PLEA FROM A PARENT: Enrolling in Seattle Public Schools this fall? Here’s why sooner is better than later

Last week, we reported on the waitlists for some local schools, for those who want to attend Seattle Public Schools outside the ones to which they’re geographically assigned. Even if you’re interested in a school that doesn’t have a waitlist, it’s important to get enrolled ASAP – especially if your child is an incoming kindergartener and isn’t signed up in the SPS system yet. The reminder was e-mailed to us by Erika Rasmussen, a Genesee Hill Elementary parent and PTA member who e-mailed us this week asking if we would share it with you. While the plea applies in particular to new kindergarteners and transfer students headed for that school – West Seattle’s most populous – it applies to all others as well, so that planning can be done without worrying about big last-minute changes. Here’s how Erika explains it:

At our PTA meeting (this week), we learned through the most recent enrollment projections that Genesee Hill Elementary School is currently projected to have approximately 760 students for the 2017-2018 school year (this projection also includes 149 Kindergarten students). The principal and staff are currently trying to budget and plan for staffing, resource, and even classroom space for next year (we are already busting at the seams in our new building and will be over capacity next year if this projection number remains or grows).

As you may know, Genesee Hill and many other local West Seattle schools have struggled in the past to correctly plan and budget for class sizes, staffing, and resources. Having more accurate numbers from actual enrollments will help schools plan.

What would greatly help these schools is for families who have youth at home that are ready to start Kindergarten in the fall to get them registered ASAP with the school district. I am a parent of an incoming Kindergartner and have heard from families new to the system that they find the enrollment process a bit challenging, especially with all the additional supplemental paperwork that is required to enroll students. I would love to encourage families to go ahead and complete the application form ASAP and submit it to the district. Some families have had challenges in obtaining the required State Immunization Forms and have said that this may be what is holding them back from registering their soon to be kindergartners. They do not have to have this form to begin the enrollment process [noted here].

We would also like to let the community know that even though the district states that enrollment is open and ongoing, local schools really want to encourage families to enroll ASAP (preferably before mid-May, when principals will have to make tough decisions regarding staff and classroom sizes). We would also like to encourage families who may have recently moved to new neighborhoods within West Seattle (which would put them in a new school zone for next year), or students who will be leaving private schools and joining their neighborhood public schools, to also enroll their students ASAP. This will help with planning across all grades (some schools are facing more split classes among multiple grades due to current enrollment numbers).

Any of this apply to your family? You can start the registration process right now by going here. That page includes information and links to forms, as well as a minute-long video that notes you can turn in your forms in person, by fax, or by e-mail.

8 Replies to "PLEA FROM A PARENT: Enrolling in Seattle Public Schools this fall? Here's why sooner is better than later"

  • WSMom April 23, 2017 (4:44 pm)

    Good points, also it’s really hard for the district to move waitlists if they don’t know if new students will be enrolling or not.  I have a fiend whose child is moving from private to public high school and hasn’t registered yet simply because they don’t have the time to pull all the paperwork together and doesn’t feel it’s a rush because she knows her child will automatically get into that school.

    • Jon Wright April 23, 2017 (6:04 pm)

      She sure sounds like a fiend! ;)

      • WSMom April 24, 2017 (7:02 am)

        Oops, sorry.  Spell check doesn’t always catch my screw ups when I’m actually typing a real word.  I sometimes get to typing too fast.

  • jack April 24, 2017 (1:15 am)

    Hi,

    Your article is confusing.  

    Open enrollment (to attend option schools) for the up coming school year began February 3rd and ended February 27th.  If you missed this, your chance of being wait listed for an option school are low.

    It seems as if you are addressing incoming K at a neighboorhood school.  Yes, any incoming K is guaranteed a seat in the local feeder school, but the earlier the school knows how many are incoming the sooner the  principal can make those those staffing choices all us parents detest.

    Best,

    jack

    • WSB April 24, 2017 (1:30 am)

      Families also can apply for non-option schools other than their default neighborhood schools. So this is addressed to any family, with incoming students in any grade, who might not have enrolled yet. For obvious reasons, it’s most likely to be families with kindergarteners but it’s certainly not limited to them – there’s a wide variety of circumstances that might lead families with older children to be enrolling in SPS for the first time for fall. – TR

  • Mike April 24, 2017 (7:16 am)

    Be sure you get the paperwork stamped at the office.  We did and they still lost our daughters Kindergarten enrollment paperwork.  We had to resend the stamped copy to prove it.  What happened is the administration office marked down she was for the active year to enroll and when we never got confirmation for the upcoming year, we called them out on it.

    There’s this entire building that would be great for Kindergarten and even early education programs, it would prevent making Genessee Hill over capacity.  Schmitz Park Elementary school building, USE IT!

  • participate in schools decisions April 24, 2017 (7:29 am)

    For parents of new students and for people with infants and toddlers, it’s vital to participate in Seattle Schools forums. Just a few years ago, the district threatened to close 3 schools in West Seattle, and wound up closing one. Since, they’ve expanded capacity at Schmitz and Arbor Heights, opened a brand new Fairmount Park, and still have this capacity issue at Genesee.

    The district is very impulsive, and have a hammer/nail mindset when it comes to closing schools for budget shortfalls. If you’re not there to let them know you’re coming, they are not going to know you exist, as they don’t track tax records or survey the neighborhood. Best case scenario, your child may have class in a trailer and need to walk through a parking lot to use the bathroom. 

    Bottom line, these folks are doing the best they can, but they’re not great at this. Present behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, and they have been stepping in it every year that my kids have been in school. Make sure they know you’re coming and participate in district forums when you can. 

  • Genesee Hill Elementary April 24, 2017 (9:02 am)

    Thank you for getting the word out.  I can’t emphasize enough how important this message is: the final adjustment for staffing and facilities planning will be based on the number of students schools have enrolled before June 1st.  In some years, we have seen enrollment increases of as much as 35% from April to September — at a school like Genesee Hill that could be two whole classrooms’ worth of children!  Even before June 1st, we are busy hiring teacher now based on projections.  We want these teachers to have a full summer to plan and get ready for a great opening in September, so the more certainty we have in how many classrooms we need and how to configure them, the better we can be.  

    The best way to register is to visit Enrollment Services in the lobby of the Stanford Center at 3rd and Lander.  You do NOT need to have your immunization records to get registered in the first place; it’s just convenient to get this all taken care of at one time.

    If you haven’t registered yet, please get down there this week!  Thank you!

    Gerrit Kischner, Principal

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