Early Learning Programs

Complete our Intake form to place your child on the 2026-2027 school year waitlist!

Early Learning Program Intake

Olympia School District provides a continuum of special education services for children ages 3-5 years old. The following preschool programs are available in the Olympia School District:

• Community Integrated Support (CIS)
• Developmental Preschool
• Children with Special Needs
• Community Peers
• Intensive Preschool
• Preschool Information

Community Integrated Support (CIS)

Community Integrated Support provide special education services to children in their community-based regular early childhood program. These services consist of direct services to students as well as consultation for early childhood providers and families.

CIS is the least intensive special education preschool model available in the Olympia School District. Services may be provided by a special education teacher and paraprofessional in the student’s community-based regular early childhood program located in OSD boundaries. 

Regular early childhood programs are defined as public and private child care centers but do not include home-based daycare settings. Regular early childhood providers who are interested in these services at their center are encouraged to participate in our Coordinated Enrollment meetings.

Developmental Preschool

• Children with Special Needs

• Community Peers

Developmental Preschool is an integrated special education preschool program designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities. These flexible programs provide services to the majority of preschool-age children with disabilities in Olympia School District. Each classroom has up to 9 students with disabilities and up to 9 Community Peers. Students attend this program for 2.5 hours per day 4 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). A variety of curricula are used to meet the diverse needs of the learners in this setting. Depending on a student’s needs, additional therapy services may be integrated into their program.

Children with Special Needs

Students with developmental concerns may be referred at any time for evaluation by family or community members. Developmental evaluations address skills in cognition, communication, motor, social and adaptive skills. Evaluations are conducted by a multidisciplinary team. Eligibility is based on federal and state regulations. Students who qualify for specially designed instruction may receive support from special education preschool teachers, speech/language therapists, occupational/physical therapists, and other specialists based on individual needs. Students eligible for and in need of specially designed instruction will have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) describing the student's goals, supports and services. There is no tuition associated with Special Education services, and transportation is provided within school district boundaries. To refer a child due to developmental concerns, call 360-596-7539, email the Early Learning Department, or click on our Intake Form link above.

Community Peers

Community Peers must be 3 years old prior to September 1st to enroll. Enrollment priority is given to students living in each school's attendance area. There is no school district transportation available for Community Peers. The district maintains a “waiting list” for Community Peers for both the current and upcoming school year. If you are interested in a Community Peer spot for this year, we will place your child’s name and contact information on our waitlist. Call 360-596-7539 or email the Early Learning Department, or click on our Intake Form link above.

Tuition for Community Peer spaces during the 2026-2027 school year is $265 per month, due on the 1st of each month, through June. Reduced tuition is available for families who meet USDA Child Nutrition Program Income Guidelines. Parents paying tuition will sign a Family Commitment Agreement with the school district. Families whose students fall in the "at-risk" category, based on developmental screening, may be eligible for tuition-free enrollment using Title 1 resources. 

OSD offers Developmental Preschool at several of our elementary schools:

West Olympia

• Garfield Elementary

• Hansen Elementary

• McLane Elementary

East Olympia

• Roosevelt Elementary

• McKenny Elementary

Intensive Preschool

Olympia School District’s Intensive Preschool Program is designed to meet the special education needs of students with foundational communication and social-emotional needs. This program is highly structured, offers a high staff-to-student ratio, has opportunities for full-day services, and offers less access to non-disabled peers than Developmental Preschool. This program utilizes an ABA (applied behavior analysis) approach that incorporates Discrete Trial Training, Pivotal Response Training, and Functional Routines.

OSD offers Intensive Preschool at the following schools:

West Olympia

• Hansen Elementary

East Olympia

• McKenny Elementary

Preschool Information

• First day of preschool is Thursday, September 10th

• Developmental and Intensive preschool students attend class four days per week. Classes are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. There is no preschool on Wednesday. There is no preschool on the district's early release days.

• 2026-2027 Community Peer Tuition Rates

  • Tuition for Community Peer students is $265 monthly payments September - June
    Reduced tuition for families who meet free and reduced lunch criteria is $75 monthly payments September - June. 

  • Pay Tuition -  Online Payment Portal

• Transportation is not provided for Community Peer students

• 2026-2027 Developmental Preschool Calendar

For Out-of-District Families Interested in Enrolling in an OSD Preschool:

In accordance with Olympia School District Policy/Procedure 3141, any student who resides outside the district and wishes to attend an OSD school—preschool included—must submit a transfer request.

• Preschool Transfer Form

This applies to both new applicants and those renewing an existing transfer (for students already attending an OSD school outside their designated attendance area).

To be considered for a preschool transfer, please complete the Preschool Transfer Form.

Once a decision has been made, you will be notified via email by the District Office.

Community Integrated Support provides special education services to children in their community-based regular early childhood program located within OSD boundaries. This program consists of direct services to students as well as consultation for early childhood providers and families.

Intake Form

Olympia School District’s Early Support Services (also known as “Infant-Toddler”) program is located at McKenny Elementary School and provides services to families of children with disabilities from birth up to age 3. Services are primarily provided through a family coaching model. 

Services and supports are available to families of eligible students who reside within the district's boundaries. A combination of home visits, toddler groups, therapy appointments, and parenting education programs may be provided to children and families depending on their need. 

When a child is referred for this program, the Early Support Services team may complete screening and evaluation in these areas: 

• Vision

• Hearing

• Cognitive Skills

• Social/Emotional Skills

• Adaptive Skills

• Motor Skills

• Communication Skills

Early Support Services Contact Information

Denise Kiers

Family Resource Coordinator

Deborah Morton

Family Resource Coordinator 

Now Enrolling for 2026-2027!

Complete the ECEAP Pre-Eligibility form to see if you qualify

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) offers no-cost preschool options to eligible children and families. Services include instruction delivered by certified staff using a developmentally appropriate curriculum, transportation, meals, and family support. We are excited to announce that the Olympia School District will host the Child Care Action Council (CCAC). ECEAP classrooms for the 2026-27 school year.

ECEAP is designed to meet the needs of students and families who meet income eligibility criteria, require Special Education services, or are experiencing other barriers to participation in early childhood programming. Enrollment will be prioritized for those families exhibiting the greatest need for services based on a review of multiple risk factors.

Garfield Elementary School will host CCAC’s 2 school-day ECEAP classrooms. These school-day classrooms include meals for students and family support. Part-day special education services can be provided to eligible students in that classroom.

Families interested in enrollment can complete the pre-eligibility form or contact the Early Learning department at 360-596-7539. Please also feel free to contact CCAC’s center director, Amanda Sanders, at 360-789-0471 for details about ECEAP operations.

Thank you for your support as we work to continue ECEAP access for the Olympia community. We are fortunate to have CCAC supporting our schools with ECEAP. Please feel free to call or email us with any questions!

Complete our Intake form to place your child on the 2026-2027 school year waitlist!

Early Learning Program Intake

Transition to Kindergarten (TK) provides full-day schooling for students who do not have access to other early childhood programs. This program is designed to support students who face barriers to future school success. Students can be eligible to participate in this program prior to their kindergarten year.

OSD's TK program is designed to meet the needs of students who do not have access to other early childhood programs. Olympia School District is committed to non-competition with community-based regular early childhood programs. We invite Olympia-area providers to visit our website for more information about our program and to learn how to participate in coordinated enrollment.

Parent Information

All students deserve access to quality early childhood programming before they start kindergarten. While there are several community-based early childhood programs in Olympia, current data indicates that there is a significant number of students who are not accessing programming before they enter kindergarten.

OSD hopes to help address this need with Transition to Kindergarten and is focused on identifying children who face barriers to school success and have not had access to a regular early childhood program.

Participating students will have access to a full-day program that is designed to prepare them for kindergarten. The teacher and paraprofessional in the classroom will use a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Lunch and recess will be incorporated into the daily schedule, and transportation will be available for students who live in the school's attendance area. 

Students must meet the following criteria:

•  Students who do not have access to a regular early childhood program and

• Are age-eligible to attend (birthdays September 1, 2021 - August 31, 2022)

Priority access will be granted to the following situations: 

• The student's family income meets free and reduced meal requirements.

• The student's family speaks multiple languages.

• The student's family is experiencing housing instability.

• The student's family comes from another historically marginalized population

• The student's family meets one of the priority criteria listed above and lives within the school's attendance area.

OSD's funding for the provision of TK was significantly reduced during the 2026 legislative session. In order to continue operating TK programming, OSD will now need to charge sliding-scale tuition to families of TK students. Students eligible for Special Education services and students who meet the eligibility criteria for Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) will not be charged tuition. Families who meet reduced lunch criteria will be expected to pay $200 per month for tuition. Families who do not meet any of the previously stated criteria will be expected to pay $725 per month for tuition. These fees are comparable to those charged for Community Peers in our Developmental Preschool classrooms. Failure to pay tuition will result in removal from the TK program to allow other students and families access. 

Community Early Childhood Providers

Olympia School District values the work our community providers do to prepare our students for kindergarten! Olympia has a diverse and flourishing group of early childhood providers that is essential for our community to function. Thank you all for the hard work that you do every day!

OSD's Transition to Kindergarten program is committed to non-competition for student attendance as one of our core beliefs. Because of this, OSD will only admit children who do not have access to a regular early childhood program into our TK program. At the same time, we must work to seek out eligible students who are unable to access a program to prepare them for kindergarten.

Washington State defines a “regular early childhood program” as follows:

“Regular early childhood program means a program that includes fifty percent or more children who do not have an IEP. Programs may include, but are not limited to, the following: Head start; early childhood education and assistance program (ECEAP); transitional kindergarten; kindergarten; preschool classes offered to an eligible prekindergarten population by the public school system; private kindergartens or preschools; group child development centers; or child care.”

Please note that home-based daycare programs are not considered to be regular early childhood programs per federal guidelines.

In order to avoid local competition, OSD will engage in coordinated enrollment with area providers. This system of coordinated enrollment will work to route interested families to the appropriate early childhood program to meet their needs. This includes both public and private community-based regular early childhood programs!

If you are interested in having your name added to our communication list for coordinated enrollment, please email earlylearning@osd.wednet.edu.

OSD currently has a Transition to Kindergarten classroom located at the following schools: 

West Olympia

• LP Brown Elementary

East Olympia

• Madison Elementary

If your child currently has an IEP and is already eligible for special education services, call the ECE Program Referral Line at (360) 596-7539 or email earlylearning@osd.wednet.edu. Once records can be reviewed and placement and eligibility are determined, directions for enrollment will be arranged with the parent.

OSD offers free developmental screening during the school year for children between the ages 3 and 5 who are not yet kindergarten age and live in district boundaries. These screenings address suspected developmental delays for preschool-aged children in the areas listed above. For more information or to schedule a screening appointment, call the ECE Program Referral Line at (360) 596-7539 or email earlylearning@osd.wednet.edu.

If there are concerns regarding the development of a child under the age of 3, free screenings and services are available to Olympia School District residents. For additional information regarding these screenings/services, call the ECE Program Referral Line at (360-596-7539) or email earlylearning@osd.wednet.edu.

OSD’s Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a transitional program designed to assist young learners between the ages of 4 and 5 who would benefit from additional support to be successful in kindergarten. This free program runs the length of the school year and is available to families who meet our program requirements. For more information, call the ECE Program Referral Line at (360) 596-7539 or email earlylearning@osd.wednet.edu.

Please follow the Olympia School District’s website and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). We also encourage you to monitor local radio and/or television stations for up-to-date information about weather-related closures or delays. If school is open but you think it would be unsafe for your child to attend, school officials will accept your judgment and it will be treated as an excused absence.

The school district will make every effort to operate normally, despite the weather. On rare occasions, however, weather conditions may make it necessary to modify bus routes, and when that occurs, the district and media outlets will be asked to announce the use of “snow routes” or “emergency routes.” Some of the emergency route changes are listed here:

• Emergency Snow Routes (East Side)
• Emergency Snow Routes (West Side)
• Emergency Snow Routes (Griffin Area)