June is Fast Approaching – Time to Register Kindergartners for School
Registering kindergarteners by Friday, May 30th eases the transition for families and teachers
Historically, as many as one in seven local children registers late for kindergarten. This means lost instructional time, missed opportunities to enroll in summer support programs and an unstructured start to a new school year.
Registering for kindergarten before June 1 is one of several important steps to put children on a path for success when they start school. A team of local practitioners (representing school districts, early childhood providers, the health and social service community, parents and others) working on kindergarten transition county-wide has partnered with Multnomah County’s “Register for School by June” campaign to increase on-time kindergarten registrations. When families enroll their children before schools close for the summer, it gives parents time to get to know their school and teacher, connect with summer transition activities and even get free resources.
The last day for families to register their kindergartener “on time” for the coming school year is this Friday, May 30th. Children who are five years old on or before September 1 are eligible to sign up for kindergarten. School offices close for the summer so don’t wait! To find your school or get help with other childhood issues, call 2-1-1 or email children@211info.org. Free interpretation is available.
The “Register for School by June” campaign is aimed at increasing on-time kindergarten registration and since 2012 it has boosted the percent of on-time registered kindergarteners in targeted schools from 67.5 percent in 2011 to 84 percent in 2013. Overall, on-time registrations county-wide have risen from 80.4 percent to 86 percent.
Kindergarten transition activities vary by school, but can include summer reading programs, kindergarten transition programs and family orientation. All of the activities are designed to help children become comfortable with the classroom setting and reduce anxiety that parents often feel about leaving their kindergartener on the first day of school. Children learn their teacher’s name, meet their classmates, tour the classroom and learn basic classroom etiquette—all things that help them get focused and learning earlier in the school year.
The Early Learning Multnomah Collaborative (formerly Ready for Kindergarten Collaborative), co-convened with the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Multnomah County, is one of four Collaboratives of the All Hands Raised Partnership, a community-wide effort to methodically and significantly improve educational outcomes for children and youth. These Collaboratives work to deliver measurable improvements on 12 Community-Wide Indicators that measure the progress of children and youth from birth to career. The All Hands Raised Partnership is tracking these indicators in Multnomah County and promoting improvement targets from kindergarten readiness to college completion.
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“Register for School by June” materials are available for download at: www.multco.us/sun/register
