When to register
Registration for gan and grade 1 in Israel runs from 1 to 21 Shevat; the municipality's Ir Yamim FAQ confirms this for Ashkelon (source (opens in a new tab)). For 2027-28 that window is 9-29 January 2027 (1-21 Shevat 5787, per Hebcal). As of 9 October 2026 the municipality had not yet published the 2027-28 instructions, so the details below are from 2026-27 as a reference.
How it worked for 2026-27
- Registration is online (edu-reg.co.il), run by the municipal registration department at 2 Yoram Veron St, 1st floor, Kiryat HaAkademia (08-6792339, bkrishum@ashkelon.muni.il, 09:00-12:30) (registration page (opens in a new tab)).
- The city is split into registration clusters. You choose an education stream and a gan in your cluster plus an alternative; registering early gives no priority and registration does not guarantee a place (gan booklet 2026-27 (opens in a new tab)).
- Placement criteria include distance from home (for compulsory-age gan), continuity, siblings, age and medical reasons. Results go out on the website and by SMS; appeals for 2026-27 ran 21-27 June 2026.
- New residents register at the regular time with a deregistration form from the previous authority and a rental contract or arnona bill; buyers of homes under construction need a lawyer-signed contract with a move-in date. Both parents' consent is required.
- In 2026-27 there were online forms for new residents joining grades 2-6 and 7-12, and transfer requests ran 16-23 August 2026.
Gans, day care and afternoons
- The municipal early-childhood department (birth to 3) links to the government daycare registration service and the list of supervised daycares (page (opens in a new tab)).
- The Municipal Company runs seven day-care centres; for 2026-27 registration ran 15 February-8 March 2026, after Labour-ministry approval (meonot (opens in a new tab)).
- Tzaharonim (the Nitzanim programme) run in gans and grades 1-2 until 16:00/17:00; 2026-27 fees were 200-550 NIS a month and registration closed on 30 August 2026 (tzaharonim (opens in a new tab)).
Schools and streams
The Ministry of Education open data lists state, state-religious and Haredi schools in Ashkelon; secondary schools include network schools run by ORT and Darca. A municipal ArcGIS map shows all institutions. The municipality also runs an educational psychology service (6 HaHistadrut St, 08-6763250) and a special-needs department.
English, French and Russian speakers
We found no official list of English-, French- or Russian-friendly schools in Ashkelon and no published municipal page on Hebrew support (kids' ulpan) for immigrant pupils. Ask the registration department and the school directly; Nefesh B'Nefesh lists a municipal klita coordinator for English speakers (NBN (opens in a new tab)).
