School

Elementary School Registration for Fall 2025

(10-minute read)

October 2024

Adapted by S. El Hout, Social Media and Blog Assistant & K. Karbasy, Family Care Office/ Faculty Relocation Services Education and Communications Coordinator, University of Toronto

Image of wooden school desks with blue chairs. There is a scantron and pencil on each seat. There are 3 rows of seats shown. The back of the classroom there are windows. It is daytime.

This blog post was updated from September 2023 and some resources have been updated or removed for relevancy.

Getting ready to send your little one off to school can be an emotional experience, and there are important decisions and deadlines to keep in mind. 

This blog post highlights key dates to remember if your child starts kindergarten in September 2025. If you are considering French immersion in Toronto, the most pressing deadline is the TDSB’s application deadline for Early French Immersion. Early French Immersion begins in Junior Kindergarten. The application window for French Immersion opens on November 4 and closes on November 29, 2024. For more details, visit Kindergarten (tdsb.on.ca).  

This post includes important dates for the following school boards: 

  • Toronto District School Board 
  • Toronto Catholic District School Board 
  • Peel District School Board 
  • Peel Catholic District School Board 
  • Durham District School Board 
  • Durham Catholic District School Board 

Children can attend Junior Kindergarten in the calendar year they turn four and Senior Kindergarten in the year they turn five. While most children attend kindergarten in Ontario, it is optional. Both Junior and Senior Kindergarten are full-day programs. It is mandatory for children to attend school starting in Grade 1. 

Another important consideration is before and after-school care, should your family require it. Waitlists are long and you should apply as soon as possible.

Lastly, we provide some points to ponder for the French Immersion decision. This decision can be made later in some school boards, but for those interested in the TDSB, the process begins now. Note that the TDSB also offers a Middle French Immersion entry point in Grade 4. 

Next time, we will cover registration details for children entering high school. 

Important Note: 

While this post covers key dates and deadlines for several school boards, members of the U of T community may have children enrolled in various boards and regions. Each region has public and Catholic school boards, as well as French and potentially French Catholic school boards. The dates and deadlines listed are examples and specific to the TDSB in some cases. Please check your local school board’s website for the most accurate dates for their programs. Finally, not every school provides a French Immersion program, but bussing is normally provided if the elementary school is out of the area.

Toronto District School Board (TDSB) 

Registration for the English Kindergarten program begins in February. 

If you are considering French Immersion or alternative schools, you will need to act sooner. 

Find Your Local School: 

You can find your local school by entering your street name at Find Your School By Address (tdsb.on.ca). 

French Immersion: 
The entry point for Early French Immersion is now Junior Kindergarten (with a second entry point in Grade 4, known as Middle French Immersion). The application process for Early French Immersion opens on November 4, and the deadline to apply is November 29, 2024. The TDSB will be hosting both online and in-person information sessions about Early French Immersion in November. 

Note: The Middle French Immersion Program is open to students in Grade 3 who are not currently enrolled in a French program. Applications for this program must be submitted online between January 6-31, 2025. For more information, visit the Middle French Immersion website and consider attending an information session in January. 

Alternative Schools: 

Besides French Immersion and local school options, the TDSB offers several alternative school options at the elementary level. Most of these schools have admission via a lottery system in the fall semester. The application process for these schools will be available online in January 2025. Visit Alternative Schools (tdsb.on.ca) for application processes and dates. There are open houses you can attend to learn more about alternative and centralized elementary options. For more information, visit Elementary School Open Houses and Information Nights (tdsb.on.ca). 

Elementary Academies: 
The TDSB also offers a limited number of Elementary Academies, which require applications by the Out-of-Area admissions deadline in February. 

Urban Indigenous Education Centre: 
The Urban Indigenous Education Centre provides a range of services to First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students and families, using a holistic approach to support overall achievement and well-being. 

Kindergarten to Grade 2 – New Student Registration: Developmental History Form:
As part of the kindergarten registration process, parents or caregivers are required to fill out a Development History Form. For students with special education needs, the TDSB requests that caregivers/parents communicate directly with the school of registration to ensure appropriate support. 

Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB)

According to the TCDSB website, registration for the 2025-2026 school year will begin in January 2025, with key dates and deadlines to be posted in late 2024. If you are interested in French Immersion, the program starts in Junior Kindergarten (JK), and the application deadlines align with those for general kindergarten registration. 

For students with special education needs, please reach out to your school of registration or contact admissions at admissions.registration@tcdsb.org.  

Peel District School Board (PDSB)

Visit the Kindergarten webpage on the Peel District School Board website in a few weeks for updated registration dates for the 2025-2026 school year. In the Peel District, French Immersion begins in Grade 1. 

For students with special education needs, please review the “Parent Letter – Enrolling Students with Special Needs” from November 2023 before beginning the registration process.

Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB)

Visit the Kindergarten webpage on the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board website in a few weeks for the 2025-2026 registration dates. In the DPCDSB, French Immersion begins in Grade 1. 

To enroll a student with special needs, please complete and submit the “Entry Planning Form for Students with Differing Abilities” after registration. 

Durham District School Board (DDSB)

Registration for the 2025-2026 school year will open in January 2025. For detailed registration instructions, please visit the Durham District School Board website. If you are interested in French Immersion in Durham, note that the program now begins in Grade 1.  

For students with special education needs, please contact your school of registration or reach out to DDSB Inclusive Student Services for assistance. 

Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB)

Registration for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) will open in January 2025. Please check the DCDSB website for updates on how to register. In the DCDSB, French Immersion begins in Grade 1. 

For students with special education needs, please contact your school of registration and review the Parent/Guardian Guide to Special Education for more information. 

Before and After Care

Regardless of which school board you are enrolling your child in, if you anticipate needing before and/or after-school care, we recommend signing up as early as possible. You can register at the school(s) you hope your child will attend, provided they offer a before and after-school care program or explore other care options that would suit your family’s needs. 

Resources for Parents Considering French Immersion:

Opinion Piece in the Toronto Star: Breaking the Spell of French Immersion, written by then-PhD candidate at OISE and now Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, Sachin Maharaj. 

Response to Sachin Maharaj’s Piece: French Immersion: A Success That Should Be Celebrated, by Mary Cruden, Chair of the Canadian Parents for French Advocacy Committee. 

The Family Care Office also reached out to the Multilingualism and Literacy Lab at OISE for resources on French immersion. Here’s what they shared with us: 

Thank you to Diana Burchell, who studied under the supervision of Dr. Xi Becky Chen in the Multilingualism and Literacy Lab and is now a Research Project Manager for the York Region District School Board, for providing these resources!