• Quality Early Education Offered at 12 GESD Schools for the 2022-2023 School Year

    Kindergarten is key to giving your child a good start to their education. That’s why the Glendale Elementary School District offers free, all-day kindergarten at 12 sites for children in the greater Glendale area.

    Today, kindergarten is much different from when you went to school. Kindergarten doesn’t just prepare students to move on to elementary school, it prepares children academically for the challenges ahead of them.

    Parents play a crucial role in a child’s academic success. Full-day kindergarten provides students with increased opportunities to build foundational skills in reading, which ultimately increases student achievement and success. Recently, the state implemented its Move On When Ready program. Starting in 2013-14, all thirdgraders must read at grade level in order to advance to the fourth grade. Reading capably by third grade is vital to future academic success. Partnerships between parents and teachers beginning in kindergarten increases the opportunity to meet this goal.

    A Day In the Life

    A typical kindergarten day includes 420 minutes of instruction of the following:

    • Language and Literacy instruction, including oral language development, vocabulary building, phonemic awareness, guided and shared reading and the integration of social studies, science and math with language activities.
    • The writing process and writing projects such as journals, sharing, class books, and individual connected sentences.
    • Math, including sorting, graphing, addition and subtraction.

    Register Now!

    Parents can register any child who will be five years of age before Sept. 1 at their local school. In order to register, parents will have to provide the following documents:

    Verification of residency – These include:

    • Lease/rental contract
    • Escrow/mortgage documents
    • Utility bill listing the name and address of the parent/guardian.

    Health records – Parents must physically provide one of the following:

    • An AZ Lifetime Immunization Booklet;
    • A signed and dated Arizona School Immunization Record (ASIR 109R);
    • Out-of-state records which have been signed and dated by the school office;
    • Doctor or hospital records;
    • Arizona State Immunization Information System (ASIIS);
    • Children’s Health Information Program (CHIP) software, following requirements of ASIR 109R.

    Birth Certificate or another legal document This includes:

    • An original birth certificate
    • Original baptismal record
    • Refugee card
    • Passport
    • Department of Economic Security (DES) or court papers assigning custody.

    Custody papers, if applicable — Divorced, separated or other legal guardians are responsible for providing GESD with the necessary legal custody papers. Powers of Attorney need to be notarized and submitted to the school office every six months.

    If transferring, or seeking open enrollment, parents must provide withdrawal papers from the last school the student attended.

    Enroll Now!

    You can enroll your child for kindergarten today at these Glendale elementary schools, and don’t forget to check with your local school for evening registration dates:

    Bicentennial South
    7240 W. Colter
    623-237-4012 

    Coyote Ridge*
    7677 W. Bethany Home
    623-237-4015

    Desert Garden*
    7020 W. Ocotillo 
    623-237-4014

    Desert Spirit
    7355 W. Orangewood
    623-237-4016

    Discovery
    7910 W. Maryland 
    623-237-4013

    Glendale American
    8530 N. 55th Ave.
    623-237-4008

    Glenn F. Burton
    4801 W. Maryland
    623-237-4007

    Harold W. Smith
    6534 N. 63rd Ave.
    623-237-4003

    Horizon  
    8520 N. 47th Ave.  
    623-237-4010

    Landmark  
    5730 W. Myrtle 
    623-237-4001

    Sunset Vista  
    7775 W. Orangewood 
    623-237-4017

    William C. Jack  
    6600 W. Missouri 
    623-237-4005

    *Due to Governing Board approved School Mergers/Repurposing and Boundary Changes, Kindergarten registrations currently taking place at Coyote Ridge and Desert Garden will be for Discovery, Challenger, and/or other assigned schools based on the 2022-2023 GESD Boundary Grid. For questions, please contact (623) 237-7100.