GILROY
– Despite changes to the enrollment system this school year with
students registering at their neighborhood schools, one thing held
steady.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Despite changes to the enrollment system this school year with students registering at their neighborhood schools, one thing held steady. The number of students enrolled in Gilroy schools appears to be meeting last year’s total of 9,500 students.
There are 4,700 enrolled in kindergarten through fifth-grade, 2,300 at middle schools and 2,500 at Gilroy High School.
“The numbers are pretty much what they were last year,” said Juanita Contin, coordinator of parent involvement and enrollment. “The first week of school we have a lot of changes with people coming in and out.”
Some students are still in the process of enrolling in school, although parents should have turned in their registration packets by Aug. 18 in order for their children to start school Monday, Contin said.
Certain schools have grade levels filling up, and El Roble Elementary School is completely full. Kindergarten is full at El Roble, Luigi Aprea and Eliot.
“What we’re projecting is that it will be full at all eight shcools,” Contin said. “We’re pretty full. We might have more younger people moving to (the El Roble) area.”
There is a waiting list for those wanting to enter a grade that is filled, and more students are expected to show up during the first week of school. GUSD tries to complete any transfers within the first week of school only because to move students later would be disruptive, Contin said.
GUSD dealt with more transfer requests than usual this year because it is the second year of the neighborhood school program. Parents with two children attending Gilroy schools who have only one child at their neighborhood school can request to have the other child transferred to that same school. So far, neighborhood schools only apply to kindergarten, first and sixth grades.
While students live up their last few days of freedom, teachers and staff have been on school campus for as many as four weeks. Wednesday was the first official work day for teachers, but most have been preparing their classrooms and lessons for students.
Finishing touches on classrooms were being completed at Luigi Aprea Elementary School.
“We’re getting the facilities in order, making sure the rooms are sparkling clean and decorated,” Principal Sergio Montenegro said.
He planned the teachers’ meetings for their first official day back to campus on Wednesday, where they will be coordinating lesson plans.
“The teachers are all upbeat about the year,” Montenegro said. “Some grade levels have already planned out the first month of classes.”
Teachers throughout the district are familiarizing themselves with GUSD’s California standards-based curriculum, continuing the programs started during the 2002-03 school year, said Director of Curriculum and Instruction Olivia Schaad.
“We’ve made huge steps in collaborating our instruction,” Schaad said. “That way, if kids move around within the district they see the same programs.”
New sixth through eighth-grade English teachers underwent a three-day training course to use GUSD’s approved materials. Sixth through 12th-grade math teachers met Wednesday and Thursday to review their standards.
State administrators in the English Language Learners program will hold a training course for the new teachers and a refresher for returning teachers. This is the second school year for the English immersion program for non-native speakers, said Martha Martinez, administrator of categorical programs. She replaces Dom Galu, who retired in June.
Elementary school teachers are meeting as well for a refresher on state reading and math standards for kindergarten through fifth grade.
Some parents were dreading the first day of school more than their kids.
“It’s been such a great summer. I’m not ready for school to start,” parent Carolyn Scherde said.
She has two children heading back to school Monday: Christen will be a junior at Gilroy High School and Braed will begin seventh-grade at Brownell Academy Middle School.
This will be Braed’s second year at Brownell. He was looking forward to moving up the middle school ranks.
“(As a sixth-grader) you’re around older people a lot,” he said. “You’re back to being the little ones.”
His mother was more concerned with his academics.
“I’m anxious to see who his teachers are,” she said. “That first week or two is just listening to their comments about their classes and whether they like their teachers.”
Carolyn was so un-enthusiastic about school starting that, so far, she has avoided the season’s sales and only shopped for the necessities.
“We’ll do some more shopping Labor Day weekend,” she said.
