VALDOSTA —
Lowndes County Schools’ Pre-K classes will be held in individual schools next year; however, erroneous rumors claiming Pre-K will be held in a centralized location have been attributed for a lower than normal registration rate.
These rumors claim Pre-K would be housed on Lowndes County’s Parker Mathis campus, where Horizon Academy and the alternative school are located.
School officials say this is not true.
Pre-K classrooms will remain at the individual school sites next year, said Iris A. Mathis, director of Professional Learning, Testing K-8, Pre-Kindergarten, ESOL and Migrant for the Lowndes County School system.
“While all students are registering at a centralized site, the Pre-K classrooms will remain at the individual school sites next year,” Mathis said in an email to The Times.
Some parents have expressed confusion regarding the centralized registration as opposed to a centralized Pre-K site.
“The word centralized refers only to the registration and Pre-K will still be offered at the individual school sites,” wrote Mathis.
Lowndes County Schools are currently registering Pre-K students for the 2012-2013 school year. Parents can register through Friday, Feb. 24, at the registration annex located behind the Lowndes County Board of Education office. Hours for registration are 8:30 a.m.-noon Monday through Friday.
“We want to reassure parents that children will register for the school attendance zone where they live and will attend a Pre-K class at that site if selected in the lottery process,” wrote Mathis.
All completed registration packets with required documentation received by noon on Feb. 24 will be eligible for the lottery.
On March 2, at the LCBOE office, a drawing will be held for each of the seven elementary schools in Lowndes County. Forty-four names will be drawn for each of the following schools: Dewar Elementary, Hahira Elementary, Lake Park Elementary, Moulton Branch Elementary and Westside Elementary. Sixty-six names will be drawn for each of the following schools: Clyattville Elementary and Pine Grove Elementary.
Once the final name is drawn for the available slots, the drawing continues for the waiting list and they will be placed on the list in the order drawn. Children registering after March 2 will be placed on the waiting list in the order in which they are registered.
A school parent designee and school administrator from each school are the only attendees permitted. The only other attendees will be the district Pre-K staff. There is no room for other observers.
Following the drawing, letters will be prepared for students on the active list and for those on the waiting list. These letters will be mailed on the afternoon of March 2.
The Pre-K program is not available to all students in Lowndes County because it is contingent upon funding from Bright from the Start.
“We encourage parents to come out and register their Pre-K students as soon as possible,” wrote Mathis. “This is a wonderful program available to Georgia Pre-K students and we hope that one day it will be funded for all Pre-K students in Georgia.”
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