Preschool Enrollment for the 2023-2024 School Year

The Hoboken Early Childhood Education Program offers state funded Full-Day Preschool to qualifying 3 and 4 year old Hoboken residents.

Requirements for Participation:

• Children must be 3 years old by September 30, 2023 (DOB between 10/1/2019-9/30/2020)

• Children must be 4 years old by September 30, 2023 (DOB between 10/1/2018-9/30/2019)

• Children must be residents of the City of Hoboken

Required Documentation for Registration

Health Requirements for Preschool Registration

Vaccinations:

Immunization requirements for children to attend child care, preschool and school in New Jersey are established by the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) as per N.J.A.C. 8:57-4.  

Proof of Vaccination is required to be submitted upon enrollment.  An official vaccination record clearly stating the name of the child, date of birth and vaccination dates for each dose must be presented upon enrollment into the program (Foreign records must be transcribed into English).

All immunizations must be in accordance with NJ Vaccination Requirements for School Attendance for a child to attend the program. 

Vaccines required for PRESCHOOL attendance are as follows: 

DTaP - 4 doses

Polio (IPV) - 3 doses

MMR- 1 dose after 1st birthday

Varicella - 1 dose after 1st birthday

HIB - 1 dose after 1st birthday

PCV - 1 dose after 1st birthday

Influenza - 1 dose annually between 9/1 - 12/31

Physical Exams:

A Physical Exam is required to be submitted for enrollment and must be updated annually while attending the program.

The physical exam must be completed within 12 months of starting school and should be in alignment with the child’s current age at the start of school in order to be valid for enrollment into the program.

The “Universal Child Health Record” is the official physical exam form for the program and is provided here for your convenience. (UCHR-NJ)

Health Concerns:

It is helpful to discuss health concerns before your child starts school for proper preparation and/or planning.  If your child has a health condition or concern or if you have any health related questions, please call ECE Nurse Renee Banks at 201-356-3646.  

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Placement Determination

Priority placements are given to children who meet any of the following criteria:

• Children with Special Needs/IEP as confirmed by the Office of Special Services and student's IEP. (State regulation)

• Children who are Head Start Eligible or considered Homeless (Federal Poverty Guideline 2019) (download here)

• Children with siblings already enrolled in the Hoboken Public School District in Grades 1-12 for school year 2023-2024. Please note charter schools are not part of the Hoboken Public School District. They are independent schools. (District Accommodation)

Lottery

If the number of preschool applicants exceed the amount of available Pre-K seats then a lottery will occur. It is not necessary to be in attendance for the lottery as all results will be shared via mail in an expeditious manner.

Children who do not meet any of the Priority Placement criteria will participate in the lottery. Students not drawn for a spot will be placed on a pending placement list in the order their name was drawn. If a spot opens up, the next student on the pending placement list will be called and offered a seat in the location with the vacancy. Families on the pending placement list have three (3) business days to reply after receiving notification of an available spot.

All Families who have a student selected for priority placement, lottery and pending placement will be notified by mail in early June.

The preschool providers in conjunction with The Office of Early Childhood will determine the placement of all incoming Pre K students. Based on the number of available seats in each of our seven (8) preschool locations we cannot guarantee that the child will be assigned to the school closest to their home.