GREAT FALLS — Kindergarten registration for the 2021-2022 school year was underway in Great Falls on Wednesday.
Dirk registered her six-year old daughter Wednesday for kindergarten at Mountain View Elementary School.
"This is my fourth kid going through Mountain View,” said parent Mandi Dirk. And doing it amid the pandemic? "I have no lingering concerns,” Dirk said.
She said, "I feel like the school has done such a fantastic job. I feel like they're going to make the best decision for the school district going into next year."
Kindergarten teacher Lauren Sprout is doing everything she can to help ease any concerns parents might have. "My kids sanitize every time they come into my room, always use Germ-X. then, at the end of the day they wipe down their desks and then I wipe down their desks after once I'm about to leave,” she explained.
Aside from possible health concerns, there is also the potential of having too many kindergartners as students who would've started last year instead begin this year.
"We had quite a few that had registered in the fall and then because of COVID and what classes were going to look like some of them actually might've started with remote learning and that may not have been successful for their family and their situation. So we do have quite a few families that we're expecting to come back and start kindergarten this 2021-2022 school year,” said Jennifer Martyn, the principal at Mountain View Elementary School.
Even so, as of Wednesday, Martyn felt confident there would be enough room for all of the students whose parents want to register them there. "If we did have a huge turnout, that's when, as we get those numbers, we consider maybe adding another kindergarten teacher,” Martin said.
Kindergarten registration will continue through the start of the school year. Click here for more information on the GFPS website.
