Preschool & Kindergarten Enrollment Deadlines in Moore County (2026–2027)

If you have a child heading into preschool or kindergarten in Moore County, enrollment season can feel… a little intense. Deadlines vary by school, priority windows overlap, and information is scattered across emails, PDFs, and word-of-mouth threads.

To make this easier, we’ve pulled together what families need to know—starting with kindergarten enrollment, which follows a very different process than our private preschools.

A Note on Kindergarten Registration in Moore County

While some of the schools listed below offer kindergarten, public and charter schools follow a separate enrollment process from private preschools.

Moore County Public Schools

For families enrolling in public kindergarten:

• Online registration for the 2026–2027 school year opens February 1, 2026

• Families are encouraged to complete online registration as early as possible

• Kindergarten Registration Day is scheduled for Friday, March 27, 2026. This day is reserved for rising kindergarten students and their parents to visit their zoned school. Appointments are required and must be scheduled by calling your child’s assigned public school.

Charter School Kindergarten Enrollment

Charter schools operate on lottery-based enrollment, each with its own timeline:

Moore Montessori Community School (MMCS)

• Lottery registration runs January 1–31, 2026

• Lottery drawing: February 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM (MMCS Auditorium)

• Families who miss the lottery window may call 910-636-1325 to be added to the waitlist

The Academy of Moore

• Families need to create a Lotterease account

• Children are entered into the grade-level lottery

• Open enrollment typically runs January through mid-February

STARS Charter School

• Kindergarten open enrollment begins January 6, 2026

• Lottery closes Friday, March 6, 2026

• Applications are submitted through Lotterease

What About Preschool Enrollment?

Here’s where things get tricky—and where most families get overwhelmed.

Unlike public and charter kindergarten enrollment, preschool deadlines are entirely school-specific, and priority windows can vary widely from one program to the next. Enrollment timing may be influenced by factors such as current enrollment, sibling priority, church or parish affiliation, lottery systems, or placement on a waitlist—which is why many spots are filled before families even realize registration has opened.

For the 2026–2027 school year, we tracked:

👉 20+ preschool and alternative kindergarten enrollment deadlines across Moore County

That includes:

• Private preschools

• Montessori programs

• Faith-based schools

• Nature and alternative learning programs

• Programs offering preschool and kindergarten options

Many of these deadlines open well before February—and some spots fill before families even realize registration has started. Head to our Member Exclusive Preschool & Pre-K Enrollment Deadlines page for full registration deadlines.

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A Preview of local schools listed on MoCo Mom: