School Year VPK

About School Year VPK

florida vpk logoFull day VPK (540 hours) is offered at Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) is a FREE state program designed to prepare every child in Florida for kindergarten and build the foundation for their educational success. All age eligible children are entitled to participate. The VPK mission is to ensure that all children are intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically ready to enter school and are ready to learn, fully recognizing the crucial role of parents and caregivers as their child’s first teacher.

Full day VPK (540 hours) is offered at Dodgertown Elementary, Fellsmere Elementary, Glendale Elementary, Indian River Academy, Pelican Island Elementary and Vero Beach Elementary. The VPK school day is from 8:45 am – 2:45PM or 3:00pm depending on school sites and follows the same calendar as the SDIRC K-12 students. SDIRC VPK does not include transportation or before/after care. Your child must be 4 years old on or before September 1. Lottery Application process begins in early January.

HOW TO APPLY School Year VPK Lottery

STEP 1: BEGIN VPK APPLICATION

ON-TIME LOTTERY APPLICATIONS will be accepted from the second Monday in January to last Friday in March of the current school year.

To apply for School Year VPK you must call Early Learning Programs to begin the lottery application, CALL 772-564-3201 or email [email protected]. You will then receive an email with the steps to complete your application. Your child must be four before September 1st to eligible for VPK.

LATE APPLICATIONS: Families who call to apply after the end of March, will complete an application and be added to the wait list. Families will be contacted pending openings at school sites.

STEP 2: OBTAIN VPK CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY

Families must apply for the VPK Certificate of Eligibility from the FL Division of Earaly Learning Family Portal. (Save or Print, but do not sign)

To obtain VPK Certificate of Eligibility:

The Florida state issued Certificate of Eligibility can be obtained through the Department of Education, Division of Early Learning Website on the Family Portal.

The Family Portal can be found directly at: https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com/

To complete the online registration process, you will need:

(A) a valid email address

(B) a copy of your child’s birth certificate

(C) a copy of one proof of address to upload.

*If you need computer services/assistance, The Early Learning Coalition office, located at 2459 St. Lucie Avenue (14th Ave) Vero Beach, 32960, is available. Please call 1-877-220-1223 or 772-567-7480 for more information.

STEP 3: COMPLETE APPLICATION

To complete your VPK Lottery Application you must submit the following documents to the link provided in your follow up email from the lottery application:

(A) VPK Certificate of Eligibility, Do NOT sign

(B) Birth Certificate

(C) Copy of one proof of address (bills showing address from water, cable, electric or lease agreement)

STEP 4: LOTTERY RESULT EMAIL

In May, a lottery will be held to determine placement. Applicants will then receive an email to accept or decline a placement in one of our VPK classrooms or be notified that their child is on the wait list. Families will need to accept or decline placement to secure their child’s placement for the upcoming school year.

STEP 5: COMPLETE ENROLLMENT

For families who accept placement, an enrollment email will be sent to schedule an appointment in July. The final enrollment appointment will include coming to the Early Learning Programs office to finalize all enrollment documents – including physical and immunization records, review program commitments and sign the VPK Certificate of Eligibility.

STEP 6: ATTEND ORIENTATION CONFERENCE

In August, Families will receive a call from the VPK teacher to attend program/classroom orientation. Please make sure you contact information such as phone number and email are always up to date in the FOCUS portal for successful communication.

We look forward to meeting you!