Pre-K and K interest forms that do not drown the office inbox

Pre-K and kindergarten interest season can fill an inbox with the same five questions: ages, potty policy, hours, deposit, and “are you doing a lottery.” If those answers live only in the secretary’s head, every January looks the same.

Publish a short public page. Put an interest form on it. Move people from interest to tour to enroll without turning the office into a call center.

The funnel that stays humane

**Interest.** Name, child age or birth date, preferred year, how they heard of you, notes. No essay. **Tour or observation.** A bookable slot or an RSVP list with dates you actually staff. **Enroll / deposit.** When you are ready to offer a seat, the same site takes the form and the payment to **your** accounts.

You can still run a lottery, a waitlist, or a parish-preference rule. The site collects the list. Your policy decides the offer.

What the public page must say

- Age cutoffs (be specific: “must be 4 by September 1” or your real rule) - Hours and days - Whether you require potty independence — say it kindly and clearly - How seats are offered (first come, lottery date, parish members first) - What the interest form does **not** guarantee - Deposit amount when a seat is offered - How families pay you - What happens after they submit (you will email by this date, or “we reply within X days”)

Silence after a form is how you get angry follow-up calls.

Lottery language without legal theater

If you use a lottery, publish the date, who is eligible, and how results are communicated. Do not invent a “randomization engine.” A bowl and a published date is fine if that is what you do.

If you do **not** use a lottery, do not imply one. First-come and waitlist are clearer than a vague “admissions process.”

Why the inbox drowns

Parents copy each other. One unclear Facebook comment becomes twenty emails. A public page with the cutoff date and a form cuts the copies.

You will still talk to humans. You will talk about fit, fear, and siblings — not about whether you take three-year-olds on Tuesdays.

Working site rental

CCCM rents the public Register / interest site:

- $149 first month, then $99/month, three-month minimum - We build and run it - Interest, tour RSVP, and enroll can live on one URL - Families pay you — we never hold tuition or deposits - Checkout: https://www.getcccm.com/checkout - Club-style programs: https://www.getcccm.com/sports

Academy OS is not an interest form. Staff-desk later: https://www.getcccm.com/academy-os — talk first, no public OS price.

Invented sample (not a client)

“St. Anne Parish Pre-K (invented) publishes a January 15 lottery date, an interest form that states a form is not a seat, and a tour RSVP for the two observation mornings.” Invented — not a live parish URL.

Siblings and parish preference

If siblings or parish members skip the lottery, say so on the page. Hidden preference rules destroy trust faster than a full waitlist.

Office rhythm

Set a weekly hour to process the interest list. Autorespond on submit so parents know you received it. Do not promise a personal call to every inquiry if you cannot make it.

Plain next step

If a working public Register site is what you need, start at https://www.getcccm.com/checkout or email hello@getcccm.com with your school or club name, city, and what you run. If you need staff-desk ops instead, use https://www.getcccm.com/academy-os and expect a conversation — not a self-serve price button.