Welcome to the Falmouth Public Schools Kindergarten Program! Kindergarten is a very special time and quite often a family’s first interaction with the public school system. The intention of this informational guide is to supplement the Student and Parent/Guardian Handbook, which can be found on the district website under the For Families Quick Link. This document will provide you with foundational information about what you can expect from the kindergarten experience. We are excited to partner with you to educate your child! 

Our philosophy of education recognizes that working with young children requires an approach unique to their age. Here is our philosophy statement:

Kindergarten is the start of an exciting learning journey. The kindergarten classroom offers a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for all children and their families. The partnership between families and school is critical to a child’s success. We consider  parents/guardians to be part of the classroom community, and we invite them to share in their child’s school experience.

Kindergarten teachers promote self-discovery and self-awareness in all areas of development – social, emotional, physical, and cognitive – to meet the needs of each individual child. Children are active learners. They learn best when allowed multiple opportunities to play, create, investigate, explore, predict, and learn from one another and their environment. 

Each child brings educational and cultural background experiences to kindergarten. We believe that this background must be valued, listened to, and used to empower the child to be successful in school. The kindergarten curriculum provides children with a variety of opportunities to try out new ideas and be challenged with new experiences that engage budding readers, writers, scientists, mathematicians, and artists. We want our students to be confident, love learning, and be successful in a classroom community.

You, the parent/guardian, will always be the most important person in your child’s education. We welcome your support.

Additional information about kindergarten will be provided at the following times:

Kindergarten Orientation: Orientation is held at each elementary school in May. Your child’s school will provide detailed information about this event as it gets closer to the date.  

Kindergarten Screening: Screening will take place in June and is designed to review a child’s development in a variety of areas to assist in the identification of those children who may need additional assessment to determine eligibility for special education services.

You will be contacted by your child’s school to set up this appointment.  

Family Welcome Meeting:  Parents/guardians will accompany their kindergartener to their assigned school for a scheduled meeting with their child’s teacher on the first day of school (typically the Tuesday after Labor Day). This meeting will last about an hour and will give students the opportunity to become familiar with the classroom and teachers in a small group setting prior to coming independently. This meeting will also give parents/guardians the opportunity to ask questions or share information with the teacher. Your child’s school will reach out with your scheduled appointment time in the late summer. 

The teachers in our program are highly qualified and licensed in early childhood education, according to the Massachusetts Educator licensure requirements. Our staff is continually engaged in professional learning to provide your child with developmentally appropriate instruction. Our teachers are passionate about what they do and about meeting the needs of their students.