Andrea Bautista hasn’t processed the fact her daughter, Malina, will be part of the graduating Class of 2034.
Not yet, anyway. Too far ahead.
“I’m going to set that down,” the Vancouver mother said, “and pick it up when it looks a little shinier.”
On Bautista’s to-do list soon is enrolling her 5-year-old in kindergarten at Evergreen Public Schools’ Endeavour Elementary. In a school year where districts experienced drops in enrollment because of COVID-19, especially large numbers among the youngest learners, districts are hoping for a boost in numbers come 2021-22.
Bautista said she knows her daughter, describing her as a social butterfly, will be excited for a new routine.
So is mom.
“I’m excited to do whatever is regimented to be safe,” said Bautista, who is doing learning at home with her preschooler this year.
It’s March, which means a big month for area school districts to get the word out about kindergarten enrollment registration, and this year is no exception. In October, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reported a 2.82 percent drop in overall K-12 enrollment, including 14 percent of all kindergarten students, compared with 2019-20.
Clark County wasn’t spared. The county’s largest districts had triple-digit declines in kindergarten enrollment as families pondered whether to have their students begin school or delay kindergarten because of COVID-19.
Now, districts are hopeful they will see a boost in kindergarten numbers — and even first-grade numbers — as they begin planning for next school year.
In Evergreen, district spokeswoman Gail Spolar said kindergarten registration began in January, but the district plans to make a big push for it soon now that all grades districtwide are in hybrid learning.
Evergreen first welcomed kindergartners into the classroom Sept. 27 as part of a pilot program with students in small-group settings. The district had 371 fewer kindergartners than in 2019-20, yet that’s the grade level with the highest percentage of students in hybrid learning districtwide at 83 percent.
Battle Ground saw between 120-150 fewer kindergarten students than normal, which also is the instructional equivalent of six teachers, said the district’s deputy superintendent Denny Waters. Clark County’s third-largest district began kindergarten registration March 1 and is utilizing all possible methods to get the word out.
Enrollment is what drives staffing for districts, which is why districts have one message: the sooner families enroll students, the better.
“It’s important for us to find out what the decision-making is,” said Waters, who begins superintendent duties in Battle Ground on July 1. “What are those numbers going to look like? Anytime enrollment comes in late for us, it’s difficult because then we have to go out and find a teacher. Finding a teacher in August is a lot harder than finding a teacher in May.”
To register
To register students for kindergarten, families need their child’s birth certificate, immunization records and proof of residency. Students need to be at least 5 years old on or before Aug. 31 to be eligible for kindergarten.
