Kindergarten enrollment in the Sioux Falls School District is currently below projections for the coming school year. While spring informational events were cancelled because of COVID-19, the district is working to reach parents in other ways.
DeeAnn Konrad is the Community Relations Supervisor for the Sioux Falls School District. She says this year the district is anticipating just over two thousand kindergarteners.
“We’re currently at 1,550," she says. "So about 450 kiddos out there potentially who have not yet registered.”
But Konrad says the district isn’t concerned about that. Each year there are some families that wait until the first day of school to register their kindergarteners, and the district only tracks the state-mandated enrollment count in late September. In other words, there’s no way to know how current kindergarten enrollment compares to this time last year or how the pandemic is impacting that rate.
The pandemic has impacted the way the district communicates with parents of kindergarten-aged children. For instance, in-person informational meetings were cancelled in favor of virtual options and postcards mailed to neighborhoods with many young families.
Plus, this Wednesday marks the first day clerical staff return to the office in the Sioux Falls School District. Konrad says that can make a difference too.
“Many people who may have placed a phone call and are just saying, ‘Gosh, here’s my situation, I don’t know if my kid is ready for kindergarten this year,’ or what have you, those phone calls go to a voice mail and are called back as soon as well have staff in the office.”
Konrad says parents can begin the registration process online. She adds registering before the start of the school year can ensure an easier transition for the new student.