Delaware’s First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney recently launched the First State’s first statewide kindergarten registration campaign.
The “Kindergarten Campaign” is a piece of the“First Chance Delaware Initiative,” led by Carney.
The initiative’s goal is to ensure all children in Delaware have a “first chance” to succeed.
Carney says the “Kindergarten Registration Campaign” is a first step.
“I think one of the reasons, again from by own experience, as well as some of the surveys that the Readiness Teams have done with more current parents of children that age, there are different deadlines in different districts. The Choice process has a whole separate set of paperwork. The paperwork can be very redundant and frustrating,” said Mrs. Carney
Carney says none of this can be done online, with all of the forms needed only on paper. That requires people to fill out forms seeking the same information, including things as basic as name and address, multiple times.
Carney adds a lack of a common deadline for registering children for kindergarten makes it very difficult for parents and/or caregivers.
The campaign uses Delaware Readiness Teams to encourage families and caregivers to register children for kindergarten on time and guide them through the process.
Carney says she was asked to chair the initiative after sharing her experience getting her oldest son ready for kindergarten.
“And how confusing it was for me and how frustrated I became during that process. I think that since I had that experience, sort of made them feel that I could appreciate what parents are going through now and perhaps speak to the parents in a empathetic way,” Mrs. Carney said.
Carney says family engagement events will be held in all three countries throughout Kindergarten Registration Month in November.
Families and caregivers of children who will be 5-years-old by August 31, 2019 are encouraged to register their student for kindergarten for the 2019/2020 school year as soon as possible.
You can get more info about First Chance Delaware here and you can get more information about Delaware Readiness Teams here.
