Wake schools to host 'Kindergarten Round-Up' day

The county's 104 elementary schools have planned open registrations, schools tours and information sessions in an effort to get as many students registered and enrolled for the upcoming school year.

The Wake County Public School System expects about 12,000 new kindergartners next year. More than 7,710 had enrolled as of Wednesday.

Parents can register their children at any elementary school in Wake County. They will need to take with them their child's birth certificate and immunization records, as well as the parent's valid photo ID and proof of address in the form of a utility bill or signed lease or rental agreement.

To enroll, children must be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31.

The school district moved registration and enrollment earlier this year to prepare families to participate in the district's new student assignment choice-selection process, in which parents can choose among a list of schools that they would like their children to attend.

Parents must enroll their children before they can participate in the process.

The first period runs until Feb. 24, and parents will be notified by March 16 of their children's assignments.

A second choice-selection period begins March 19 for any parents who don't participate in the first round. Assignments based on those choices will be made by mid-April.

As of Wednesday morning, 12,199 families had logged on to the student assignment website and made at least one choice, a school system spokesman said. Of that number, 5,842 were for rising kindergartners.