NIST CCC Kindergarten 

NIST Kindergarten Program

• Children turning 5 on or before September 1, 2026 will be eligible to enroll for the 2026-2027 school year in early 2026. Children with a birthday after September 1 through October 15th will be considered on an individual basis.

• NIST kindergarten maintains a 1:14 teacher pupil ratio which allows for great individualization.

• Program is fully approved by the Maryland State Education Department.

• The cost of tuition includes before and after-care and care on days that school is closed for breaks and inclement weather when NIST is open.

• Kindergarten is eligible for scholarship aid to qualifying families. Tuition is $753 (NIST families) / $769 (non-NIST families).

• Registration is open to children and grandchildren of NIST employees, NIST Associates and children of other U.S. citizen federal employees.

The Center Director will hold an annual informational meeting to introduce parents to our kindergarten program. The meeting is scheduled for March 22, 2026. A three-week priority registration is offered to children currently enrolled in the NIST CCC. Registration for children not currently enrolled at the NIST CCC follows the announced priority registration period. If the number of children that are registered (including both currently enrolled and waiting list) at the end of the initial three-week registration period exceeds the number of available vacancies, then a lottery will be used to rank order these requests; otherwise, vacancies for the new school year will be filled on a first-applied, first-served basis.

The lottery proceeds as follows. The names of all age-eligible children from Category "A" are placed in a hat and withdrawn one at a time. As each name is drawn, it is recorded on a list in the order in which it is withdrawn. The lottery process is repeated for age-eligible children from Category "B", with the names being added below those of children from Category "A". The process is repeated for children from category "C", followed by children from category "D", and then finally by children from category "E". Vacancies for the new school year are offered based on the lottery's rank ordering. Once the new school year begins, however, any new vacancies that become available are filled based on the priority category and registration date criteria described above.

NIST Kindergarten Handbook