Enrolling in the Early Childhood programs with NOLA Public Schools is designed to be a process to ensure that children in New Orleans have access to important early education. Families interested in enrolling their young ones into programs such as pre-kindergarten must go through a unified application process. This means using one standard form to apply to various schools or learning centers within the NOLA PS system, making it simpler and more efficient. This system helps families by avoiding multiple different applications with different deadlines and requirements, streamlining the process for the crucial early years of a child's education.

• Main Round: Students are assigned to schools/centers based on the family's preferences, the child’s needs, and space availability in schools. 
• Open Enrollment: Students are assigned based on what schools/centers families placed on their list and space availability. 
   

• Log into the Parent Portal. If it is your first time applying, you will need to create login credentials.​
• Follow the prompts to create your family profile.​
• Complete Eligibility Check prompts.​
• Select school choices. ​
• Answer questions and upload documents for eligibility verification directly in the Parent Portal.

Funding Sources:

• LA4 - is the primary preschool program in Louisiana, serving more than 16,000 children. It provides full day pre-K programming in public schools to four-year-olds from disadvantaged families.

• NSECD - provides pre-K programming to more than 1,300 four-year-olds from low-income families. Children in the NSECD program receive full day pre-K in state-approved private preschools and child care centers.

• Tuition OR - an Orleans Parish resident only tuition seat that is paid by the family

• Tuition LA - a Louisiana resident only tuition seat that is paid by the family

• City Seats - created in 2017 to increase access to early learning for those with the greatest need in Orleans Parish, improve the overall quality of participating early learning centers in Orleans Parish, and provide wraparound supports to caregivers & families in Orleans Parish. Visit this link for more information.

• ECEF/CCAP/B3 - intended to incentivize local investment in and fundraising for early childhood care and education by providing a dollar-for-dollar State Match for locally-generated funds.

• Special Education (IDEA) Funds - under this federal formula grant are combined with state and local funds to provide a free and appropriate education (FAPE) to children with disabilities.

Definitions

• Agenda For Children - a Louisiana-based nonprofit organization dedicated to making Louisiana a state in which all children can thrive by ensuring that the basic needs of children and families are met, improving the quality of teaching and learning, and advocating for policies that support children and their families.
• Avela -  offers a complete student application and enrollment solution for education providers that covers all stages of the enrollment journey 
• Categorically eligible - a term that means someone automatically qualifies for a benefit or a program because they are already part of a certain group or category.
• Early Childhood (EC) Millage -  a special pocket of money that comes from taxes, which is used only for programs for early learners.
• FRC - Family Resource Center; a place where families can receive assistance with the NOLA PS enrollment process
• Free Seat - publicly funded seat for eligible families
• Funding Source - how a seat is funded; there are multiple different funding sources (i.e. LA4, City Seats, MFP, NSECD, etc)
• Head Start - federal programs that prioritize low income students; Head Start progams manage their own waitlists and offers.
• Main Round - the first "window" for families to complete the EC enrollment application
• Open Enrollment - the "open door" period where families can complete the EC enrollment application; chances of being waitlisted are higher during this period
• Salesforce - a system that organizations use to keep large amounts of data organized 
• State Match - The State of Louisiana matched the amount of funds Orleans Parish received through the EC millage.
• Tuition Seat - seats that families have to pay for (unless their child receives MFP funding)
• Waitlists - students are placed on these lists by age and funding source if spots are full.