Registering by June 1st Gets Kindergartners Ready for School
Registering by June 1st Gets Kindergartners Ready for School
On-time registration eases the transition for families and teachers
Portland, Ore.— (4/20/15) Registering for kindergarten before June 1 is one of the easiest ways to put children on a path for success in school. Recently, the Early Learning Collaborative Action Team of the All Hands Raised Partnership, convened with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Multnomah County, rolled out the “Register for Kindergarten by June” campaign to increase on-time kindergarten registrations throughout Multnomah County. When families enroll their children in school before schools close for the summer, it gives them time to get to know their school and teacher, connect with summer transition activities and gain access to free resources.
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. The “Register for Kindergarten by June” campaign is aimed at increasing on-time kindergarten registration. Since its inception this coordinated effort has boosted the percent of on-time registered kindergarteners in eight targeted schools from 67.5 percent in 2011 to 82.5 percent in 2014. Overall, on-time registrations county-wide have risen from 80.4 percent to 87.4 percent.
“Many immigrant and refugee families have a desire for their children’s life to be better than their own. One way to achieve this is to give kids a good education from an early age,” said Chau Huynh, Early Learning Childhood Program Coordinator for Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. “The benefit of registering on time for parents is knowing in advance what school their kids will go to and having the opportunity to get to know the teacher who will be teaching their kids. They will be able develop trust in the teacher, get to know the school and be well prepared for childcare and transportation after school. Kids are more excited to start school if they know their teacher and friends before the first day, which helps them be better prepared to learn and more creative during school year.”
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 school and learn basic classroom etiquette—all things that help them get focused for learning earlier in the school year.
Children who are five years old on or before September 1 are ready to be signed up for kindergarten. School offices close for the summer so its important to get the word out early to families and the community. Families needing help determining their neighborhood school should call 2-1-1, email children@211info.org or text their zip code to 898211. Free interpretation is available. “Register for School by June” materials are available at www.multco.us/sun/register
Early Learning is a Collaborative Action Team 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 birth through career. The early learning work of All Hands Raised is convened with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Multnomah County as a part of their role as the State of Oregon’s Early Learning Hub.
