A warm welcome to our new 2026-2027 families!

Special Information for Our 2026-2027 ECE Families

Posted May 1, 2026

Your student has been accepted at McKinley-Thatcher Elementary for the 2026-2027 school year. If this is incorrect, or if your plans for next year have changed, please let us know by calling our main office at (720) 424-5600 as soon as possible. Thank you!

Welcome ECE Families!

We are excited for your family to join us for the 2026-2027 school year, and to share some special information with you about Early Childhood Education (ECE) at McKinley-Thatcher. 

This letter includes:

ACTION NEEDED: Sign Up For Play Observations!

In preparation for the 2026-2027 school year, we are inviting incoming ECE students and their parents / guardians to join us for a play observation on Thursday, May 28, 2026. During this one-hour session, your child will have the opportunity to play with a small group of children in one of our ECE classrooms, accompanied by our teachers and paraprofessionals. The teachers will observe how your child interacts with others, which helps us plan for the upcoming school year. While your child is playing, parents and guardians can complete ECE-specific paperwork and briefly meet with one of our ECE teachers. 

Please click here to sign up for a May 28 play observation! 

If you’re unable to attend in May, we will offer a few time slots in August. If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Wagner, one of our ECE teachers, at Kristen_Wagner@dpsk12.net.

ACTION REQUESTED: Complete the “New Student Information” Form

In addition to attending a play observation with our ECE staff, incoming families are invited to complete our school’s “New Student Information” Google form here. This short form is an opportunity for us to get to know your child better in order to guide our class placement decisions! (If you have already completed this form, thank you! You do not need to complete it again.)

Special Schedule for ECE’s First Week of School

When we begin school in August 2026, ECE will follow a special schedule during the first week. This schedule is different from the schedule for kindergarten through 5th grade students.

  • Monday, August 24 – NO SCHOOL for ECE ONLY!
  • Tuesday, August 25 – FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL for ECE; HALF-DAY with dismissal at 11:30 AM.
    • Lunch will be served at school before dismissal.
  • Wednesday, August 26 – HALF-DAY with dismissal at 11:30 AM.
    • Lunch will be served at school before dismissal.
  • Thursday, August 27 – full day with dismissal at 2:30 PM.
  • Friday, August 28 – full day with dismissal at 2:30 PM.

Please note, there will be no school bus service for ECE students on our Tuesday and Wednesday half-days.

ECE Programming at McKinley-Thatcher

The McKinley-Thatcher ECE program is play-based, and teachers design curriculum and learning experiences to meet the needs and interests of our unique classes. Children engage in activities of their choice for most of their day – they work with peers, create, explore, investigate, and solve problems. ECE students also attend specials classes, including art, PE (Physical Education), and technology, on a weekly rotation.  

Please click here to learn a little bit about our ECE teachers!

ECE-4 Classroom Policies + ECE-Specific Paperwork 

All Denver Public Schools (DPS) ECE classrooms are required to adhere to the Colorado Department of Education Early Childhood Licensing requirements. Children must be signed in and out of their ECE classroom daily by an adult 18 years old or older. 

Each child is also required to have a set of ECE-specific paperwork on file at school. This paperwork is different from the school district paperwork that you will fill out during school registration in August. 

Our ECE-specific forms will be available on our website in early August and must be completed and emailed to McKinley_Thatcher@dpsk12.org or turned into our main office by the first day of school for ECE (Tuesday, August 25). Print versions of this paperwork will also be available at the May 28 Play Observations.

Additionally, all ECE students must have a health appraisal form that is signed by a healthcare professional on file at school. Many pediatrician offices have health appraisal forms they can print out, sign, and email to you. DPS also offers free healthcare services, including health appraisal forms, to all DPS students at our School-Based Health Centers (run by Denver Health). Health appraisal forms are due to our main office by Thursday, September 24.

Failure to return all ECE-specific paperwork to McKinley-Thatcher may result in the loss of your child’s spot in ECE. 

Required Items for ECE in the Fall 

In the fall, your child will need the following items for school:

  • A small blanket for nap time
  • A full-size backpack
  • A water bottle

To save families time and simplify supply shopping, we will also be requesting a voluntary $75 supply contribution per student during our school registration window in August 2026. This helps teachers stock their classrooms with the right tools from the start of the year – without asking families to search for specific items. This contribution is optional – we ensure that no student will go without supplies!

How to Help Your Child Prepare for ECE 

In preparation for the beginning of ECE, here are a few things to practice this summer:

  • Toileting and washing hands independently.
  • Asking to use the restroom.
  • Putting on shoes.
  • Putting on jackets.

For ECE questions, please feel free to reach out to Kristen Wagner at Kristen_Wagner@dpsk12.net. She will be happy to answer any questions you may have! (Responses may be slightly delayed during the summer months.)

For general questions, please contact our main office at (720) 424-5600 or McKinley_Thatcher@dpsk12.org. Please note that our building will close for summer break at 3:00 PM on Monday, June 1 and will reopen on Tuesday, August 11.

Thank you!