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4 Year Old Lab School Program

The Fort Mill School District offers a Tuition-Based Four-Year-Old Lab School Program to our active full time employees and Fort Mill residents. We estimate having the capacity to serve approximately 66 children in this program. This tuition-based program is a laboratory school held in conjunction with the Early Childhood Education Classes at Fort Mill High School, Nation Ford High School and Catawba Ridge High School.

Due to the high demand of this program, we cannot guarantee placement to everyone that completes the waitlist registration form. Registration is on a first come, first served basis and priority is given to full-time FMSD employees.  Remaining spots are then offered to residents of Fort Mill based on the order in which you submit the form to be on the waitlist (time stamped submission)

Children must be four years old on or before September 1st of the school year for which they are registering. There are NO exceptions to this. (If a child is turning 4 on September 1st, they will be eligible for this program for that school year, not the following school year.) Children must be FULLY potty-trained in order to attend the program.

Registration: Registration for the wait list will start on October 13, 2025 @ 3pm. Registration for the wait list does not guarantee placement in the program.

Waitlist: The waitlist link will open on Monday, October 13, 2025 @ 3:00pm.  

  • If you are a FMSD employee ONLY click here to register your child for the Four-Year-Old Lab School Waitlist for 2026-2027. 
  • If you are a Fort Mill or Tega Cay resident/community member click here to register your child for the Four-Year-Old Lab School Waitlist for 2026-2027.

 

Placement for District Employees: We will begin sending out notifications of placement in the program in February via email. Once you receive an acceptance email you will be able to request which location you would like your child to attend. We will place children in their requested location to the best of our ability based on availability, but we cannot guarantee that everyone will receive their first request.

Placement for Community Members:  Once placement has been completed for students of FMSD employees, we will consider community member placement. If a spot is available, community members on the waitlist will be contacted in late spring.  We will place children in their requested location based on availability, but we cannot guarantee that everyone will get into this program.

Program Information

Locations: Fort Mill High School, Nation Ford High School and Catawba Ridge High School

Schedule: 6:55 am-4:20 pm, Monday-Friday. Students follow the 180-day Fort Mill School District calendar. (Students do not have to be dropped off that early or picked up that late. Those are the opening and closing times for the class.)

  • Half Days: Dismissal for half days is at 11:30 AM
  • Two hour early dismissal Days: The lab school still runs on a normal schedule on these days.


Note: Classes are not held on teacher workdays or holidays. No after-school care is provided. Transportation to/from school must be provided by the parent/guardian.

Tuition: Tuition includes daily snacks and lunch. Tuition rates are reassessed every year and adjusted due to food costs and operating costs. The tuition rate for 2026-2027 will be set during the summer of 2026 and will be communicated to parents at that time. As an EXAMPLE, the yearly tuition for 2025-2026 is $9,450.00 which is paid on a monthly basis over 12 months via payroll deduction for employees and over a 10-month period (Aug-May) for community members with our online payment system.

Fees: 

  • A $100 registration fee is due once you accept your child’s spot in the program. 
  • Yearly bus transportation fee payable in one lump sum in August or in two payments, one in August and one in January. The amount will be set at the same time the tuition rate is set. During the 2025-2026 school year this cost was $150 with the option to pay in two $75 installments. This fee is to cover transportation to and from field trips throughout the school year. It is NOT for transportation to and from school each day.  Transportation is NOT provided for this program.
  • Communication regarding field trip fees will come from your teacher once school starts. These are paid in your child’s account separate from the monthly tuition and are set at a school level because each program does their field trips on different days/months

For more information, please contact Krista Bergman at bergmank@fortmillschools.org.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Lab School

For more information, please contact Krista Bergman at bergmank@fortmillschools.org.