Pre-K at Kolter

  • Pre-K Overview

    The preschool program is geared for children who are four years old. This is an exciting time for many children as they transition from other preschool environments or home to a more structured setting. The preschool program follows the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines through the use of integrated units over six 6 week grading periods. The domain skill areas covered through the integrated units are social emotional development, language and communication, emergent literacy in reading and writing, social studies, mathematics, science, fine arts, physical development, and technology.

    Pre-K Enrollment Information

    We have one Pre-K 4 classroom at Kolter Elementary that consists of 22 students every year. If you are interested in our Pre-K program, please follow the steps below:

    If you are interested in applying for your child to be in the Kolter Pre-K class (whether you are zoned or not), please follow the steps below. Your child must be 4 years old by September 1st of the upcoming school year. 

    • Pre-K Tuition-Free Eligibility

      Texas law permits tuition-free Pre-K for students who are deemed eligible.

      Take the survey here to see if you qualify for free Pre-K.

    ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

    • To be eligible for Pre-K enrollment in the district’s Pre-K program, a child must:

      • Be 3 or 4 years of age on or before September 1 of the given school year
      • Live within the boundaries of the Houston Independent School District

      AND meet one of the eligibility requirements below for the tuition-free program:

      • Economically Disadvantaged: Please open this income chart and find the row that matches the number of family members living in your home to determine eligibility.

      • Limited English: Child is unable to speak or understand English (PreLas testing is required, and results will determine if child is eligible).

      • Homeless: Child is defined as homeless if his or her family is living in temporary or transitional housing, such as a hotel, motel, car, homeless shelter, shelter not designed for human habitation, such as a tent, or doubled-up with another family. Homeless students are enrolled regardless of documentation.

      • U.S. Military: Child of an active-duty member of the U.S. military, including reserve armed forced or one who has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty.

      • Foster Care: Child is currently or formerly in foster care.

      • Head Start Eligibility: Meets the SNAP or TANF criteria

      • Star of Texas Award: Child of a Parent/Guardian that is awarded the Star of Texas Award as a peace office, firefighter, or an emergency medical first responder that has been injured or killed in line of duty. (Parent’s/Guardian’s name must be on the Governor’s list.)

      HISD offers Pre-K on a tuition basis to 3- and 4-year-olds who do not meet the eligibility requirements to attend the free program. The 2023-2024 tuition rate is $6,484 or 9 payments of $720.45 each month (tuition increases approximately by $30 each year). Payments are due on the 1st of the month and can be submitted to the campus via check or money order.

    Please make sure that you fill out an application for Pre-K on the HISD Choice website HERE.

    • Create an account and application HERE. 
    • Enter your child’s student information and family information.
    • Under Magnet & Program Choice Transfers scroll down to “Open Enrollment” and check “Pre-K Enrollment”.
    • Under the School Selection tab scroll down to “Kolter Elementary”.
    • Click the down arrow and check “Kolter Elementary/PreK Enrollment” under “Transfers”. Scroll all the way down and click “Continue”.
    • If you apply to more than one program, it will ask you to rank your choices.
    • If you have any other children who are applying, are in the district, or attend Kolter, please fill out their information under the “Siblings” tab.
    • If you have twins, check that the sibling is a twin. Click “Continue”.
    • This will bring you to the “PK Criteria” tab. Please read the information carefully to determine if your child would be considered a “Non-Tuition TEA Eligible” student or a “Tuition (TEA Non-Eligible)” student and select the appropriate radio button.
    • Sign the application electronically and complete the application by submitting.
    • At this time, there is no information that needs to be directly submitted to the school. 

    Pre-K Tuition

    • The tuition for Pre-K varies from year-to-year and is subject to change and/or increase every school year. This year, the tuition was $6,484 for the year. If your child qualifies for Pre-K based on a home language other than English, family income, or being a military family, then your family will not pay tuition. In order for your child to qualify as a TEA Eligible candidate for language, please indicate it on your child's application and we will contact you in the late spring to schedule a language test date.