Pearl River School Enrollment to Decline: Demographer

The Pearl River School District is holding simultaneous registration and screening for incoming kindergartners during school hours for September 2016.

Appointments are already filled for March 1, 2 and 8. To get an appointment for March 10, or for more information, contact one of the elementary schools: Evans Park - 620-3950 ; Franklin Avenue 620-3965 ; Lincoln Avenue 620-3850.

In order to plan and provide for all new students, it is especially important that the district identify all children expected to enroll in September. Pearl River’s three elementary schools accommodate students in grades kindergarten through four. Pearl River now has a full-day Kindergarten program.

Enrollment is assigned across all three schools. While geographic boundaries serve as a general guideline, school assignment will depend on class size and special education and ELL programming. Families will be notified regarding building assignment in the summer.

A demographer’s report predicts that elementary enrollment will drop steeply by 2024, The Journal News reports. Kindergarten through fourth grade could lose 28 percent of its pupil population.

The causes: the population in Pearl River is aging and fewer homes are being built for new families, the paper reported. Parents worry that declining enrollments will mean more cuts in programs -- such as elementary school music.