Open enrollment for Kindergarten students in the Jackson R-2 School District will take place on Thursday, March 19. The event is held from 4-6:30 p.m. at all seven elementary schools in the district.
Eligible children must turn five years old prior to Aug. 1, 2020, and parents/guardians must live in the Jackson R-2 School District.
Jackson R-2 Director of Communications Merideth Pobst said the event is not just for parents, but also for the children who will attend Kindergarten during the 2020-2021 school year.
“The whole evening is centered around getting kids familiar and comfortable in their neighborhood school,” Pobst said. New students will get to go through the cafeteria line to get a treat and get on a school bus for the first time.
“Our transportation department will be at each building and take students on a ride around a few block in the neighborhood at each school,” Pobst said. “The students really look forward to that and parents get to have that experience on the bus ride with them.”
There will also be crafts and activities at each school for the future Kindergarteners to do, as well as a place at each building where parents can have a photo taken with their child.
Pobst said they planned the event to celebrate the changes that come with starting school. “Kindergarten is a huge milestone, not only in the child’s life, but in a parent’s life –especially if it’s your first child that’s going to kindergarten,” she said. “There’s a lot of tears, happy tears, from the parents.”
Parents and guardians are asked to bring their driver’s license, the child’s birth certificate, the child’s Social Security card, the child’s immunization records, and proof of residency. The proof of residency can be a utility bill, a rental agreement, a property tax bill or a real estate contract.
If the parent or guardian already has a student attending Jackson schools, they are able to get some of the paperwork filled online. Pobst said it is easier for these parents, because they are already in the district’s system. She advised these parents to call the administration office at 243-9501 prior to the event.
“It just makes it a little bit quicker for them; however, they are still welcome to come to the event and have that experience with their child,” Pobst added.
Pobst said parents can use the attendance area search tool on the district’s website or call the administration office to find out what school their child will attend Kindergarten.
If a parent/guardian cannot attend the event, they can call the administration office to have an alternate time set up at their neighborhood elementary school.
