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 Early Childhood Round-Up

Schools throughout Tulsa County host Pre-enrollment Roundups in the spring to encourage parents to pre-enroll their children in pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten for the following school year.  Pre-enrollment serves multiple purposes.  The process helps put parents’ minds at ease and introduces the concept of attending school to young children.  Also, pre-enrollment is critical to each school’s ability to plan for the number of children they need to serve in the coming year.

Parents who can plan ahead for their children’s first day of pre-K or Kindergarten are doing their children a big favor by communicating with and helping schools get ready for the size and number of classes to offer.  Schools who have had time to prepare for the number of incoming students are schools ready to teach, making greater the chances for students being ready to learn. 

According to Janet McKenzie, former Kendall-Whittier Kindergarten teacher, “A child who is pre-enrolled is more likely to be present, ready to learn on that first day of school, an important factor in a child starting his education on the right foot.  We need to do a better job of communicating to parents how critical it is to a child just starting school to be there on the very first day.  Many times parents think, ‘It’s just pre-K,’ or ‘It’s just Kindergarten.  What would be the problem if they aren’t there the first day or the first week even?’  The problem is huge,” McKenzie said.  “It’s a problem that starts small and snowballs quickly.  Essential procedures and socialization take place from the very beginning.  Children who are there on the first day, and certainly that whole first week, ready to go, clearly have an edge and a much better start,” she added.   

According to Brandie Roberts, Head Start’s Parent Education Coordinator, pre-enrollment also offers parents the advantage of having time to visit with teachers and ask questions so important to helping them and their children make the adjustment to school.  “Parents enrolling their first child in pre-K or Kindergarten naturally have lots of questions.  School is not only a new experience for the child but for the entire family.  Pre-enrollment gives parents time to get answers to those questions in a relaxed environment, an opportunity that is not as available when a school year is only days away or already in progress,” said Roberts.

There are other downsides to missing pre-enrollment.  Leaving enrollment to the end of summer or even the day or week school begins can cost schools and teachers a great deal of disruption, false starts, and the unnecessary expenditure of limited resources, but much worse, can cause the parent and child  unnecessary confusion, trauma and heartache at a time already stressed filled.  Tulsa Public Schools Board member Gary Percefull said, “We would love to see all children in Tulsa County pre-enrolled and ready to start their education on as positive a note as possible.”

Whether enrolling at their neighborhood school or at a Kindergarten Forum, parents must bring the child’s birth certificate, the child’s immunization record, and proof of residence which can include a current utility bill or lease agreement.  

 In the list below, confirmed information is shown in black.  For the other schools, the 2009 information is shown (in gray) to give a general idea; please check back soon, or call that school system, to find out dates when they are confirmed. 
 

Enrollment for all Broken Arrow schools will occur at the Enrollment Center - 601 South Main Street (just north of the Education Service Center).  Summer hours (June and July) are from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (Monday-Thursday).

For more information, call Enrollment at (918) 259-4300.

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Collinsville School District

Early Childhood Center:

Pre-K: April 28^h – 29^th (during normal school hours)

Kindergarten: May 19^th – 20^th (Open Enrollment for any new student)

For more information, call: (918) 371-6870.

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Glenpool School District

Pre-K enrollment will occur in the Safe Room of the elementary school on the following dates:

          March 9^th: 9:00am – 3pm; 4:30pm – 7:30pm
          March 11^th: 4:30pm – 7:30pm      

Kindergarten enrollment will occur by appointment over the summer, starting June 1^st.

For more information, please call: (918) 322-9500.

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Jenks School District

Pre-K: Enrollment for students will be held at the Enrollment Center on the following dates. During these site enrollment dates, the Enrollment Center will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays and from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.   

Southeast Elementary:  February 8^th-12^th

West Elementary:  February 15^th-19^th

East Elementary:  February 22^nd-26^th 

Call the Enrollment Center – (918) 299-4415, ext. 2415 – to schedule an appointment. The Enrollment Center’s normal hours are Monday thru Friday, 7:30am – 4pm.

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