AUBURN — The Auburn School Department will hold its annual lottery for the public school pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds at noon Wednesday, April 9.

Pre-K programs are at Walton, Sherwood Heights, Park Avenue, Fairview, Washburn and East Auburn Community Schools. The program is for children who are Auburn residents and will be 4 years old on or before Oct. 15.

Due to the demand for a place in the Auburn School Department’s Pre-K programs, the schools are unable to accommodate all the children whose families have indicated an interest in having their children attend.

Therefore, a lottery drawing will be held in the school department’s conference room at Auburn Hall to fill the available slots.

The program is free and operates two and a half hours a day on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The morning session is from 8:25 to 11 a.m. and the afternoon session is from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at Fairview, East Auburn, Walton, Park Avenue and Sherwood Heights.

At Washburn, staff collaborates with Androscoggin Head Start and the sessions are three hours long and the day is extended 8:25 to 11:30 for the morning and noon to 3 p.m. for the afternoon. The Auburn School Department provides free bus transportation to and from school from the child’s home or school neighborhood daycare.

To add a child’s name to the lottery list, call Roz Walton at 784-6431, ext. 1201, or e-mail her at [email protected]. Provide the child’s name, date of birth, gender, address, phone number and parent(s)/guardian(s) name(s), any special concerns and daycare name and address if applicable.

All names must be on the lottery list before noon Tuesday, April 8, to be eligible. Parents will be notified of the lottery results by phone or mail following the drawing.