East Penn Will Need to Watch Kindergarten Numbers

The East Penn Superintendent of Schools has good news and potentially less good news for the as far as kindergarten registration is concerned.

Thomas L. Seidenberger told the board at the April 23 school board meeting that East Penn had had what he termed “a very successful” registration.

“We had significant participation,” he said. “I think we have about 80 students more registered for kindergarten than we had at this time last year. I don’t know if we have done a better job of getting parents out, or if we will see the usual (number) of parents come out in August.”

And, that’s where the possibly less good news comes in. If past summer-time kindergarten registration patterns remain consistent, East Penn could be looking at a big jump in kindergarten class sizes in 2012-2013.

According to a report in The Morning Call, about 30 to 50 children are typically registered for kindergarten in East Penn School District during the summer.

“We are always going to have a rush of people (at the last minute),” Seidenberger told the board. “These (spring registration) numbers tell a story and we are going to have to start paying attention to this story.”