SCHOOL DISTRICT EYES ONE-STOP REGISTRATION.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- A "one-stop shopping approach" is planned for parents registering new students in the Palmdale School District.

Information about the district and the community would be offered at the proposed Welcome Center for Central Registration under a plan being eyed by administrators.

It also would allow the district to assess students academically by giving them brief reading and math tests, and language proficiency tests if needed, to properly place them in their new schools.

"It's more than a registration center. It's truly a welcome center where parents can take advantage of all the district services that we offer. It's sort of like one-stop shopping," interim Superintendent Roger Gallizzi said.

Evaluations would help identify needed specialized classes, such as English as a second language. Information would be available on early childhood education, local preschools and immunization requirements, Gallizzi said.

"The whole idea is to do a needs assessment of what the family needs and get them to those services as well," he said.

Centralizing registration at the district office would provide an added benefit of improved attendance data and tracking, which would generate more state funding, albeit a small amount, Gallizzi said.

Students currently register at individual campuses, he said. But school staffs are busy, and some campuses register new students only during certain times of the day.

"If they come at a certain time of day they might be sent home. (The center) would have commuter-friendly hours," Gallizzi said.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting last month, and trustees said they liked the idea but also had some concerns, mainly to do with how parents without means of transportation could get to the center at the district office.

"The worry is when you take (registration) away from the local site, the transportation issues are for parents who can't get to the 'one-stop shop.' We are assured that other districts have solved that dilemma by doing different things. Busing is one of them," board President Bo Bynum said. "There is still a lot of looking into."

Gallizzi said he didn't think transportation would be a problem. Registration for the district's Head Start program is at the district office, and that does not seem to be a barrier, he said.

The proposal will come back for further discussion at the board meeting today, with possible action at the following meeting.

"People can come in or make appointments. There will be a nice, pleasant, calm, professional atmosphere, a place for toddlers to play while parents get kids registered," Gallizzi said. "If they came to the center, we could tell them, 'Here's where you live, here is the school of attendance,' and about magnet schools and schools of choice. There's different options that they have."

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