Only 47,000 students were registered for D.C. Public Schools as of Tuesday, school officials say, thousands less than the total population expected to show up for the first day of classes next week.
Despite an aggressive registration effort, nearly one in five of the projected 2007-08 DCPS enrollment has yet to declare a status. As many as 10,000 students may show up Monday without having registered for classes, officials said.
Preregistration is perceived as critical for principals, who map out classes weeks in advance, and for central administration, which is responsible for delivering textbooks and other materials to the city’s 142 schools.
“It’s obviously an issue, but we’re planning based on projected enrollment so we’re not taken by surprise,” acting Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso said.
The biggest challenge, Reinoso said, will be in the high schools, because DCPS has little idea whether a student will make the move up from middle school.
Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee said her office is using statistics to conjecture how many students will show up Monday, and principals are planning individually based on enrollment documents and numbers from years past. The DCPS 2006 enrollment was near 57,000.
“We’re looking right now at historical trends to see if we have documentation to show two weeks before school, one week before school, what percentage of the total enrollees were actually registered at that time,” Rhee said. “We’re looking through those numbers now.”
Based on past trends, Reinoso said, DCPS knew to expect low registration. Parents, he said, think that because they’re dropping off their children at school on the first day that it’s OK to register then.
That is a mentality, he said, that must change.
Students should register at the school they plan to attend. The enrollment forms can be downloaded at www.k12.dc.us.
