by September 1st in order to enroll in kindergarten. The young five program is designed for students with late summer and fall birthdays. The decision whether to enroll a late-summer birthday 5-year-old in young five vs. kindergarten is something we recommend discussing with our staff so we can find the developmentally appropriate program for each student.

Kindergarten waiver requests are available for students who will turn five between September 2nd and December 1st. There are no exceptions to the December 1st cut off. After registering your student online, you should complete and submit the waiver form during roundup on April 19th or 20th. Children who turn 5 between June 1 and December 1 are eligible for Young 5. If the child’s birthday is between Sept. 2 and Dec. 1 we highly encourage a Y5 placement. The principals will discuss reasons to lean toward Y5 or KG for kids with summer birthdays at the virtual information night on March 1, 2023. We have one half-day young 5 classroom and spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis with priority going to students who live within the DCS district. Those spots are filled using the Half Day young 5 sign up on April 17 (see below). 

• Schools of Choice Application Window: February 15-28th. Families will be notified of their status by March 7th. 
• Virtual Information Night: March 1st 7pm. Registration is required. Here is the link to register for webinar: Click here for meeting recording. Click here for meeting slides.
• DEEC Open House: March 8th 5pm-7pm - Kids and parents, come see our spaces and meet our staff! 
• Online Registration Opens March 9th. Schools of Choice (SOC) families should wait to register until they are accepted. All families should complete online registration prior to the paperwork roundup April 19 & 20th.  
• Half-day Young 5 Virtual Sign-up April 17, 10:00am (sign up form will be here).  Update 5/8/2023: Due to lack of demand, we will not be having a half-day young 5 program for the 2023-2024 school year. 
• ROUNDUP April 19th & 20th: KG & Y5 Parents/Guardians may sign up for a time to bring any outstanding paperwork and original birth certificate in to the school, or you may drop in anytime between 12pm-6pm on April 19th or  7:30am-12pm on April 20th. 
• Kindergarten/Y5 Kickoff: June 1st, 5-6:30pm at the DEEC. Climb aboard a Dexter school bus, meet some teachers, and make some new friends. Finish paperwork if you haven't already.