Parent Talk: Kindergarten Registration Time Arrives in St. Michael-Albertville

Now that you've all got your future pre-schoolers registered for preschool, it's time to start thinking about kindergarten. Kindergarten registration night is less than two weeks away–February 9. It will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the , and it's a parent only open house.

"We'll have teacher-led tours going every 15 minutes and lots of staff available to answer any questions, whether it's about Kids Play or Express, the curriculum, or kindergarten readiness," said Ann-Marie Foucault, Principal and District Curriculum Director.

The open house for kindergarteners takes place in May. Parents and students take a self-guided tour and meet teachers, though they will not know their teacher yet.

"It helps eliminate some of the anxiety," Dr. Foucault said. "In the past, the students would come in August and have a lot of pent up anxiety about the start of kindergarten."

Decisions, decisions

Once you've made the decision to send your 5-year-old (), it's time to decide if they are going half-day or all-day.

"All of the curriculum is done in half-day," Dr. Foucault said. All day, or Kindergarten Express, students have 23-minute lunch, 30-minute recess, and three, 30-minute physical education classes and an added music class.

Half-day students receive a single 30-minute PE, music, art, media and computer specialist time each week.

"Everything else in the class day is the same, though the full day students do have more time to delve into lessons and projects," Dr. Foucault said.

So how do parents decide between half-day and all day?

For many, like Tami Demo, it was a financial decision. "We could never afford to send our kids to the all day program," she said.

The all day program is $2,600 for the year in addition to a $100 deposit due at registration.

"Mary Ellen Barthel is great at helping families with spreading out payments or when things come up financially," Foucault said. While there aren't scholarships or financial assistance available, community ed tries to work with families.

"The cost hasn't increased in the last three years, and it's pretty much in the middle of the pack [in comparison to other districts]. There are all day programs that are both more expensive and less expensive," Dr. Foucault said.

Some school districts, including , are opting to fund all-day kindergarten on their own, though they are lobbying the state Legislature to approve measures to fund it statewide. "At this point, we would have to sacrifice something else within the district to provide this," Dr. Foucault said.

Tami is happy with the half-day program and doesn't feel the need to pay to send any of her four children to the all day program.

"I think St. Michael-Albertville does a really good job at getting all the curriculum done in a short time. There are less breaks and no recess, but I'm O.K. with it," she said.

For Kindergarten Express mom, Melissa Kennedy, it wasn't a question.

"We knew we wanted all-day, everyday kindergarten, and our daughter loves it. My husband and I both work, so when looking at the cost of daycare versus the cost of all day, it made sense for a more structured day."

By the end of the week, all parents with an eligible kindergartener for next fall should receive paperwork for registration. If you don't receive the paperwork, call the Albertville Primary office at 763-497-2688 to fill out a census form.

All forms are due March 2 and everyone who registers for the full-day program before this date is ensured a spot.