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Chinook’s Edge launching kindergarten registration online next year

Dec 18, 2018 | 8:26 AM

The Chinook’s Edge School Division will introduce online kindergarten registration for the first time ever next year.

After years of collaboration and refining processes across multiple departments in Chinook’s Edge, officials say the large rural school division is set to launch the new process in increments as soon as families return from Christmas holidays.

The process is anticipated to begin with a pilot program in Sylvan Lake where specific families will pioneer the program from January 7-9.

Once that test of the system is complete, all three Chinook’s Edge elementary schools in Sylvan Lake are expected to post the live Online Kindergarten Registration link on their websites from January 10-20.

Finally, Chinook’s Edge will go live across the division with Online Kindergarten Registration on January 21st.   

“This has been a significant undertaking,” said Karyn Barber, Associate Superintendent of System Services, in a press release. “It was a huge collaborative effort between our transportation, finance and technology departments, and it also involved hard work from all of our schools. Principals and admin support teams in over 40 schools were required to learn and embed several online practices over the last few years, and our elementary schools in particular have been all-hands-on-deck to prepare for Online Kindergarten Registration.”

Barber says it’s expected a great deal of data-entry work will be reduced at Chinook’s Edge schools, but with the biggest priority being to make the process easier for parents.

However, officials point-out kindergarten students and their families have every opportunity to drop into their local school at any time, book a tour, meet with the principal or even fill out the online registration form at the school office.

In fact, online forms will be received and looked after by office staff at each specific school, where the principal retains their traditional role of approving the registrations coming into their school.

“We are confident our families will be pleased with this process,” said Technology Director, Ted Harvey. “It simply makes it easier for parents to enroll their kids and they can do it anytime, anywhere. The process provides the opportunity for them to arrange an appointment to meet the principal, too, because a digital calendar will come up as part of the online registration.”

Moving forward, Chinook’s Edge officials expect other school forms and processes to be conducted online.

(With files from Chinook’s Edge School Division)