It can feel confusing and overwhelming to join a new school system. The Barton PTO is here to help! The following information is what we've personally experienced as new Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) families ourselves. We may not know about every option or step, so please contact the district for expert guidance.

 

Starting at age 3

Starting at age 3, you can schedule the Early Childhood Screening with MPS. This webpage provides an explanation and a link to schedule. The screening is pretty simple and fast - they try to make it fun and comfortable for kids.

 

Once you complete that, your child will be in the MPS system and you'll get mailers periodically to help you along the process.

 

Around age 4

Starting around age 4, approximately fall season the year before your child will enter kindergarten:

  • Visit www.exploremps.org to understand your school options
  • Nov-Jan: schedule tours of the school(s) you're interested in
  • Jan-Feb: (deadline varies) complete the MPS form for your child, indicating your school preferences in priority order
    • There are community schools, which are address-based and any child in the zone automatically has a spot at your community school - Baron is a community school
    • There are also magnet schools, which are city-wide schools and your child is not guaranteed a spot, but you can select some as your top choices above your community school if you wish to see if you'll get a spot. Examples are Green Central which is a dual-language / Spanish immersion magnet elementary and Seward Montessori which is a Montessori magnet elementary
  • You'll hear in the spring which school your child has been assigned to (if a magnet is your first choice, there are some additional "rounds" for potential final spots in those programs)
  • This is where you'll get info for registering for the bus if you child will bus
  • If you are attending Barton, you can also register for our PTO website as an "incoming kindergartener" for the following school year, so you'll be sure to receive our communications about play dates
  • Apr: Figure out if you'll want before- or after-care through the MPS program "Minneapolis Kids" -- it's offered at some schools (including Barton) and is a paid program that has a competitive registration process.
    • If you do want to register, we suggest you create an account in advance of the registration day, and be prepared to login immediately when registration opens to new families, historically at 7am on a Friday in mid- to late-April
  • Apr: Barton has a "kindergarten registration" evening in April for incoming kinders to visit the school, meet classroom and specialist teachers (music, art, STEM, gym), and get introductory information
  • Jun-Aug: The PTO schedules incoming kinder play dates a few times throughout the summer for children to meet each other and help make the transition feel a bit less intimidating
  • Aug: A few weeks before school starts, Barton provides classroom teacher assignments to caregivers
  • Aug-Sep: About a week before school starts, Barton hosts an open house for all students to meet their new teachers, drop off school supplies, and ask questions/get info