The Pawtucket Pre-K Integrated Program lottery and the 2025-26 RI Pre-K Lottery Application are currently open. Please click on the links to apply.
FREE Preschool Opportunities for Pawtucket Residents
I am a Pawtucket resident and am interested in Preschool for my child for the 2025-2026 School Year. What should I do?
If you have a child that will be turning 3 or 4 on or before 9/1/2025, your child is eligible for one of our FREE Preschool Programs. This opportunity is available for all Pawtucket families seeking Pre-K.
If you would like your child to be in one of these programs, please complete the lottery forms below. Lotteries will be drawn in early July. At this time you will receive notification of acceptance or waitlisted.
Description of RI Pre-K and Pawtucket Pre-K Integrated Programs
RI Pre-K: RI Pre-K is a state funded General Education Program. The class size is 18 students. This program is all inclusive and supports students with Special Needs through the IECSE model. The Special Educator and Service Providers provide support within the classroom and hold collaborative meetings with the team and the family. These classes within the Pawtucket School System are a part of the school building. Families are welcomed and encouraged to attend all school-wide events. Our classrooms follow the Creative Curriculum and Conscious Discipline. RI Pre-K classrooms in the community may offer extended hours with the option for before and/or after care.
Pawtucket Pre-K Integrated Programs: Our integrated programs for 3 and 4 year olds are also all inclusive programs. The class size is 15 and this is made up of a percentage of students with IEPs and a percentage of typically developing peers. The teachers are dual-certified as a General Educator and as a Special Educator. Related Service providers provide support within the classroom. These classes within the Pawtucket School System are a part of the school building. Families are welcomed and encouraged to attend all school-wide events. Our classrooms follow the Creative Curriculum and Conscious Discipline.
Programs for 4 Year Olds *Your child must be 4 years old by 9/1/25 to apply.
The Rhode Island state-funded preschool program provides a lottery for free, high-quality preschool classes to 4-year-old children. The Rhode Island Department of Education oversees the program and has classrooms in various locations.
Where Can I Find RI State Preschool Classrooms in Pawtucket?
There are a number of RI pre-kindergarten programs in the Pawtucket Community as well as classrooms at each of the following schools:
- Fallon Memorial Elementary School
Hours – 8:40a.m. – 2:50p.m. - Henry J. Winters Elementary School
Hours – 8:40a.m. – 2:50p.m. - Francis J. Varieur Elementary School
- Hours – 9:00a.m. – 3p.m.
RI PRE-K Lottery Notification Form on the RIDE website.
- This form should be completed by any family member with a child turning 4 on or before 9/1/2025. Completing this form will ensure that you are notified by RIDE when the Lottery Opens in the Spring. You are NOT signed up for the lottery by completing this form.
At Flora Curtis, we offer ½ day Pre-Kindergarten sessions for 3 year old children. We offer two sessions:
- A.M. Session: 8:00-10:30
- P.M. Session 11:40-2:10
Your child is eligible to join the program once they turn 3 years old.
Hours and locations subject to change for the 2025-2026 school year.
The Pawtucket Public School Department runs free integrated preschool classrooms and your child must be 4 years old by 9/1/25 to apply.
- Fallon Memorial Elementary
Hours – 8:40a.m. -2:50p.m. - Nathanael Greene Elementary School
Hours – 8:00a.m. – 2:10p.m. - Curvin-McCabe Elementary School
Hours – 8:30a.m.-2:40p.m.
Hours and locations subject to change for the 2025-2026 school year.
PSD District Lottery Link
This form can be completed anyone applying for the PSD Pre-K Integrated Program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Preschool is highly recommended, but is not mandatory at this time. Preschool is also not offered at every school. For these reasons, transportation is not provided by the district, even if distance requirements are met. Students who have the service of transportation written in their IEPs will receive their transportation service as detailed in their IEP, unless the selected RI Pre-K location is in a community based center. In this case, the family will have to transport to the center.
We invite all families to begin our online registration process if you plan on attending one of our district (not community-based) classrooms. If your child was in our 3 year old program OR if your child has an IEP and attends a community based program, you do not need to re-register. Registering does NOT guarantee your child a spot in a program, but it IS required upon selection to RI-PreK in our district and it is required for our integrated programs.
To begin the registration process, you will need to collect the following documents to submit:
- Proof of Residency (2): Bank statement, health insurance statement, payroll stub, federal, state or local government correspondence, car insurance bill, utility bill, lease (choose two). All proof of residency documents must be current (within 30 days) and have your name, date and address visible.
- Birth Certificate
- Parent Photo ID – (license or passport)
- Health information requirements – Up to date immunization records along with the current physical, including vision screening.
Your child is eligible for 2 lotteries – the district lottery and the RI PRE-K lottery. You should apply for both!
PSD District Lottery – this is open and is found above under our “PSD Integrated Program forms.” Location of the program is based on your home address and nearest school.
RI PRE-K Lottery – this lottery is not open yet and will open in mid-April. You CAN fill out a form to be notified once this officially opens on our website. For this lottery, you select your top 3 choices in Pawtucket. There are community locations available as well. All of this information can be found under “RI PRE-K FORMS.”
You do not need to re-register, but you DO need to apply to the lotteries. A full day 4 year old spot is not guaranteed.
You do NOT need to apply to the lottery unless your child has a speech-only IEP (only has a goal for speech). You will be guaranteed a placement with a full IEP based on your child’s service time an individual needs.
You CAN apply to the RI PRE-K lottery if you choose.
District Programs: These programs have a smaller class size and the teacher is a certified Special Educator AND a general educator, so there is more support throughout the day and less children.
RI PRE-K Programs: RI PRE-K programs are general education programs with a larger class size and less Special Education Support. The Special Educator comes in and out of the classroom to support children.
IF your child is currently receiving services and is active in our system, you do NOT need to register your child. We will switch your child’s entity if they are selected for a public school placement. Your child will continue to receive their services.
Child Outreach
Child Outreach is a FREE developmental screening program offered through the Pawtucket School Department in conjunction with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). It is recommended that you have your child screened every year, at the ages of 3, 4 and 5 years old, prior to Kindergarten. Much like the well child visit with your pediatrician, children should participate in the screening annually as activities are based upon what is appropriate for your child’s age and experiences at the time of screening. Because children learn rapidly during these early years, each screening provides families with an up-to-date check on their child’s development.
Learn More
A developmental screening is a brief assessment in five areas of development. It is designed to help families understand how their child is progressing and how they can continue to support their child’s development. The screening is also designed to determine whether a child may experience a challenge which may interfere with the acquisition of knowledge or skills. From birth to age three, children are screened regularly by their pediatricians/physicians. Local school districts provide yearly developmental screening through Child Outreach for 3, 4 and 5 year old children, prior to Kindergarten.
Children are screened by professionals who are trained in the administration of all aspects of the developmental screening. Children are screened at various locations in their community or at our Childhood Outreach office located at 286 Main Street.
HEARING: Otoacoustic Emission Test – A small earphone or probe is placed in the ear. The probe puts sound into the ear and measures the ear’s response to the sounds. Your child does not need to do or say anything during this screening. The person doing the screening can see the results on the monitor screen. LEARN MORE
VISION: Lea Symbols – American Academy of Pediatric Preschool Vision Screening Guidelines. LEARN MORE
SPEECH/LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: The Preschool Language Scales / 5th Edition is a standardized screening tool which screens development in the areas of understanding language, expressive language, articulation, social/emotional communication, fluency and voice.
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT: The Early Screening Inventory/Revised is a standardized screening tool which samples performance in the areas of language, cognition, visual and auditory perception as well as fine and gross motor coordination.
SOCIAL – EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: The Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE -2) provides information, based on parent report, about a child’s self-regulation, compliance, communication, adaptive behaviors, autonomy, affect, and interaction with people.
DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS (DLL): Young children who are learning their home language while simultaneously learning English are Dual Language Learners. The purpose of Child Outreach screening is to get a snapshot of a child’s overall development and is not used to assess a child’s ability to use the English Language in the presence of two languages. Child Outreach makes every effort to screen children who are Dual Language Learners in both developing languages. Communication with families in their dominant language, with assistance from interpreters is an important part of the screening.