2025-2026 Head Start Preschool Applications Now Open!
Enroll your child, who will be 3 or 4 by August 2025.
Bellevue College Early Learning Center offers a Head Start program on-site for income-eligible families. To apply, please submit one application packet per child along with the required documents. Eligibility is based on the child’s age and family income, not the date of the application. Our programs tend to fill quickly, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible! All Information provided in the application is confidential and will only be used to determine your child’s eligibility. We do not require or check immigration or DSHS status.
Our Head Start program provides preschool classes for children ages 3-5. Our programs include indoor and outdoor learning experiences that promote school readiness, family support resources, nutritious meals, health and developmental screenings, and opportunities for parent involvement. Our Head Start program operates on a full-day model, offering care up to 10 hours per day, 4-5 days a week, Monday through Friday. We are open year-round, except for observed federal holidays, inclement weather, or Bellevue College closures.
Enrollment is open year-around. Submit an application for your child at any time. If we do not have current openings, we will ask if you would like to be placed on our waitlist.
Student and community families meeting income and age requirements may be eligible for Head Start enrollment.
- Child must be 3 or 4 years old by August 31, the start of the school year
- Child must have full time child care subsidy funding through DCYF or Child Care Resources
- Families receiving public assistance (SSI, TANF, Basic Food (SNAP), WCCC)
- Children who attend Head Start are more ready for kindergarten than children who do not attend Head Start. (Love et al., 2002)
- Children show additional gains in social-emotional development as a result of participating in Head Start at both 3 and 4 years old. (Aikens et al., 2013)
- Head Start children have a higher likelihood of graduating high school, attending college, and receiving a post-secondary degree, license, or certification. (Bauer and Schanzenbach, 2016)
- The children of Head Start participants are significantly more likely to finish high school and enroll in college and they are significantly less likely to become teen parents or to be involved in the criminal justice system. (Barr and Gibbs, 2017)
Head Start Policy Council
The Policy Council is a group of parents who make important decisions about how the whole PSESD (Puget Sound Educational Services District) program should operate. Each Head Start center elects two or three parents (one who votes-representative-and one or two back-ups-alternates.
Available classroom openings fill quickly, please submit your application with all required information as soon as possible. Applications sent without the necessary documentation may delay processing and enrollment. Applications are available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Dari, French, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Please let us know if you need the application in a language other than English.
If your child turned 3 or 4 by August 31, 2024, please complete this application or submit an application request so we can contact you.
2024-2025 Head Start Application (Print/Download)
If your child turns 3 or 4 by August 31, 2025, please complete this application or submit an application request so we can contact you.
2025-2026 Head Start Application (Print/Download)
Looking for support with Childcare or Early Learning Costs?
Explore available subsidies and financial support options designed to fit your family’s unique needs!
Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) helps eligible families pay for child care. When a family qualifies for child care subsidy benefits and chooses an eligible provider, the state pays a portion of the cost of child care. Parents may be responsible for a copayment to their provider each month.
To learn more about the program, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, please visit:
Working Connections Child Care | Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families
This program is designed to support families who are ineligible for or not well-served by existing subsidy programs. This program prioritizes families experiencing challenges to accessing child care, and in doing so, seeks to advance equity and eliminate disparities.
To learn more about the program, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, please visit:
Last Updated April 28, 2025
