Great Starts - Explore

Great Starts Explore is the City of Boston’s platform to look for all your childcare and city-funded educational options in one place. At Great Starts Explore you will find:

All Boston Public Schools from PK-12
All childcare options in the City (including community-based and family child care)
All Boston Pre-K Options

This site is meant to help you navigate Great Starts Explore and find the best option for your child. Jump to the section that suits you best.

Boston Public Schools

BPS uses a home-based assignment plan to determine the schools available to your family. This plan uses your home address to create a personalized list of quality schools for which you are eligible. If a school does not appear on your list, you are not eligible to apply to that school. Learn more about the BPS School Assignment Policy

Get the List of BPS Schools Your Child is Eligible to Attend

Click on the Filter button on the upper right
Click on Check Eligibility
Submit your information (grade applying for, complete address, and primary language)
Once submitted, the system will show a list of schools on the right-hand side of the map. The schools your child is eligible to apply will have an Eligible green label next to the school name.
After you have your list of eligible schools, you can click on the Filter button at the top of the site to add additional filters such as grade level and make your list shorter.

Explore School Profiles

Click on a school name from your generated list to open its profile.
The school’s profile will appear on the right side of the page with information about contact details, grades served, hours of operation, programs offered, extended care, and more.

Save Your Favorite Schools:

From the list of schools, you can save your favorites by clicking on the Save Icon right on top of each school’s photo
To access your Saved Schools click on the button Saved Schools in the upper menu.

Boston Pre-K and Childcare Options

Boston Pre-K and city-wide childcare options do not have a location restriction, which means you can apply to any program around the city.

Search for Programs Close to a Desired Location

Type your address on the address bar at the top of the site
A list of schools will be displayed on the left, organized by proximity to the address you typed.

Search for Programs by Keyword

Click on the Keyword button at the top of the page
Type the keyword you are looking for and a list of schools will be displayed on the left

Filter Your Search

Click on the Filter button at the top of the site
You can filter programs by type (i.e. Boston Pre-K or Head Start, language, age, provider type)

Save Your Favorite Schools

Click on the Save Icon right on top of each school’s photo to save it
To access your Saved Schools click on the button Saved Schools in the upper menu.