District outlines enrollment-stabilization push: new website, registration center, early-entry kindergarten and community outreach

District staff presented a multi-pronged effort to stabilize enrollment and boost retention, telling the board March 12 about a new district website, expanded on‑site registration and early‑entry kindergarten initiatives.

Miss Horton described a redesigned website and 33 refreshed school pages featuring a prominent "Enroll Now" call-to-action and school-specific "discover" pages. The communications team reported nearly 16,000 Facebook followers and a strategic postcard mailer to about 25,500 households to promote kindergarten registration and district programs.

Staff described a centralized registration center adjacent to Troyer Middle School that now offers on-site registration support (including computers to retrieve shot records and verify addresses) and reported free backpack giveaways to families who registered on site. The district said it is running kindergarten "sneak peek" events at 27 schools with on-site registration and multiple time slots to accommodate working families.

Miss Mora and other staff described revised early-entry kindergarten screening using Wednesday early‑release days (no fee) and reported 65 family requests for the early-entry process, with the first screening held March 4 and additional dates scheduled in April and May. Staff also outlined a new LEAF preschool partnership with the Stepping Stone organization, investments in musical instruments, designation of three Arizona Purple Star schools to support military families, and plans for summer jump‑start and university partnership programs.

Board members encouraged more teacher representation on the enrollment committee, suggested person-to-person outreach to understand why families leave or choose the district, and asked staff to continue data collection and return findings to the board.