Pre-Kindergarten

Henry County Schools GA Lottery Pre-K program is an age-appropriate instructional program for 4-year-olds that prepares students for a successful transition to kindergarten and beyond. The program is a full day program that operates under the regular school calendar. The school day begins at 7:35 a.m. and ends at 2:15 p.m.

Pre-K teachers use Georgia Early Learning Development Standards (GELDS) to make every moment with your child a learning opportunity. To explore the GELDS, go to gelds.decal.ga.gov/.

Below you will find information regarding our application and lottery selection process and Pre-K locations.

COMING SOON: 2025–2026 Pre-K Lottery Application Information 

The Pre-Kindergarten lottery application for the 2025-2026 school year will be available from January 27–February 7, 2025. The application will be available at 8:00 am, Monday, January 27, 2025, and can be accessed by clicking HERE. Completing the lottery application does not guarantee that your child will be selected for a seat. Lottery applications will NOT be accepted after February 7th at 4:00 p.m. for any reason. Applications must have a valid email address.

The lottery drawing will take place on March 4th, 2025. Notification of selection 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 6th-7th. 

Requirements
For your child to be eligible for the Henry County Schools’ Georgia Lottery Funded Pre-Kindergarten program:

• Your child must turn 4 years of age, on or before September 1, 2025

Multiple Siblings
If you are the parent/guardian of twins, triplets, multiple siblings, etc. who are age-eligible for Pre-Kindergarten, you are required to submit one application per child. Once you have applied for the lottery, you must contact the Office of Early Learning at PreK@henry.k12.ga.us to inform us that you have multiple age-eligible children entered into the lottery. Emails must be received by Friday, February 7th by 4:00 p.m. 

During the lottery drawing, the applications will be selected together. However, there is a chance that only one child will be selected for a seat on the roster. In the event that sibling applications are drawn for the last seat on the roster, only one sibling will be placed on the roster and remaining siblings will be waitlisted. 

***Failure to inform the Office of Early Learning via email regarding multiple sibling applications will result in each application being selected individually.

Out of District Applicants
In accordance with Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, a child who resides within another local school system’s attendance zone may not be denied service but may be placed on a waiting list until all children who do reside within the district are enrolled.

Therefore, once all Henry County applicants have been selected for a roster and all waitlists have been exhausted, out of district applicants will be contacted to fill vacancies.

Lottery Process
Seats are filled through a random selection lottery process. You may submit ONE application per child. 

The selection process consists of a three-tier lottery system. 

Tier 1: Students who live within the attendance zone of the selected school will receive priority in the lottery selection. Addresses will be verified and seats will be filled from this list first. Once all seats are filled, a waitlist will be created from the remaining applicants. 

Tier 2: Students who do not reside within the attendance zone of the desired school, but live within the Henry County School district, will be selected through a random lottery process and placed on the waitlist. This waitlist will be used if a class is not filled with tier 1 applicants or if the tier 1 list is exhausted before all seats are filled. Additionally, if selected for a seat on the roster, you must provide transportation to and from the school.

Tier 3: Applicants who reside outside of Henry County. Once all Henry County applicants have been selected for a roster and all waitlists have been exhausted, out of district applicants will be contacted to fill vacancies.

Click here if you are unsure of your attendance zone. 

If your child is zoned for a Henry County School that does not offer GA Lottery Pre-Kindergarten, you may submit an application for any site offering GA Lottery PreK. However, applications that are not zoned for GA Lottery Pre-Kindergarten locations are considered tier 2. 

Once you have submitted your lottery application, you should receive an email verifying your submission. There is no need to contact the Office of Early Learning after submission, unless your submission is for multiple age-eligible siblings.  

All Henry County School employees are eligible to apply. However, HCS employee status does not automatically guarantee a seat on the roster. Applications will follow the guidelines of the tier process.  Employees who do not meet the qualifications for tier 1 will be considered a tier 2 applicant. Employment status will be verified. 

Children who are 4 years old by September 1, 2025 are eligible to participate in the 2025-2026 Pre-Kindergarten program. Acceptance into the program will be based on a random lottery selection process for each school site with priority given to children residing within the individual school attendance zone.

In accordance with federal guidelines, the Early Learning Department retains the right to use available seats for: children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, children in military families, and/or experiencing other hardships that may require placement (Bright from the Start Operating Guidelines). Each year, current families in Henry County Schools are required to update and/or verify important information and documents as a part of the annual process for starting the new school year.  Because these family updates from the annual process may take place after a family has submitted a Pre-K application; the Early Learning Department reserves the right to finalize any site determination using the most recent verifiable information.

Eligibility for Enrollment
If selected for a seat on the roster, the documents below will be required at the time of registration. Henry County Schools Registration Requirements

• Photo ID of the parent/guardian registering the student (government-issued photo ID, driver’s license, passport)

• Age Documentation (original or certified copy of the birth certificate indicating 4 years old by September 1, 2025.)

• Proof of Guardianship (original birth certificate with parent name OR guardianship documents)

• Proof of Residency (lease/property tax statement, and 1 utility bill: power/gas bill/trash/cable/water OR address affidavit**)

• Certificate of Immunization (Form 3231)

• Certificate of Eye, Ear, Dental, and Nutrition Exam (Form 3300)

• Forms required from Bright from the Start: Roster Information Form & Registration Form

• Child’s Social Security Card is requested for each student (original card or waiver)  

 

Locations and Attendance Requirements

GA Lottery Pre-Kindergarten students follow the Henry County Schools calendar and abide by the Henry County Schools Attendance Policy. Students are expected to be in attendance for the full instructional day (7:35 am -2:15 pm), every school day. Students who are absent for 10 consecutive days without a medical excuse must be removed from the class per state guidelines.

Henry County Schools | Pre-K Programs

Austin Road Elementary School
50 Austin Rd., Stockbridge, GA 30281, 770.389.6556

Birch Creek Elementary School
850 Willow Lane, McDonough, GA 30253, 470.483.0477

Fairview Elementary School
458 Fairview Rd., Stockbridge, GA 30281, 770.474.8265

Hampton Elementary School
10 Central Ave., Hampton, GA 30228, 770.946.4345

Mt. Carmel Elementary School
2450 Mt. Carmel Rd., Hampton, GA 30228, 770.897.9799

Oakland Elementary School
551 Hwy 81 West, McDonough, GA 30253,  770.954.1901

Pate’s Creek Elementary School
1309 Jodeco Rd., Stockbridge, GA 30281, 770.389.8819

Rocky Creek Elementary School
803 Hampton-Locust Grove Road, Hampton, GA 30228, 770.707.1469

Tussahaw Elementary School
225 Coan Dr., McDonough, GA 30252, 770.957.0164

Wesley Lakes Elementary School
685 McDonough Pkwy., McDonough, GA 30253, 770.914.1889

Woodland Elementary School
830 North Mosley Dr., Stockbridge, GA 30281, 770.506.6391