Puyallup Early Entrance to Kindergarten (PEEK)

• Kindergarten is a full day program
• Typical class size is 18 to 22 children with  one teacher
• Academically rigorous
• Students become increasingly independent  throughout the year

Considerations:

• Your child will likely be the  youngest in the class– as  much as a year younger than other students.
   
• This is a lifelong decision. Your child will always be younger than their peers.
   
• Some children may become anxious or stressed if expectations exceed their developmental capabilities.
   

• A child’s social emotional development is a bigger predictor of early school success than their academic skills or family background.
   

• Learning is a social process.
   

• Important skills for school readiness include:

  • Making and keeping friends 

  • Appropriately identifying and regulating their own emotions

  • Calming down when upset without harming others.

Source: Kindergarten readiness: Social and Emotional Development-MSU Extension

All PEEK candidates will go through an assessment process. This assessment includes activities that measure motor, concepts, language, self-help, and social development.

Information on the child’s skills is also solicited from families and preschool/daycare providers.Children must score significantly above their chronological age in all areas in order to be approved for PEEK.

• Children can only be tested for PEEK one time.
• If there are extraordinary circumstances that may  have impacted the validity of  the test results, families may file an appeal within 10 days of being notified that the  child was not accepted.
• Only about 5-15% of children who apply for early entrance are accepted.