Trinidad schools open preschool registration for 2026-27 year

Trinidad School District #1 has opened preschool registration for the 2026-27 school year, giving families an early chance to lock in a spot before staffing, classroom assignments and transportation plans are finalized. The district posted the notice on April 21, and the timing matters because preschool is often the first formal step into the public-school system for children who will enter kindergarten next.

The process now sits inside Colorado’s Universal Preschool system, which offers voluntary preschool in the year before kindergarten. For the 2026-27 program year, a child must be 4 years old on or before October 1, 2026 to be eligible. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood says pre-registration and family-to-provider matching rounds for 2026-27 are complete, so families now enroll directly with providers rather than waiting on the earlier state matching process.

That makes Trinidad’s local notice more than a calendar item. Early registration helps the district estimate how many classrooms, teachers and aides it may need, and those numbers can shape supplies, staffing and broader budget planning. For parents and caregivers, it is also the point where schedules, transportation and any developmental supports begin to come into focus. In a rural county like Las Animas County, where Trinidad serves as the county seat, even a small shift in preschool enrollment can matter because families often have fewer nearby options than households in larger cities.

The district also has a community partner already on the ground. The Early Learning Center in Trinidad, run through the South Central Council of Governments, offers preschool programs in partnership with Trinidad School District #1 and Hoehne School District RE-3. The center is at 1225 Rosita Avenue in Trinidad and operates Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., alongside infant and toddler care, before- and after-school care, summer programs and services for children with special needs.

Fisher’s Peak Elementary, the district’s K-5 campus at 900 Moore’s Canyon Road in Trinidad, served 370 students in the 2025-26 school year, according to Colorado Department of Education SchoolView data. That relatively small enrollment underscores why preschool planning matters in Trinidad: a few additional children can affect how a district staffs early grades and organizes the path into kindergarten.