How do we build our classes?

Overlee is open to applicants of any race, color, sex, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Priority may be given to certain applicants including siblings of current Overlee students, siblings and children of alumni, and Church of the Covenant members. Please contact a Membership Chair by December 16th if you wish to claim priority status.

For the remainder of those spots, Overlee builds classes of children that are balanced by a variety of factors, including gender, maturity, and birth dates. These decisions are made within the context of the preschool’s needs and the developmental needs of the children, rather than a random lottery or “first-come, first-served” waitlists, Additionally, as a small community-based preschool, we are also looking for families who have a vested interest in the responsibilities that come with a Cooperative Preschool. Our goal is to create balanced classrooms and a community of families with the highest commitment to serving in a cooperative setting.

The Membership Chairs will begin extending offers to those applicants by mid to late February. Those families selected for enrollment in the next school year (beginning in September) are contacted via telephone and the family can verbally accept or deny the offer within 24 hours.  Once all available spaces have been offered and accepted, with registration fees paid, all other candidates will be promptly notified that they will be retained in our “wait-pool” .for the rest of the school year. Overlee does not maintain the wait pool from one year to the next. Our “waitpool” is maintained for one year and we choose candidates based on gender, maturity, and birthdate to maintain a balanced classroom. While slots may be limited, we strongly encourage interested parents to apply, as many circumstances change and the class roster often changes.