GILROY
– As the start of the new school year nears, it is crunch time
for parents needing to enroll their children in Gilroy schools.
Students must be registered by Aug. 18 in order to attend the
first day of classes Aug. 25.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – As the start of the new school year nears, it is crunch time for parents needing to enroll their children in Gilroy schools.
Students must be registered by Aug. 18 in order to attend the first day of classes Aug. 25. But with middle and high school orientations coming up and several campuses under construction, the sooner new students register, the better, said Juanita Contin, coordinator of parent involvement and enrollment.
“If (parents) have not registered their child for school, please do so as soon as possible,” Contin said. “This week would be great.”
For the first time, registration is being handled at Gilroy Unified School District’s campuses rather than through the district’s enrollment office. Decentralizing enrollment is part of the new assignment system for sending students to “attendance area” schools.
Enrollment packets can be picked up at the enrollment office, located at 7810 Arroyo Circle, or at individual school sites. The Gilroy Unified Web Site offers a downloadable registration form and a list of all required registration documents.
Summer construction projects disrupted enrollment at several schools. Registration for Eliot School, which has been relocated to the Ascencion Solorsano Middle School campus during construction, will be handled by the district’s enrollment office.
Those registering at El Roble, which is being modernized, will need to go to Glen View School. Registration for all three middle schools is handled at Brownell Academy, because South Valley is under modernization until the middle of August and the Solorsano office is not yet open.
Middle school
Orientations for incoming middle school students begin the week of Aug. 18. Students must have completed registration to participate in the orientation, where they will receive a schedule of classes. The Brownell orientation will be Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. in the Brownell gym. The South Valley orientation will also be in the Brownell gym on Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. The Solorsano orientation will be held in that school’s multipurpose room on Aug. 21 at 5 p.m.
Sixth-graders entering middle school will be assigned a school based on their attendance area. Seventh-graders, who also will be moving from elementary to middle school, will be assigned to either Brownell or South Valley depending on their expressed preference and space at each school. Solorsano will not house seventh- or eighth-graders next year.
High school
The Gilroy High School freshman orientation will take place on Aug. 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. Students can register at the Student Services Department on campus.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten registration for children who will be 5 years old before Dec. 2, 2003 has been under way since March. Parents must complete the enrollment packet, provide proof of immunization and residency verification.
Some grades already filled up at certain schools. Kindergarten at El Roble is full, Contin said. As classes fill up, the district will decide where to place students based on enrollment numbers and whether siblings are also attending a Gilroy school.
The Gilroy Unified School District enrollment center is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For details, call 848-7142. The enrollment Web site is located at www.gusd.k12.ca.us/Exec/
enrollment/enrollment.htm.
