Biloxi holds registration at public schools Monday, Tuesday

Thousands of Biloxi parents and students will be at the city’s six public school sites Monday and Tuesday as Biloxi Public Schools conducts registration for the 2012-13 school year.

Biloxi ended the school year in May with about 5,000 students, and administrators hope to see that many or more when classes begin on Aug. 6. The first step, however, is registration, which takes place Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

School leaders say parents can speed up the process by going to the district’s website and filling out an online form.

Click on the Registration button at biloxischools.net to find a handy form to guide you through the registration process. (To go there now, click here.) If you don’t have access to the site, don’t worry, says Jermaine Brown, director of student services, all necessary forms will be available at the respective schools.

Parents and guardians also are reminded to have two types of proof of residency at registration. One type should be a Mississippi driver’s license, a state-issued picture ID card, or some acceptable photo ID that shows the current residence. The second type should be a most recent utility bill, automobile registration, mortgage document or apartment lease.

“The biggest issue each year has been the proof of residency,” Brown says. “Two proofs of residency are required for all students. If the parent or guardian is not able to produce two proofs of residency, then other measures will be required to establish residency before registration can be completed.”

Parents of kindergarteners will be taking part in a mandatory Kindergarten Discovery Days session this year. At registration, those parents will be assigned a day – Aug. 6, 7 or 8 – when they must attend a morning session to learn more about their child’s transition into the classroom. For details on Kindergarten Discovery Days, click here.

News and notes

Get your supplies: For a list of supplies your child will need for the upcoming school year, click here.

Meet your principals: At the end of the last school year, videos were created to introduce each of the city’s public schools. To see the videos, click on the respective school (videos may take a few seconds to begin, depending on your connection speed): Gorenflo Elementary School, Jeff Davis Elementary School,
North Bay Elementary School, Popp’s Ferry Elementary School, Biloxi Junior High School, and Biloxi High School.

The benefits of Biloxi: If your child is too young for registration, you can still begin preparing for the classroom experience. As Harrison County’s only Excel by 5 certified community, Biloxi offers myriad programs and resources for pre-schoolers and their parents. In fact to see the benefits of Excel by 5 and all of Biloxi’s public schools, click here.