Rockwood Kindergarten Info Meeting to be held Tuesday

Rockwood School District's 19 elementary schools will begin enrolling kindergarten students for the 2013-1014 school year on Jan. 23-24. Children must be 5 years old before Aug. 1, 2013 to be eligible for kindergarten in the fall.

Parents can attend the Kindergarten Parents Night information session Tuesday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton. Information about the kindergarten curriculum and Adventure Club will be covered.

Actual kindergarten registration times vary by school. Parents can review district maps to find the school their child will attend.

Rockwood offers full-day and half-day kindergarten programs. According to the district's kindergarten webpage, the cost for full-day is $343.50 per month for 10 months to be paid by electronic withdrawals beginning Aug. 5. There is also a $300 application fee. Including the application fee, the annual cost is $3,735. In addition, a $300 non-refundable application fee will be due to the schools by Feb. 7 for full-day kindergarten.

Rockwood administrators indicate most of the school districts that do not charge tuition for full-day kindergarten receive more money from the state funding formula than Rockwood does. "In some of these districts, the state is actually funding their full-day kindergarten programs.  In addition, other school districts have passed tax increases to help fund a full-day kindergarten program," according to the webpage.

Full-day kindergarten offers students the same curriculum as the half-day option, according to Rockwood sources. Students who participate in full-day kindergarten will follow the same class format as students in grades 1-5. They will have 60 minutes of art and music and 150 minutes of physical education each week.

To register for kindergarten, parents must bring the following items:

1. Household Census Information (one per household)
2. New Student Information Form (one per student)
3. Annual Student Health Form
   (Must be submitted annually in order to provide proper care for the student.)
4. Birth Certificate issued by the Bureau of Vital Statistics.
5. Medically documented Immunization/Health records (This form can be submitted after the January kindergarten registration dates.)
6. Two forms of proof of parent/guardian residency. These documents should contain the parent/guardian's name and address. Examples of this could include: Deed/sales contract of residence, current real estate tax receipt, an unpaid utility bill or contract to lease/rent.
7. Custody papers and a complete copy of the dissolution decree that stipulates custody in cases of parental divorce.
8. IEP and evaluation, if the student is receiving Special Education Services.
9. Emergency contact information.
10. Family Education Rights and Privacy ACT (FERPA), Annual Parent/Guardian and Eligible Student Notification and Refusal Form