The following e-mail went out from the Superintendent today about a new “pre-registration” process for incoming Kindergartners. This is a good first step in refining the procedure for enrollment.
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The San Carlos School District has made it a priority to improve the kindergarten enrollment process, effective immediately. In an effort to make this process a smooth, well communicated, clear and welcoming one, we will be instituting a “Pre-Registration” process which will allow parents of incoming kindergarten students for the 2010-11 school year to begin the registration process as early as October, 2009.
Our new kindergarten enrollment process will be centralized and managed throughout the year at the District Office, at 826 Chestnut Street. Parents can download, print and fill out all forms from home and/or in person at the district office anytime, starting on October 1st. Please submit completed forms to the district office receptionist for processing. Updated information on the registration process and forms can be found on the parent section of our website by the end of the week.
There is no need to rush, as school assignments will NOT be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. As always, it is a high priority that we place students in their neighborhood school if they choose and there is space available. In the case where a school is over-enrolled, we will apply additional criteria to determine the order of placement of students. The final established criteria for placement will be announced in January 2010.
In the meantime, we encourage you to pre-register by the end of January, 2010 just so we know what likely enrollment numbers will be for the 2010-11 School Year. In order for this system to work, we need to get the word out now, and we need your help to do so! At each of the four elementary schools in the district, our PTA’s will be assisting the secretaries and principals in gathering house-by-house information about who presently lives on the blocks that are currently slated for their respective schools. They will be identifying all potential new kindergarten students eligible to
enter into SCSD schools in the fall of 2010, and will encourage families to begin the pre-enrollment process immediately.
This is a massive effort, but one we feel will pay off for us all, by way of improved communication, lightened burden on school sites, and hopefully less disappointment for families which often accompanies this process. We need your support if this is to be successful. At upcoming Back to School Nights, Principal and PTA coffees, etc., you will be hearing from principals, school secretaries and PTA members about opportunities to get involved in this project. We appreciate any support you can lend to the effort, and I thank you in advance for helping us to improve our processes and communication to better serve our community.
Craig Baker, Superintendent
