It’s that time of year again! Parents of soon-to-be kindergartners may start biting their nails with anxiety about getting their child enrolled in kindergarten. Although walking through the door at the Welcome Center may seem nerve-wracking, parents can rest assured that the Welcome Center staff are experts!
Kindergarten enrollment is under way at District 742.
The staff at the Welcome Center, located at Midtown Square Mall, 3333 Division Street, Suite 216, St. Cloud, want to put your mind at ease. The process only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish.
“‘Is that all?’ is a common question,” says Kathy Massmann, one of the enrollment team members.
The enrollment team streamlines the process for every family coming through the door.
Any family enrolling a kindergarten student will fill out four forms. They keep the process short and sweet. The team encourages families to bring the student’s five-year immunization record, birth certificate or other birth verification (i.e. passport, baptismal record) and preferably have the early childhood screening complete. If the screening has not yet been completed the screening, no worries, they have the information to get one scheduled. It is a requirement to have the screening complete prior to starting kindergarten.
“Most parents are relaxed,” says Massmann. “Of course, we get one or two moms who cry, but generally it’s a fun time. The kids get excited.”
Esther Dusha, a retired District employee of 28 years and now an enrollment team member at the Welcome Center during kindergarten registration, adds, “We have things to keep them [kids] busy while they wait for their parents to complete the paperwork.”
“We usually engage them [kids] with talking about the bus or other things they’ll get to do in school,” says Massmann.
Once the paperwork is complete, each family is given a packet of information which includes open house times for their school, KIDSTOP information and other general kindergarten information.
When enrolling in kindergarten, another option is language immersion. The process for Language immersion enrollment is no different. However, there is a deadline for language immersion enrollment: this year it is Jan. 30. Letters for enrollment confirmation then are sent to families in February. Two options are available for language immersion: Chinese and Spanish. If there are still open spots for language immersion after the enrollment deadline, it is possible to enroll in an immersion program at that time.
Tips and advice from the team:
- Don’t wait. Get enrolled as soon as possible.
- Having all your documents with you will speed up the process.
- Enrollment paperwork is available on the District website. It can be printed, filled out and brought into the Welcome Center.
Lastly, Massmann adds, “We have Kleenex here and are available for any parent who sheds a tear. Even grandparents have shed tears. And, if there are any questions, give us a call. We’re always happy to help.”
The Welcome Center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
