4K Preschool

4K Transportation Policy

4K students are eligible for transportation under the following guidelines:

1. Eligibility:

Transportation will be provided to and from the 4K program within the student’s resident school boundary or the boundary of their childcare provider (if different from their residence).

This transportation policy applies for the 4K year only. Once a student begins 5K, the student will follow the School District of La Crosse transportation guidelines.

2. Pick-Up & Drop-Off Locations:

Only Child: If the 4K student is the only child in the household attending the school, they will receive door-to-door transportation before and after 4K programming. 

Sibling Transportation: If the 4K student has an older sibling attending the same school, the student will be picked up or dropped off at the older child’s assigned bus stop (within a few blocks of home) and will walk with their sibling.

3. Mid-Day Transportation:

Due to full-day 4K programming in all of our school sites, mid-day transportation will only be considered if a student is enrolled in a half-day program at one of our partner community child-care sites. Transportation is provided to the child-care site that is closest to the child’s home and would be door-to-door to ensure safe travel between school childcare.

4. Additional Considerations:

Families are responsible for ensuring a designated adult is present at drop-off for door-to-door transportation. A student will not be dropped off if an adult is not present and will be returned to school and it will be the parent/guardian’s responsibility to pick their child up.

Bus routes and stop assignments will be determined based on efficiency and student safety.

This policy ensures safe and accessible transportation for our youngest learners while maintaining consistency with district transportation guidelines.

There is no difference. The terms used synonymously throughout our region and state to reference the same programming.

State Statute indicates that students should be 4 years old on or before September 1. However, if your child has a birthday between September 2nd – 15th and you would be interested in the District considering early entrance to 4K, please contact the 4K Office for more information.

Our 4K program, and subsequent 5K program, is designed to meet the needs of all our students. However, on occasion, parents have asked if they can delay their child’s entry to 4K since a child may only participate in one 4K experience and then are expected to move on to 5K.
School District Administrative Policy 4210 – Entrance Age, provides an avenue for parents of students with a July or August birthday to request delayed entry for one year.  delayed entry form can be found here:  Delayed Entry Application. 

No, the 4K Preschool Program is a one-year experience before your child begins 5-Year-Old Kindergarten.

Preschool classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so early registration is encouraged.

Please note that 4K Preschool is considered boundaryless, meaning that students are not assigned a school based on where they live, parents can choose where their students attend 4K Preschool. This means that once a school is at capacity, it is considered full and a waitlist will be available.

 Once your application is processed, you will get a confirmation email asking your top 3 sites you are requesting, every effort will be made to place your student in your requested site but not guaranteed if applications are submitted after March.

No, preschool is a boundaryless program. your child is welcome to attend preschool at any of our locations, based on availability. Preschool classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so early registration is encouraged.

Your child will be expected to attend their boundary school for Kindergarten. If you would like to know your boundary school, please use the Boundary Search.

The School District of La Crosse is proud to partner with 4 off-site locations – Coulee Children’s Center, Congregational Preschool, Gundersen Child Care Center, and UWL Campus Child Center. These sites offer the School District of La Crosse Four-Year-Old Preschool Program curriculum, taught by a licensed teacher. Half day classes are available, the preschool program is free, however, students have the option to stay on-site for extended care, if needed. Please contact each site for rates and availability of extended child care.

If you are not a resident of the La Crosse School District, you will need to apply for Open Enrollment.  Please visit the open enrollment website for more information, including instructions for applying.

Limited transportation is provided for preschoolers within the boundary system.  Please call the preschool office regarding your transportation needs.

All transportation requests need to be submitted online by August 1st to ensure transportation for the first day of school.  Please follow the link to register your child and for additional information:

https://www.lacrosseschools.org/parents/transportation/

If you need to make a change in your child’s transportation, during the school year, call the 4K Preschool office at (608)789-7006.  All changes in transportation take 3 business days to process.

Children learn and grow at different rates.  The school district can help! Reach out to your child's teacher if you have concerns.

We have community-based partner sites that provide half day programming. Please see the locations below.

Yes, your child will still be eligible for transportation. You will be enrolled in the school or community-partner site that is closest to your boundary school. This means that to be eligible for transportation your student may attend 1/2 day programming. You can still select a full-day site, however transportation would then be your responsibility.

The school district does not provide wrap care for 4K Preschool. We do provide transportation to in-home and privately owned child care centers within the boundary of the school your student attends.