Hollister
– It may only be March, but parents of 5- and 6-year-olds in
Hollister are planning ahead for the fall by enrolling their
children in kindergarten.
Hollister – It may only be March, but parents of 5- and 6-year-olds in Hollister are planning ahead for the fall by enrolling their children in kindergarten.
Enrollment for kindergartners began this month in the Hollister School District, and with decreasing enrollment always a concern, administrators were pleased to see that the numbers appear to be on track to be as high or higher than previous years.
As of Thursday, Hollister School District already had 276 students set to start kindergarten in the fall.
“Our kindergarten enrollment process is going very well,” Ladd Lane Principal Maxine Stewart Carlson said. “I feel like (the parents) are trying to enroll early to make sure the paperwork is taken care of.”
Jesus Romero, administrative assistant to the district superintendent, said it’s still too early to know how many kindergartners will enroll this fall, but based off the first week’s turnout, he’s optimistic.
“We’re on track and it’s only the beginning of March,” said Romero.
In 2006, the end of March saw 465 kindergarten enrollees, so with more than half that in the first week, Romero said he expects the numbers to be as strong. By June, this number had grown to 580, and the final enrollment number for the district was 661 students.
Romero said the district has seen an increase in kindergarten enrollment the past two years, and both years’ kindergarten classes have been larger than the outgoing eighth-grade classes.
Large kindergarten classes are good news for a district with dwindling enrollment numbers. Hollister School District has seen its enrollment drop by 256 students in the past four years. Total enrollment in the district has dropped from 6,288 in 2002 to 6,032 students in 2006.
Enrollment numbers affect the amount of money the district receives from the state each year.
While kindergarten enrollment is hard to predict, Romero said one reason the district might see a larger early enrollment this year is the creation of the dual-immersion magnet program for kindergarten students. The dual immersion program teaches students in both English and Spanish. The dual-immersion kindergarten at Gabilan Hills currently has 40 students signed up and 29 students on a waiting list.
Students enrolled in the magnet schools or interested in changing schools still must register at their neighborhood schools before they can apply for a transfer. The deadline for transferring students is May 18.
Dennis Kurtz, the principal at Gabilan Hills Elementary, said it is important that parents sign their kids up early so the school can make plans for how many teachers to hire.
“What’s important at this point of the year is to get the strongest numbers now,” said Kurtz. “It would be really nice to know so we can start to post our (job) vacancies for next year. We really try to get people to sign up now.”
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. You can reach her at 637-5566 ext. 336 or at [email protected].
