How long is your waiting list?

Securing a spot in childcare can be a daunting task. The waiting list process can feel overwhelming for families.

Dogwood Lane must abide by state regulated classroom maximums in our operations.  Enrollment is a moving target with many factors at play.

Each year, several students graduate from Dogwood Lane and head off to kindergarten. This creates some movement in our classrooms as our students move down our pipeline into older classrooms. This movement typically frees up spaces for new infants to begin their journey with us. We typically welcome between 10-15 new students, per school, during this time period. We do offer priority to siblings of current students.

Periodically, we have a few spots open due to relocations. When this happens, we evaluate the waiting list and try to find a child that matches the birthday range of the child who is leaving Dogwood Lane. This is quite unpredictable on our end. We often get asked the question, “What number am I on the waiting list?” The answer is, it doesn’t really matter! What matters is if your family meets the age profile of the spot available in our classrooms. For some families, they are only on the waiting list for a few weeks, for other families, the wait can be many months to multiple years. Unfortunately, we do not have a way to predict this type of availability.

When an appropriate spot does become available for your child, we will call you and offer it to your family. We ask that you quickly let us know if you are ready to take the spot. If not, we must offer it to the next family. If the timing is not right for your family and you choose to decline, you are welcome to stay on the list and wait for another spot to open.

We understand that this process can be a bit daunting for parents. We assure you that we are doing our best to accommodate waiting list families as soon as possible. We simply cannot predict the future! We try our best to accommodate as many families as possible and get the starting date as close as possible to the desired start date.

In order to begin the waiting list process, you must fill out our docusign preregistration form. Dogwood Lane will then process the form and return it back to you with a link to complete the required $100 fee. Once we receive confirmation of your preregistration fee payment, you are active on the list and will remain active unless you request to be removed.