By Adam Swift
Prekindergarten registration is now open for Winthrop families through the end of February. Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard said information about the registration process is available on the school district website, and that there will also be further information about the process pushed out through social media, WCAT, and the Gorman Fort Banks school newsletter. To be eligible for prekindergarten, children have to turn four years old by Sept. 1, and cannot be over 5 as of that date. “It’s a small group of students we can enroll,” said Howard. There are approximately six sessions of pre-kindergarten, with 15 students per session. The majority are half-day sessions, with one full-day session, according to Howard. “They are integrated, meaning if there are 15 students in each classroom, eight students are general education students and seven are on IEPs (individualized education programs),” said Howard. “Folks who would be signing up for preschool, the majority of the folks would be people looking for the open slot for general education enrollment.” Howard said the district will also return to screening preschool students. “Last year, we felt the impact of not doing the screening, because some of our students who enrolled might otherwise have been picked up as a student with special needs, and we want to make sure we are attending to that,” said Howard. At last week’s School Committee meeting, Howard also provided an update on district attendance. As of last week, Howard said district attendance was at 1,999 students. “It’s the highest we’ve been in many years,” said Howard. The enrollment figures include 513 students at the Gorman Fort Banks School, 443 students at the Cummings School, 423 at the middle school, and 616 at the high school. Howard said the total enrollment also includes Winthrop out-of-district students. As of the end of December, the superintendent said the district saw 87 newly enrolled students and 46 students who withdrew from the district. At last week’s meeting, Howard also praised the efforts of those who made the recent International Night at the old middle school a success. “It was just a great display of everyone that participates in our schools and what nationality they are, what countries they come from, and what country might be their homeland,” said Howard.