Kindergarten

When your kindergartner graduates, they will be prepared for a brilliant future. 

Your kindergartner is entering a school community committed to supporting and helping your child explore a wide range of meaningful and relevant learning experiences that will challenge and inspire. 

When your child graduates, they will have traits that we believe will set them apart from their peers and set them up for 21st century success. 

A Hopkins graduate:

• Has their own Voice
• is Empathetic
• Is Confident
• Is a Critical Thinker
• Is Global and Well-Traveled
• Is a Holistic Thinker

Hopkins Elementary Schools at a glance:

• STEM learning beings in kindergarten. Our Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum introduces student to deeper STEM concepts, collaboration skills, and problem solving.
• Spanish language instruction is integrated into the curriculum for all K-6 students.
• Chinese and Spanish Immersion elementary programs start in kindergarten at Eisenhower and Alice Smith.
• Outdoor Immersion kindergarten is offered at Gatewood.
• Talent Development coordinators ensure elementary students have access to rigorous educational opportunities in core subject areas.
• Digital learning enriches the classroom experience, encourages critical thinking, and puts students at the center of their learning.
• Social-emotional learning such as Yoga Calm and other self-regulation strategies create environments where students can thrive. Flexible classrooms give students agency over the space they need to support their learning.
• Orchestra and band begin in elementary school.

Kindergarten is available at six elementary school locations. 

Cross-cultural communication skills and global perspectives are essential in today's world.

Chinese and Spanish immersion programs are available to Hopkins District families and families who wish to open-enroll their children into Hopkins. The XinXing Academy and Juntos Elementary registration forms and open-enrollment applications are due January 15.  A lottery system is used at the January deadline if there are more requests for slots than spaces allotted. Additional spaces may be available after the application deadline.

There is no fee to attend XinXing Academy or the Juntos Elementary Spanish immersion program, both located at Eisenhower Elementary Community School. Transportation to Eisenhower is available for all students who live within the Hopkins School District boundaries.

Chinese Immersion at XinXing Academy

XinXing Academy is Hopkins Public Schools' all-day Chinese immersion program located at Eisenhower Elementary. XinXing Academy provides children the opportunity to develop proficiency in a second language during their elementary years.  Our goal is for XinXing students to reach an advanced level of proficiency by the end of grade 12, and to develop bi-literacy in both Chinese and English.

Our immersion classrooms follow the Hopkins Public Schools curriculum, except instruction is in Mandarin Chinese. In all grades, music, art and physical education are delivered in English, but we infuse Chinese cultural components into these classes whenever possible. In kindergarten through grade 2, students receive language arts/reading, math, science, social studies, and health instruction in Mandarin Chinese. Our teachers are native speakers of Chinese, and they strive to create a positive and authentic full-day immersion experience for your child.

Hopkins offers two Chinese immersion classrooms at each elementary grade level. Chinese immersion courses continue at Hopkins West Junior High and Hopkins High School. Students who complete the full Chinese immersion track will be prepared for advanced coursework in Chinese at the college level and can earn up to 16 college credits by graduation.

Learn More About Chinese immersion

Learning and exploring in nature

Your child will build connections to the natural world as they spark their curiosity, inventiveness, and excitement for school. While each of our elementary schools prioritize outdoor exploration and observation, both Eisenhower Elementary and Gatewood Elementary have dedicated outdoor immersion classrooms. Gatewood is an environmental focus school and has an outdoor immersion kindergarten program, a greenhouse, and other outdoor spaces where students can connect with nature and engage all of their senses in learning. 

When scholars have opportunities to go outside to learn, they become motivated, observant, collaborative, and self-directed. Lessons held outdoors increase student engagement in school — even after students return to indoor learning spaces. 

Learn more

Kids & Company school-age care

Kids & Company is Hopkins Public Schools' before- and after-school care program for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. We offer engaging opportunities that encourage creativity and positive relationship-building and that complement Hopkins' focus on social-emotional learning.

A fee-based program, Kids & Company is offered in each of the District's six elementary schools and is typically open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Kids & Company offers flexible scheduling to fit your family's needs. Non-school day care and summer care is also available. 

The future demands a different type of student — that's why Hopkins is transforming school from the ground up.

The next generation of students will be asked to solve some of the world's biggest and most complex problems. The traditional school system was designed to prepare students for industrial work. At Hopkins, we are preparing students for the future, not the past. 

Your kindergartner will enter a school community that is committed to supporting and helping your child explore a wide range of meaningful and relevant learning experiences that will challenge and inspire. 

The core values that define us are:

• Authentic Inclusivity
• Intentionally Adventurous
• Optimistic Innovation
• Humility of Heart
• Vigilant Equity 
• Love