Per Massachusetts General Law, only students residing with a parent or legal guardian in the Town of Belmont are eligible to attend the Belmont Public Schools when they are age appropriate. Please note possessing guardianship in and of itself does not allow a child to enroll in Belmont Public Schools and requires review and Superintendent approval.

For students who are Homeless and may have challenges providing the required residency documentation, please contact the Superintendent’s office for further guidance and assistance.

Admission to the Belmont Public Schools

Students residing in the Town of Belmont are eligible to attend the Belmont Public Schools when they are age appropriate.  Parents/guardians register children in their neighborhood school via the on-line portal and by submitting documents at the school.  Placement at schools within the district is determined by the Superintendent after registration is complete. Once children are registered and assigned to a school, their placement at that school remains constant from year to year unless a family moves out of their district. Families do not need to re-register their child for each new school year.

While there is no guarantee that students entering K will be placed at the same school as their siblings, as long as registration is complete by the date set each year, prioritization of siblings is a strong consideration for placement. See kindergarten registration on this page.

For the most up-to-date information on registration and admission to Belmont schools, please visit BPS registration webpage.

Kindergarten Registration

Belmont offers a full-day, fee based Kindergarten program; parents may opt for a cost-free morning program of three hours and fifteen minutes.  A child who is five years old on or before September 1, is eligible for Kindergarten in September of that year. The Belmont Public Schools’ early childhood programs encompass a broad range of developmentally-appropriate learning activities.  Parents are encouraged to enroll their children in Kindergarten when they are age appropriate. In the spring, a packet of information is sent to all parents known to have eligible children. There is a district-wide incoming K Parent Information Night held annually typically in January.

Registration takes place beginning in early Spring when parents can begin to fill out on-line registration. They then submit the necessary supporting documents on specified appointment days. Once all information and required documents are submitted school assignment is determined by the Superintendent, after which parents can sign up for a slot to attend Kindergarten Intake Screening day at their assigned school, which is usually in May.  This includes a parent conference with the school counselor and school psychologist, and with our English Language Teachers if applicable, as well as student assessments, and a classroom visit. Please see the Kindergarten Registration page for more information.

Kindergarten Screening

Kindergarten screening is a brief check of all kindergarten children in the areas of:

• personal and social development

• speech and language skills

• eye/hand coordination

• small and large muscle control

• hearing and vision

Most children develop in these areas at a rate which is within the typical range for their age.

Public Schools are required by Chapter 766 (Special Education Law) to conduct an annual screening of all kindergarten youngsters.  The screening is free to all town residents. Screening helps identify young children who may require further evaluation to determine the need for specialized services.

The screening process begins in the spring on our Kindergarten Intake Screening Day, and then concludes in the fall when further assessments are conducted during the school day.

Parental understanding and awareness of their child is important.  Parents will complete a questionnaire about their child’s developmental and medical history and review it with the School Counselor or School Psychologist at the Kindergarten Intake Screening in the spring.  Any questions or concerns they may have about their child should be reviewed at the interviews.

Children are then screened during the fall of their kindergarten year during the regular school day.  Who is involved in Kindergarten Screening?

Kindergarten children are screened by certified school personnel who are trained in the screening process.  The personnel include:

• Kindergarten teachers

• Resource teachers

• Speech and language pathologists

All parents are notified in writing of the results of the screening.  In the vast majority of cases, they will receive the reassurance that their child is developing typically.  When the results indicate a reasonable likelihood that a child has a need for further evaluation or interventions, the school staff will contact the parents to discuss the results of the screening. 

Transfers

Parents of children entering the Belmont Public Schools from another school system need to provide:

• documentation of a current physical examination (within the past year),

• documentation of immunizations

• a record of achievement from their last school.

This registration may be accomplished during regular school hours at the elementary school in the district in which the child is residing. Parents of children who are relocating to another school system should bring the name, address and phone number of the new school to the office of the current school, so that student records can be forwarded.

Students' Classroom Assignments

For returning students in grades 1-4 and K students who were fully registered by June, notifications of classroom assignment are usually mailed to parents in mid July. Please alert the school office if your child will not be returning in the fall. Assignments students new to the school are determined on a rolling basis.

Our goal is to create classes that are well-balanced with groups of children who can work together educationally and socially.

In order to make the placement process effective, we provide the opportunity for Parents/Guardians to submit their thoughts on a specific form, due prior to April Vacation each year.  As our goal is consistency, we request that the form be the sole form of communication, rather than personal letters or narratives. We also request that Parents/Guardians avoid requesting a teacher by name.  The three areas for your input – Goals, Student Learning Style, and any Special Information – give us the most valuable information and help us make the best decisions. Please understand that while we do our best to take these requests into consideration, we cannot make any guarantees.  What we can guarantee is that we will do our best to create balanced classes that ensure a highly effective working environment for all Butler School children.

Placement is a very intricate and thoughtful process that elicits input from many people who have in-depth knowledge of students.  It is our best thinking that ultimately results in class lists that are designed to benefit all students. Therefore, once assignments have been made, they are considered final.  Making a change in one child's placement after the fact can create an adverse "domino effect" that can undermine the carefully planned arrangement of an entire grade.

For any additional questions concerning placement, please feel free to contact the principal.