WTPS Announces Additional Lottery Drawing for 2025-26 Free Integrated Preschool Program 

 Spots Available at Local Providers; Lottery Registration Open Now, Runs through June 4th
 

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Private Provider Preschool Locations and Preschool Lottery

For Immediate Release
May 22, 2025

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – Washington Township residents who are interested in enrolling their three-year-old and/or four-year-old child in the Washington Township Public Schools’ tuition-free, five-day integrated preschool program are encouraged to sign up online from today until June 4, 2025, for an upcoming lottery to fill additional spots created at various local private providers. The lottery is scheduled for Thursday, June 12, 2025, and will be hosted on the District’s YouTube channel live at 5 p.m.

With a desire to continue expanding the preschool program, the district has contracted with six local private providers to host classrooms. These locations, using their own teachers and instructors, will provide the same curriculum taught at all in-district locations: Grenloch Terrace Early Childhood Center, Washington Township High School, and Kindle Elementary School in Pitman. The students will be considered enrolled in the district, and our staff supports the providers through staff coaching, parent resources, and district-wide events. 

The private provider locations will include: KinderCare (456 Hurffville-Cross Keys Road, Sewell); Little Achievers (115 Johnson Road, Turnersville); Tutor Time (123 Egg Harbor Road, Sewell); Cadence Academy (315 Fries Mill Road, Sewell); Kid Academy (444 Hurffville-Cross Keys Road, Sewell); and Goddard (3 Plaza Drive, Sewell). Please note: Cadence Academy has open seats for 3-year-olds only, and Goddard has seats for 4-year-olds only.

Additional admission slots at the providers will be made available to both preschool three-year-old students and four-year-old students. The exact number of available seats will not be available until the day of the lottery, but we anticipate there will be approximately 55 three-year-old slots and 40 four-year-old slots. As part of our expansion agreement, students currently attending these locations will be enrolled in these seats as long as they fulfill all residency and enrollment requirements. These families already have been notified of their participation. Additionally, families with students on the original lottery waitlist have been given an opportunity to accept a seat at a private provider. Once those seats are either claimed or turned down, all remaining spots at each location will be available through our district lottery system. The program in each location will follow the same curriculum, allowing typically developing children and children with special needs to learn together in the same environment.

Families interested in enrolling in the preschool lottery should submit their child’s information immediately via this Google Form. The District also will compile a waitlist of students in the event of cancellations by the initial lottery winners. The deadline to be considered for this preschool lottery is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

Any submissions for the lottery received after 11:59 p.m. on June 4, 2025, will not be included in the drawing. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE. Any duplicate submissions also will be removed. 

The full-day program, which is funded by the Preschool Education Aid (PEA) from the New Jersey Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE), will run Monday through Friday from 8:45 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. (with allotted nap time) and will follow the District’s school calendar. The preschool play-based program is structured to meet the social, emotional, physical, communication, and cognitive needs of the students by teaching developmentally appropriate skill areas that are embedded throughout the curriculum. The PEA does not apply to preschool children with disabilities, as their programming is supported through state aid, including funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 

“We are excited to contract with these locations to provide even more opportunities for our youngest learners,” District Director of Elementary Education Gretchen Gerber said. “The long-term goal of the PEA grant is to continue to expand our programming each year to ultimately offer preschool to at least 90 percent of our community’s three- and four-year-old students by 2027.” 

Once signed up for the lottery, families will receive details via email about the selection process for the June 12th lottery drawing, which will be shown on the District’s YouTube channel live at 5 p.m. and shared with the community. Only families of multiples (i.e. twins or triplets who share the same birthdate), who successfully secure one lottery spot, will have the option to enroll all of their children into the program.  

During the signup process on the Google Form, parents/guardians will be asked to select their top-three locations where they wish to have their child attend. The district will make every effort to place the child at one of those chosen locations. Available seats will be filled in the order of selection in the lottery. If each of a family’s preferred locations are full, the district will place the child in an available spot at a location closest to the family’s residence. If a parent/guardian does not wish to send their child to an assigned location, they can forfeit their spot and be placed at the end of the waitlist. 

Please note, if your child already has secured a spot at either Grenloch Terrace Early Childhood Center, Washington Township High School PEA classroom, Kindle School, a PEA seat at a provider location, or Head Start, they are not eligible for this lottery and their entries will be removed prior to the drawing. 
Students enrolling in the program must meet the following three requirements:  

• Students must be the designated age of the class on or before October 1, 2025
• Students must be residents of Washington Township (proof of residency will be required)
• Students must have up-to-date immunizations  

Please note that before- and after-school care will be available at each location, as provided by the location. Information and pricing will be forthcoming. Transportation cannot be guaranteed at this time.  

Please click here to review more information on our preschool curriculum.

Please direct questions on the lottery process and pre-registration to Matt Pesyna in the District Registration Office via email at mpesyna@wtps.org, or by phone at 856-589-6644, x6698. We ask that you please consult our Frequently Asked Questions before calling or emailing. 

Questions on Washington Township’s integrated preschool program? Please contact Gretchen Gerber, Director of Elementary Education, at 856-589-6644, x6341.   

- WTPS -