Welcome to Playa del Rey Kindergarten

Playa del Rey Elementary School student smiling at camera

We are excited to welcome your Kindergartner to Playa del Rey Elementary! We offer Conventional Kindergarten and Accelerated Kindergarten for our students and families. To learn more about our school, please take a look around our website and if you would like, please schedule a tour.

Upcoming Playa del Rey Events

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Connect with Our School

480-892-7810

Schedule a Tour

Enroll Now for 2026-2027

A young boy with a cheerful expression is shown in the foreground, wearing a black t-shirt with the text "Kindergarten Events" printed on it, against a colorful purple background.

School Open House

Date: February 19, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Location: Playa del Rey Elementary
550 N Horne Gilbert, AZ 85233

We will have an open house event for new families and existing families to come out and meet our clubs, teachers, do a scavenger hunt and learn all about Playa del Rey.

Our Kindergarten Classrooms

Accelerated Kindergarten

Accelerated

Accelerated classrooms from Kindergarten - 6th grade are offered at eight elementary schools.

Accelerated refers specifically to K-6 Accelerated classrooms at eight of our elementary schools: Augusta Ranch, Finley Farms, Highland Park, Meridian, Playa del Rey, Quartz Hill, Settler's Point, and Val Vista Lakes. All subjects are taught at an accelerated pace with skills and concepts and a variety of approved materials that enrich the learning experience. Accelerated is designed to provide a challenging and supportive learning environment for students with strong academic abilities and motivation to learn. Placement in Accelerated is based on parent and student request and teacher recommendation.

Conventional Kindergarten

Conventional

Offered at 26 elementary schools within the district.

Rigorous instruction in core academic areas that address the Arizona state standards in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Rich opportunities that promote positive social skills and character development within a structured learning environment. Recognized educational excellence and consistency in achieving high scores on statewide assessments. Well-defined and tailored curriculum with high-quality academic programs and extra-curricular activities to meet your student’s needs and strengths, including music, artistic expression, and physical education for the enrichment of the whole child.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONVENTIONAL ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM

WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT GPS KINDERGARTEN

About Kindergarten

All GPS Kindergarten students enjoy a challenging and comprehensive curriculum designed to provide the individualized attention they need to thrive while developing a lifelong love for learning.

Rigorous instruction in core academic areas that address the Arizona state standards in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies
Rich opportunities that promote positive social skills and character development within a structured learning environment
Recognized educational excellence and consistency in achieving high scores on statewide assessments
Well-defined and tailored curriculum with high-quality academic programs and extra-curricular activities to meet your student’s needs and strengths, including music, artistic expression, and physical education for the enrichment of the whole child
Gilbert Public Schools Special Education Kindergarten programs provide quality early education for children with special needs.

Enrollment Steps & Information

To enroll a student in your local neighborhood Gilbert Public School for the upcoming school year, please follow these instructions to complete online enrollment.

Gilbert Public Schools is an open enrollment district, therefore if you are interested in having your child attend Kindergarten at a school that is not your neighborhood school it is easy to apply through our online open enrollment. If you are not sure which school is your neighborhood school, please view the GPS school boundaries.

Visit our Online Enrollment Information Center to learn more and enroll today!

Enroll a Student

Age Guidelines

To register for kindergarten for the upcoming school year, children must turn 5-years-old prior to September 1st. Children who turn 5-years-old between September 1st and December 31st may be assessed kindergarten readiness through an early entrance screening to determine qualification for early entrance into kindergarten. Special Education kindergarten transition is available for special needs students.

Immunization Requirements

Arizona Law requires that students entering Kindergarten have the following vaccines:

5 doses of DTap, DTP, or DT
4 doses of Polio (IPV)
3 doses Hepatitis B
2 doses MMR
1 dose Varicella* (*2 doses recommended by the CDC for full protection)

Where to Get Vaccinated:

If your insurance covers immunizations:

Visit your healthcare provider
Maricopa County Immunization Clinics

If you don’t have insurance, your insurance doesn’t cover vaccines, are on AHCCCS, are
Native American or Alaska Native:

Visit our Health Services information for more information on immunizations.

Early Entrance Screening

Early Entrance Screenings will take place in June before the school year of registration, and be completed before the first day of school. Early Entrance Screening will not be available once school has begun.

Early Entrance Screening Handbook

Online Early Entrance Screening Registration Instructions:

All screening registrations must be submitted online.
A non-refundable $90.00 fee will be collected at the time of registration and may be paid using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card. Once registration is completed, a confirmation will be sent via email indicating the date, appointment time, and location for your child’s screening. Please download and read the Early Entrance Screening Handbook before your appointment.
Screening sessions are subject to cancelation if minimum enrollment is not met.
Registering online for screening does not in any way guarantee enrollment into kindergarten.
Face coverings are optional.
Only one adult may accompany each child registered for a screening. No other children are allowed at this time.

Screening Registration is completed online via Community Education's online system, Eleyo:
Screening Registration - Will Open for the 2026/2027 School Year starting on March 5th

Questions About Early Screening?

Required

Namerequired

First Name

Last Name

Email Addressrequired

Phone Number

Must contain only numbers

Does your child's 5th birthday fall between September 1st and December 31st?required

Yes

Select A School

Your child is eligible to undergo an assessment to determine if they are ready for early entrance into kindergarten.

Kindergarten screenings will only take place in June. No screenings will be held for early entrance after the determined dates.

Screening Registration is completed online via Community Education's online system, Eleyo:
Screening Registration - Is now CLOSED for 2025/26 School Year

Is your child's 5th birthday before September 1st or after December 31st?required

Before September 1st

After December 31st

Your child is eligible to enroll in a GPS Preschool program. Please visit gilbertschools.net/preschool to learn about our preschool programs, which include:

Advantage

Building Blocks (3 & 4)

Kindergarten Prep

TOYBOX

You can enroll in your GPS boundary or any GPS Elementary school. Please visit gilbertschools.net/enroll to learn how to enroll.

Additional questions about Kindergarten Early Entrance Screening:0 / 1000

Contact Info

Kindergarten Curriculum

Kindergarten Science

Our vision is to provide every elementary student with an integrated, hands-on, inquiry-based curriculum that facilitates critical thinking skills and stimulates an interest in science. Science kits available are Paper, Wood, Fabric, & Ladybugs.

Kindergarten Social Studies

Kindergarten Social Studies Units follow the Arizona State Standards and include:

All About Me
American Presidents
Citizenship and Community
Community Helpers
Earth’s Resources
Explorers
Geography
National Symbols

Teachers embed Social Studies instruction within reading and writing instruction.

Kindergarten Specials

Every Kindergartner has the opportunity to attend 'specials' as part of their school day and week. These include:

Music
Art
Physical Education
Computing

Elementary ELA Curriculum

Pearson ReadyGEN is the District adopted core reading program for grades K-6.

Fundations is the adopted resource to teach the AZ ELA Foundational Standards. Fundations for K-3 is a phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling program and is provided as a whole class (Tier 1) prevention program to help reduce reading and spelling failure. For those students in need of additional support in reading (Tier 2), targeted small group instruction may be used.

Teachers incorporate a 30-45 minute daily Fundations lesson in addition to their language arts classroom instruction. Fundations lessons utilize research-based materials and strategies to focus instruction on carefully sequenced skills that include print knowledge, alphabet awareness, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, spelling, and handwriting. Although Fundations does teach critical thinking, speaking and listening, and comprehension strategies, it must be combined with a core literacy based reading program for an integrated and comprehensive approach to reading and spelling.

Dyslexia Resources:

Arizona Department of Education Dyslexia Handbook

Arizona Department of Education Dyslexia Resource Guide for Families

Elementary Math Curriculum

GPS Elementary schools use the adopted HMH Math Expressions curriculum for Grades K-5. Students develop an understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts through progressions of conceptual development. This curriculum brings students to make sense of math concepts by exploring, discussing, and demonstrating an understanding of why and how numbers work together. This allows students to develop thoughtfully informed approaches to solving all types of math problems in various ways.

GPS Elementary schools for Grade 6 use the adopted Glencoe Math curriculum. Math instruction is aimed to help develop students' conceptual understanding as well as procedural skills. Students are given opportunities to reason and problem solve as they apply their mathematical understandings.

Have an Enrollment Question?

Required

Namerequired

First Name

Last Name

Email Addressrequired

Phone Number

Must contain only numbers

Select A Schoolrequired

Select Enrollment Yearrequired

25-26

26-27

Other

Please indicate enrollment year below:

Questions about enrollment:required0 / 1000

FAQs

There are a lot of elementary schools how do we select the right one for our child?

GPS is an open enrollment district which means no matter where you live you can apply to enroll at any of our 26 elementary schools.

If you live within GPS district boundaries we suggest that you schedule a tour at your local GPS school. This is a great place to start. You can also schedule tours at any of our elementary schools, including our Dual Language Spanish Academy at Gilbert Elementary, and our three Traditional Academies at Neely, Canyon Rim, and Spectrum, and five Accelerated campuses Highland Park, Playa del Rey, Meridian, Val Vista Lakes, and Quartz Hill.