Get your preschooler geared up: Pre-k lottery opens Feb. 1

Beginning Feb. 1 through March 5, parents of 4-year-old children who live in Catoosa County may enter their child's name in the drawing for the lottery-funded Georgia Pre-k classes.

A public drawing to award available PreK assignments will be held virtually on the Catoosa County Public Schools website (https://www.catoosa.k12.ga.us) on Friday, April 12, at 9 a.m. Parents or legal guardians who would like to have their child's name entered in the drawing must complete and return a Request to Participate in Pre-k Drawing Form between Feb. 1 and March 5. Any request received after March 5 will be placed on the school system's waiting list after the lottery drawing is completed.

The Request to Participate in Pre-k Drawing Form is available at all primary and elementary schools in Catoosa County (8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and may also be completed at the Student Enrollment Center, 108 High St., Ringgold, Georgia, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday. (closed for lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)

Pre-k enrollment is open and nondiscriminatory, based on a public lottery among those eligible to participate. Children will not be denied participation on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or disability.

Eligibility: Currently, a child must be born between Sept. 2, 2019, and Sept. 1, 2020, to be eligible for Georgia Pre-k services, and the child must be a Catoosa County resident at the time of the drawing. Georgia residents outside of Catoosa County will be placed on a waiting list until all children within the district are enrolled.