Kindergarten Apply for Kindergarten Visit JB

Julie Billiart Schools enroll students who turn five on or before August 1st. Many of our students are five and even six years old when they begin Kindergarten at JB.

To explore enrollment into Julie Billiart Schools, follow the Admissions Process included on our website. Our Kindergarten space is limited to 12 students at each campus, and spots fill quickly. Interested families should submit an application, along with a child's IEP and ETR, in order to move forward with the admissions process.

JB best serves children with mild to moderate autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, ADD/ADHD, expressive language delays, receptive language delays, written expression difficulties, anxiety disorders, and executive function deficits. All JB students have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and qualify for state scholarship funding. Our setting is not structured for children who need more intensive social, academic, and/or behavioral support.

JB students, even at the Kindergarten level, are expected to verbally communicate their wants and needs. As children grow through our program, we continue to work on expressive, receptive, and pragmatic language. We also offer onsite speech therapy in small group settings.

Our setting is intentionally designed to offer small ratios and direct intervention while still creating a sense of independent learning. Students who require a 1:1 aide or paraprofessional may not be ready for our environment, as our students are expected to independently attend, demonstrate expected behaviors, and complete classwork and homework. Students should be able to safely navigate the school, use the restroom independently, and keep themselves and others safe.

Our Admissions Team is happy to review all of this information with you at an Admissions Information Session or during a 1:1 call. Reach out to admissions@jbschool.org or call 216-716-8318 to schedule!

Every JB student has an educational diagnosis that qualifies him or her to receive special education services. Diagnoses, Individual Education Plans (IEP) and/or Autism Education Plan (AEP) are helpful because they communicate common language, issues and needs. Although an official medical or educational diagnosis is not required, scholarship funding is contingent on an IEP. IEPs are written by a child's school district. To learn more about IEP and AEP and the special education process, please review our admissions guide.

The tuition for the 25-26 school year is $36,100. All of our families receive tuition support in the form of the OhioJon Peterson Special Needs or Autism scholarships and financial aid. Email admissions@jbschool.org or call 216.716.8318 to learn more.

K-2 sets the foundational skills that help students prepare for upper grades. Math, science, and English language arts are rounded out by social studies and religion. Our hidden curriculum helps fill gaps that our kids may have. While neuro-typical kids start school with a basic understanding of social skills or are able to quickly grasp these concepts through observation, non-typical children often benefit from more explicit instruction in these areas. We intentionally integrate concepts like compromising, taking turns, not shouting, making appropriate eye contact, active listening, waiting, and being flexible into our curriculum. You can read more about our K-2 curriculum, here.

We offer rolling admissions, so there is no strict deadline to apply. However, due to our intentionally small class sizes, our Kindergarten seats fill quickly. The first Kindergarten Screening Activity is held in March. Applications submitted prior to March 1 will be eligible to be invited to this activity on a first-come, first-served basis.

All Kindergarten applicants will be invited to a 2-day screening activity held in March at Julie Billiart Schools. Our highly qualified Screen Team, composed of Intervention Specialists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Behavior Analysts, and Administrators, work together to engage your child in a warm, friendly school setting. We explore your child's academic abilities through developmentally appropriate tasks and assessments to better understand your child's academic levels. The most important part of our screening is the social and emotional component, as we want to ensure that Julie Billiart Schools has the appropriate supports in place to help your child thrive. We do not expect perfection, and understand that students come to JB with a wide range of academic and social skills. We observe a student's fine motor skills, problem solving abilities, coping strategies, self advocacy, work stamina, and work ethic. We also love to see how they interact with their peers, answer questions, and follow directions.

Check out our Kindergarten Readiness Webinar Series! Our Intervention Specialists, Therapists, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, and Administrators created a free, four-part series to help families of little learners explore:

• The elements of Kindergarten
• How to prepare children for Kindergarten
• What to look for in a Kindergarten for children with learning and social differences
• How to know when kids are ready for Kindergarten
• And so much more!

Watch episodes of the series, here.

Our Kindergarteners attend a full day of school beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 2:45 p.m. For the first two weeks of school, we typically start with half days to help transition our students into the full-day setting.

It always helps to prepare kids for what they can expect. Our Intervention Specialists and Therapists have created this social story. Please feel free to share it with your child ahead of the Screening Activity!