When to Apply to a
Montessori Preschool in Plano.
There is no deadline to miss — and there is still a season. Most families tour us between January and March for a start the following August, while seats come free one classroom at a time all year long. Here is how the year really runs, and when to make your move.
Where the year stands today
As of September 20, 2026Rolling Enrollment — and a Season
Both of those are true at the same time, and most preschool websites only tell you the first one. Rolling enrollment means you can apply in any month and start in any month; there is no common application, no decision day, and nothing that closes behind you.
What rolling enrollment does not mean is that every month is the same. Families in Plano shop for a Montessori place on the school-year cycle: the calls and the tours cluster hard in January, February and March for a start the following August or September. If you are looking in that window you are looking alongside everyone else, and if you are looking in October you have the place largely to yourself.
The advice that follows from that is unglamorous: tour early. Not because touring reserves anything, but because it is the only step that tells us your child’s age, your schedule and the month you need to start — the three things we check the moment a seat comes free.
What our enrollment policy actually says
Meridian enrolls year-round on a rolling basis. Availability varies by classroom — schedule a tour to check current openings.
Everything else on this page is pattern, not policy. We publish no application deadline, no decision date, and no projected opening dates, because we do not operate any of them — and a date invented for a brochure is worse than no date at all.
Planning the money alongside the month? The full rate card — every program and schedule, the registration fee and the deposit — is published on the tuition page, not gated behind a form.
A Preschool Enrollment Year in Plano
Four stretches, drawn from when families actually contact us and when seats actually come free. None of them is a deadline.
- January – March
When most families look
This is comfortably our busiest touring season, and it is the Montessori fall-admissions cycle arriving: families visiting now are almost all planning a start the following August or September. Nothing closes at the end of March — but the tour calendar is fullest in these weeks, so book further ahead than you would in October.
- April – July
Moves, transitions and summer starts
Relocations into West Plano land in these months, families change schedules for the summer, and children move up from one program into the next as they are ready. Seats that were spoken for in February can come free here, which is why a family who toured in the spring is often the one we can call.
- August – September
The new year settles
Start dates land and the classrooms find their footing. Plans also change late — a family relocates, a start date moves — so early autumn is one of the more honest times to ask what is genuinely open rather than what was open in the spring.
- October – December
The quiet stretch — and the best tours
Fewer families are looking, which means an unhurried visit, a longer conversation and a guide who is not running three tours that morning. Touring now also means that when January brings the rush, we already know your child and your start date.
Read these as weather, not as gates. A child can join us in any month of the year, and the single most common way a place appears is simply that a child moved up to the next program — which happens when that child is ready, not on a date we could print here.
When to Start Looking, by Program
The right moment to start looking is different for a family expecting a baby and a family choosing the run into kindergarten.
Infant
Ages 6 weeks–18 months
A good share of infant inquiries reach us while a family is still expecting, working backwards from the end of parental leave. If you know roughly the month you return to work, that is the month to work back from — and touring while pregnant is completely normal here.
Toddler
Ages 18–36 months
Most toddlers arrive either from our own Infant classroom or from home around the time walking is confident. Families coming from outside usually begin looking a season before they need care, because toddler rooms are where seats most often turn over as children move up to Primary.
Primary
Ages 3–6 years
Primary is the three-year run into kindergarten, so families think about it the way they think about a school rather than a schedule. This is the band where the January to March season is most pronounced — parents are planning the following school year, not the following month.
If you already know which room you are aiming at, the program pages go deeper: the toddler program for 18 to 36 months and the Primary preschool years, three to six. Both lead back to the same question this page exists to answer — which month, and what to do about it now. If the choice is still between kinds of program rather than start dates, here is how Montessori and conventional daycare differ.
What Happens After a Tour
Five steps, in the order they actually happen. Nothing is owed until a place is offered and you accept it.
- Step 1
You visit while the classroom is working
About thirty minutes, on a weekday. A morning slot catches the long uninterrupted work cycle, and either way you see the classroom your child would actually be in, not a showroom.
- Step 2
You apply for a program and a start date
The application names the program and the month you need care to begin. Both matter more than when you first got in touch, because seats open for one age band at a time.
- Step 3
We match you to a seat, or hold you on file
If a place fits your child’s age and your date, we offer it. If the classroom is full, your family stays on file for it and we call when a seat fits — there is no numbered queue, so nobody is promised a position.
- Step 4
You accept, and we set the start date
A place is held by the registration fee and deposit. Nothing is owed before an offer is made and accepted.
- Step 5
Your child settles in
A short, consistent goodbye helps, and most children settle within minutes of their parent’s departure. A mid-year start is ordinary in a mixed-age Montessori room.
The full application sequence, the enrollment requirements and the fees live on the admission page.
Enrollment Timeline FAQs
When should I apply to a Montessori preschool in Plano?
Most families tour us between January and March for a start the following August or September — that stretch is comfortably the busiest part of our year. But Meridian enrolls year-round on a rolling basis. Availability varies by classroom — schedule a tour to check current openings. There is no application window to miss, so the practical answer is to tour as soon as you are seriously looking: touring is what puts your family in front of us when a seat in your child's age band comes free.
Is there an enrollment deadline or an application window?
No. We do not run an application window, a common decision date, or a deadline you can miss. Applications are accepted year-round and places are offered as they come free, classroom by classroom. That is genuinely simpler for families — but it also means nothing happens automatically on a date, so the step that matters is booking a visit rather than waiting for a season to open.
When should I tour a preschool?
As soon as you know roughly the month you need care to begin. Tours run on weekdays, take about thirty minutes, and cost you nothing. Book a morning slot if your schedule allows — that is when the long uninterrupted work cycle is running, so you see the classroom working rather than resting. Touring early is not about being first in a queue — it is that once we have met you, we know your child’s age, your schedule and your start date, so we can tell you quickly whether a seat that opens is the right one for your family.
When do preschool spots actually open?
Seats open one classroom and one age band at a time, throughout the year. The most common reason is that a child moves up to the next program and leaves a place behind them; the rest come from families relocating or changing their schedule. Because our classrooms are small, a single move can be the difference between a program being full and having room, which is why the openings published on our availability page are read from our own enrollment records rather than written once and left.
When should we start looking at infant care?
Earlier than most families expect. Our Infant classroom takes children from 6 weeks–18 months, and a good share of infant inquiries reach us while a family is still expecting — parents planning a return to work after leave are working backwards from a date they already know. If you are pregnant and know roughly when you will need care, that is a perfectly normal time to tour.
What happens after a tour?
You will leave with the rate card and an application. When you submit it, your family goes into our enrollment records against a specific program and start date. If a seat matching your child’s age and that date is open, we move straight to a place offer, the registration fee and deposit, and a start date. If the classroom is full, we hold your family on file for it and call when a seat fits — we do not keep a numbered queue, so we cannot promise you a position.
Can my child start mid-year?
Yes. Children join us in every month of the year, and a mid-year start is neither unusual nor a disadvantage in a Montessori classroom — the mixed-age room absorbs a new child individually rather than mid-way through a whole-class curriculum. Whatever the month, some separation anxiety at first is normal, and most children settle within minutes of their parent’s departure.
Where is Meridian Montessori and how do I book a visit?
We are at 8565 Gratitude Trail, Plano, TX 75024, in West Plano near Legacy West. You can book a tour on this site or call (214) 856-6337 and we will find a morning that works.
Tour Now, or Join the List
If the program you want has room, a tour is the first step toward it. If it is full, we hold your family on file and call when a seat fits. Either way, today is a better date than January.