Kindergarten Visitation Days Set for Jan. 12 & 24

Parents of incoming kindergarteners to the Belmont-Redwood School District (BRSSD) will have two opportunities to visit the district's six elementary campuses on Jan. 12 and 24 from 9-10 a.m.

Kindergarten Visitation Days will allow parents to experience a typical classroom and obtain information on the new enrollment and school assignment process.

Children turning five years old by Nov. 1, 2012 will be eligible for Kindergarten enrollment. A Transitional Kindergarten class for children who turn five between Nov. 2 and Dec. 2, 2012 will be held at an elementary school to be determined.

According to information provided by the school district, the newly created Transitional Kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten program, will have a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.  Additional information on the Transitional Kindergarten will be available before enrollment begins in February.

The six elementary schools hosting Kindergarten Visitation Days include: 

• Central, 525 Middle Road, Belmont, 637-4820
• Cipriani, 2525 Buena Vista Avenue, Belmont, 637-4840
• Fox, 3100 St. James Road, Belmont, 637-4850
• Nesbit, 500 Biddulph, Belmont, 637-4860
• Redwood Shores, 225 Shearwater Parkway, Redwood City, 802-8060
• Sandpiper, 801 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, 631-5510

A new enrollment process for the district

The new enrollment process is a result of the recent adoption of a new BRSSD board policy that eliminates specific school attendance boundaries. 

The district will have three enrollment periods:  the first spanning the month of February 2012, the second from March 1, 2012 to June 8, 2012 (the last day of the school year), and third from June 9, 2012 to August 17, 2012 (shortly before the start of the new school year).

Under the new process, a new kindergarten enrollee with an older sibling currently enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade in a Belmont-Redwood Shores elementary school will be enrolled at their older siblings’ school (i.e., “grandfathered”).  These students must enroll at that school during the month of February to receive “Sibling Priority.”

Enrollment dates

New Kindergarten enrollees without older siblings currently enrolled in a Belmont-Redwood Shores elementary school will be centrally enrolled as follows:  

• Feb. 15--Ralston Middle School (2675 Ralston Avenue, Belmont) Multi-Use Room from 1 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Feb. 16 & 17--District Office (2960 Hallmark Drive, Belmont) Board Room from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Feb. 27 Nesbit Elementary Office (500 Biddulph, Belmont) from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Spanish Translator Available)
• Feb. 28 --District Office (2960 Hallmark Drive, Belmont) Board Room from 3:00 p.m. – 6 p.m.
• Feb. 29--By appointment at the District Office (2960 Hallmark Drive, Belmont). 

Because new students will no longer be enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis, waiting in line will not be necessary.  

Students who enroll during each period will be assigned to one of the six elementary schools. Students will be assigned to schools using an unbiased well-studied algorithm that minimizes total walking distance and optimizes school capacities. 

For the upcoming 2012-13 school year, students who enroll in the first period will be notified of their school assignment by April 1, 2012; students in the second period will be notified by July 1, 2012; and students in the third period will be notified by the opening of school in August 2012.  

Because students will be assigned to schools in each enrollment period, the district is encouraging families to enroll their children during the earliest period. 

According to the school district, there is no advantage to enrolling earlier within the period.  The first student to enroll in the February period has no priority in assignment over the last student to enroll in the February period; all students who enroll in the February period will be assigned to schools before students who enroll in the second enrollment period. 

Information about the enrollment and school assignment process, along with instructions and the necessary paperwork, are posted on the district’s web site, http://brssd.org/ under “NEW POSTING: Student Enrollment 2012-2013.” 

Questions should be directed to the Educational Services Department at 650-637-4800, extension 1013.