The Lumpkin County School System Early Start Pre-K provides quality instruction for children that promotes the social, emotional, physical, cognitive, language, and literacy development of each child through varied and developmentally appropriate activities. 

GA Pre-K Programs operate under Bright From The Start: The Department of Early Care and Learning and follow their rules and regulations. Class size is restricted, so space is limited in our Pre-K programs. Enrollment is based on a lottery system. 

Your child must turn 4 years of age on or before September 1, 2025 to be eligible.

Lumpkin County Schools Pre-K Lottery Process

The Pre-Kindergarten lottery application for the 2025-26 school year will be open from February 12-March 5, 2025. Lottery registration will close on March 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM. 

Completing the lottery application does not guarantee that your child will be selected for a seat. Lottery applications will NOT be accepted after March 5th at 5 PM for any reason. Applications must have a valid email address, Lumpkin County mailing address, and phone number.  Your application confirmation will be sent  via email.

The lottery drawing will take place on  March 7, 2025. Notification of selection and registration information will be sent to the email provided on the lottery application. Please check your email, including spam and junk mail folders, for notifications beginning on March 10, 2025.

If you are the parent/guardian of twins, triplets, multiple siblings, etc. who are age-eligible for Pre-K, you are required to submit one application per child. Please note that all applications are selected individually, and there is a chance that only one child will be selected for a seat on the roster.

The selection process consists of a two-tier lottery system.
Tier 1: Once applications are complete, students who live within the attendance zone of each elementary school will be entered in the lottery selection for that school. Child age and address will be verified and seats will be filled from this list first, with priority given to LCSS employees’ children and students being served through the LCSS special education program. Once all seats are filled at a site, a waitlist will be created for the remaining applicants.
Tier 2: Students who do not wish to attend the school  within their attendance zone  but live within the Lumpkin County School District, will be eligible to apply for the random lottery process for the LCES pre-k site (on the same campus as Lumpkin County Middle School). No transportation will be provided to and from this site. Once all seats are filled for this site, remaining applicants will be placed on the waitlist.  

Those students who are not selected in the lottery drawing or who register after March 5, 2025 will be placed on the waiting list. 

Eligibility for Enrollment

If selected for a seat on the roster, the documents below will be required at the time of registration. Lumpkin County Schools registration requirements include:
    *Completed Pre-K registration in Infinite Campus
    *Birth certificate indicating 4 years old by September 1, 2025
    *Proof of Residency (lease/property tax statement and current utility bill {gas/electric/water/sanitation/cable} OR address affidavit** within the last 30 days)
    *Certificate of Immunization (Form 3231)
    *Certificate of Eye, Ear, Dental, and Nutrition Exam (Form 3300)
    *Child’s Social Security Card (original card or waiver)

Attendance Requirements

The program will follow the school system calendar adopted by the LCSS BOE each year.  Any changes made to the calendar throughout the school year will apply to the Early Start Pre-K, as well.  

Students are expected to be in attendance for the full instructional day, every school day. Students who are absent for 10 consecutive days without a medical excuse must be removed from the class per state guidelines.