The main steps you should take to enroll your child in a US school

Enrolling your child in a US school is an important step in his educational journey. For migrants, exploring the American education system can be a difficult task. In this article, we'll speak about the documents that are required for enrollment; how to choose an educational institution and what you should pay attention to when choosing a school.

Types of school in the USA:

1.    Preschool education. Only private kindergartens (Baby Care).
Age: up to 3-4 years old
Education is not financed by the government.

2.    Elementary school (from 3-4 to 10 years)

-    PreK (not necessary)
Age: from 3-4 to 5-6 years
-    Kindergarden
Age: from 5-6 to 6-7 years
Education is free.

3.    Middle school (grades 6 to 8)
Age: 11-13 years old
Education is free.

4.    High school (grades 9 to 12)
Age: 14-18 years old
Education is free.

As for the knowledge of English, in American schools there are two programs for children who do not speak English — these are ENL and BNL.
-    ENL is a class where speakers of the same language are identified, with a smooth retraining into English.
-    BNL is a class where children who speak different languages study, with a smooth retraining into English.

How to find an appropriate school and what documents are required:

Step 1. Look for a school in your area. For this you can use google and tape “(your state) school zoning map”.

Step2. Collect documents for enrolling your child in a school. They are following:

-    a copy of the child's birth certificate with a notarized translation (a notarized copy can be either
made at home or in the United States);
-    medical forms filled out by a local doctor;
-    proof of residence.

Doctor's visit:
When choosing a doctor, you should do the following:
- prepare vaccination certificates;
- get health insurance for a child;
- choose a doctor;
- call the insurance company and approve the selected doctor;
- attend an appointment to get a medical form.

How to get health insurance for children:

There are two types of insurance for children:
- Medicade: insurance from the state
If you take out state insurance for children yourself, you need to contact your local health department of your state. With it, you can go to the doctors for an examination at any state medical institution. However, many private clinics do not work with this type of insurance.
- Insurance from a private company.
The second option is to get insurance through a private insurance company.

If you need advice and assistance in obtaining health insurance through a private insurance company, you can easily use our resources - https://forarmenians.com/services/essential-care-free-health-insurance-s-1693811150/

Step 3. Сonfirm the place of residence

Step 4. Get confirmation from the school

As soon as you have provided all the necessary papers, the school is ready to accept the child for training.