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4K Parent and Registration Information

Unified School District of De Pere

For students completing 4K during the 25-26 school year

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Topics Covered

Mission and Benefits of 4K
4K Site Locations
Transportation Options
Frequently Asked Questions
4K Curriculum and “A Day in 4K”
Application Timeline and Registration Process
Additional 4K Information
Contact Information

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USDD 4K Mission Statement

The mission of 4K in the Unified School District of De Pere is to provide all students with constructive, purposeful, and developmentally appropriate opportunities to play, discover, and learn through social interactions to inspire a lifelong love of learning.

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Benefits of 4K

High quality instruction that will prepare our students for success in school in the future

Designed to nurture social, emotional and early academic skills of four-year-old children

A positive partnership between community organizations, schools, and parents

Integration of the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards

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4K Sites for 2024-2025

CESA 7 Head Start (based on eligibility)

3001 Ryan Road (Altmayer Elementary)

De Pere High School Learning Lab

1700 Chicago Street

Susie C. Altmayer Elementary

3001 Ryan Road

Heritage Elementary

1250 Swan Road

Although we do not have a 4K classroom at Step Ahead or Kindercare, we will provide transportation to and from these locations.

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4K Community Partner Sites

PLEASE NOTE:

You will enroll your child in our 4K program through Infinite Campus (covered later in the presentation).

If you are utilizing child care through the Learning Lab for times your child is NOT in 4K, you need to complete a separate registration process with the Learning Lab.

Additionally, if your child is going to participate in the Head Start program (based on eligibility), you would need to complete additional registration through CESA 7.

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4K Transportation Options

We will make placement decisions based on your transportation needs. If transportation is needed, your home address/elementary boundary school will determine your child’s 4K site placement.

Parents who choose to attend a specific site, outside of their elementary school boundary, are responsible for providing their own transportation.

If you think you “might” need transportation, please indicate that need on the preference survey.

Students will not be added to routes after the school year begins as this causes placement changes in most cases.

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4K Transportation Options Cnt’d

4K students will be put on existing routes which means that they will ride the school bus with older children.

In order to prevent sending multiple buses to a 4K site, some students may need to transfer busses at one of our schools. This is a supervised transfer and has been a successful set up for our students.

For those parents who are requesting transportation, route information will come right before the school year begins.

There is no bussing to/from the Learning Lab. Parents are responsible for transportation to/from this site.

We will provide transportation to and from these daycare locations: Step Ahead (1550 Silverstone Trl) and Kindercare (1553 Arcadian Ln). Placement will still be determined based on your home address.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A child must be 4 on or before September 1, 2025

Early entrance is not accepted for 4K

4K is optional for students
A child may only attend the AM OR PM session; they cannot attend both

Children who meet the age eligibility (5 on or before September 1, 2025) for 5-year-old kindergarten are encouraged to enroll in that program

Some flexibility will be granted to children with birthdays in June, July, or August
If you are holding your child until the 26-27 school year, understand they can only attend 4K for one year and would enroll in 4k next year

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What does 4K look like?

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4K Curriculum

Creative Curriculum and Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
Second Step: Social-emotional development
Involve children, families, and the community in the design and implementation of learning activities

4K Family Events
Monthly Newsletters
Family Outreach Activities

Essential skills of optimism, empathy, resiliency, flexibility, and perseverance
Early language, literacy, numeracy, and motor development
Developmentally appropriate experiences while scaffolding children’s learning to achieve meaningful goals
Teachers provide modeling, facilitation, purposeful play and coaching for students to develop at their own pace while recognizing each child’s unique strengths and supporting the full inclusion of all children
Experiential learning field trips aligned with our units of study

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A Day in 4K

Preparation and Arrival - 10 minutes

Large Group - 20 minutes

Choice Time - 60 minutes

Snack - 20 minutes

Small Groups - 20 minutes

Outdoor Recess - 30 minutes

Read Aloud - 15 minutes

Music and Movement Experiences - 15 minutes

* Times are approximate. Schedules are created based on recommendations by Creative Curriculum.

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How do we ensure a quality program

at each 4K site?

We use several measures to ensure student achievement

District Literacy Assessment & Play Based Observations (based on the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards)

Parent Feedback

Ongoing Professional Development Opportunities for all of our 4K teachers
Regular collaboration among all of our 4K teaching staff for sharing and new learning for math, early literacy, and play based instruction

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Application Timeline & Process

Enrollment opens February 3, 2025 at 8:00 am

4K Preference Survey must be completed at the time of enrollment

Applications will be processed in the order they are received. A confirmation email will be sent once the application is processed. This may take up to three weeks.
Placements will be reviewed in early June and decisions will be communicated to parents by the end of June.
Requests for changes to a child’s placement need to be received by August 1, 2025 at 4:00 pm.

Requests are not guaranteed and will be considered based on classroom balance and child to teacher ratio

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Registration

Children must be 4 years old by September 1, 2025.

Registration is an online process that must be completed on a computer and cannot be completed on a smartphone or tablet.

If you do not have access to a computer, you can register at the District Office.

The enrollment application is accessible through our website, deperek12.org, by hovering over “District” then clicking on “Registration” from the drop-down menu.

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Registration

The following documents can be uploaded to the application, brought to the district office, or emailed to Heidi Cauldwell (hcauldwell@depere.k12.wi.us) :

Verification of an De Pere residence within school district boundaries (see question 20 on our FAQ document for acceptable documents).

If your home cannot be verified through Brown County Records, you will need to upload proof of residency.

The child’s birth certificate or other means of verifying the legal name, DOB, and guardianship.
Out-of-state immunization records. If your child received their immunizations in Wisconsin, you do not need to send the records. We are able to access the records of immunizations given in Wisconsin.

Please reach out to Heidi Cauldwell at 920-983-9174, ext 4125 or hcauldwell@depere.k12.wi.us with questions regarding this process.

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4K Preference Survey

Within the registration process on Infinite Campus, there will be a link that you will click to access the 4K Placement Request Survey.

The system is set up to not allow you to advance without clicking on this link.

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4K Preference Survey

While completing the Preference Survey, prioritize your preferences 1-7 with the number 1 being your highest priority. Be sure to rank all areas.

Site requests will be honored to the greatest extent possible.

Families accessing additional services (i.e. additional care via Learning Lab) at some of our sites will be given priority placement to that site.

Site placement letters will be emailed in summer to the email address(es) provided during the registration process.

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Request for Placement Change

On the 4K website, fill out the “Request for Change in Placement” Google Form

Please note, the Request for Change in Placement Form will close on August 1, 2025 at 4:00 pm.

All change requests will be reviewed by August 8, 2025. Decisions to grant requests will be based on enrollment, classroom balance, and student to teacher ratios.

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Rising Redbirds Play Day

Interested in a fun, educational opportunity before your child starts 4K next year? The “Rising Redbirds” of the De Pere Community will have the opportunity to play with other peers while engaging in fun, educational activities. Available for 3- and 4-year olds who are not currently enrolled in 4k and reside within district boundaries.

Session 4: March 7, 14, 21 & April 4, 11 Session 5: May 2, 9, 16, 23

9:00-10:00 am 9:00-10:00 am

Altmayer Elementary School Altmayer Elementary School

(3001 Ryan Road, De Pere) (3001 Ryan Road, De Pere)

*Space is limited: Register here Registration link.

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Getting Ready for 4K

Summer School Class

Children must be 4 years old on or before Sept 1, 2025 to enroll.
This class helps children "get ready" for 4K through a variety of activities that will strengthen gross and fine motor skills, social skills, listening, and language. Each day the creative art projects, story time, singing, and movement are based on a theme.

An additional fee of $5.00 will be charged for materials and snacks and is due at registration.
Enrollment is limited

Registration for this class will take place with the district summer school program.

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Find It On Our Website

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4K Info On Our Website

Link to De Pere 4K Online Registration

4K Registration How-To Guide

Parent Information Slidedeck
Frequently Asked Questions
De Pere 4K Supply List (updated annually by July 1)
De Pere 4K Parent Handbook
De Pere 4K Request for a Change in Student Placement (will be added in June)

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District Contact Information

Becca Beckman, 4K Administrator

bbeckman@depere.k12.wi.us, (920)337-1035 ext. 5003

Jerry Nicholson, Director of Pupil Services

jnicholson@depere.k12.wi.us (920) 983-9174 x4112

Heidi Cauldwell, Enrollment Specialist

hcauldwell@depere.k12.wi.us (920) 983-9174 x4125

Lamers Bus Line

(920) 336-5264