The days of parents camping out at elementary schools in Langley to ensure a Kindergarten spot appear to have come to an end, according to the Langley School District.
On Monday, Jan. 20, parents can register their kids for Kindergarten at all Langley public schools if their child will be five by Dec. 31, 2014.
“We do not anticipate any ‘camp outs’ or the like,” said school district spokesperson Ken Hoff.
The campouts usually centred around getting a spot in the morning or afternoon classes for Kindergarten.
“Now that it (Kindergarten) is full-day, that has largely become a non-issue,” he said.
In 2012, more than 30 parents camped out in the snowy, cold conditions outside R.C. Garnett Elementary to see if their child could get a spot inside the over-populated school.
At choice schools, demand to get in from out of catchment is still high. Registration is ‘in person’ at a child’s catchment school. For Langley’s ‘Choice Programs’ like Fine Arts Fundamental programs, parents usually sign up their kids as soon as they are born, said Hoff.
While some districts are trying out registration online, it isn’t something Langley is looking to yet, he said.
The projected number of children coming into Kindergarten was down a bit from what was expected this school year, said secretary-treasurer David Green at a school board meeting recently.
But he said it appears the number of preschool aged children is much higher so more kids should be entering Kindergarten in the coming years.