Starting Oct. 29, 2012 – Jan. 11, 2013, parents will be able to register their children online for the 2013-2014 school year. In order to apply, parents must visit the JCPS website, where they can also find information about different magnet schools and the special programs they offer.
For those parents who have an issue with accessing internet, JCPS has set up 15 registration centers. These sites are all around Greater Louisville; ranging from Park DuValle community to the Fairdale community. Three of the fifteen centers open year round include Lam, DuValle, and Hazelwood ESL. “It’s thoughtful of the city to supply these sites for us, that takes a burden off of my shoulders,” says Ivan Bonner parent from the Old Louisville area.
But how effective are the servers set up at these centers? Throughout school days, there are times when the servers are running slow, and the other times, the server is completely dysfunctional In the technological realm, computers have their upsides and downfalls. “My main concern is the frustration of parents when they come to these facilities,” says Mr. Greg Kuhn.
Kuhn heard about this new policy in early August and realizes the pros and cons in this plan. “It’ll be frustrating when parents come to these centers and the server is down or is slow; but at the same time paperwork won’t be lost or be filed with the wrong information,” Mr. Kuhn said.
This move to online registration isn’t out of the ordinary. Some students here at Manual have no problem with this move, but feel the electronic option shouldn’t be mandatory. “There should be an option, online or paper. This decreases paperwork, but also decreases the amount of stress on parents without internet,” says Charles Buckner (12).
Some people working in the schools have a different view. “I’ve been a teacher for half my life, and I know how stressful going through paperwork for your class [can be], and on top of that registration can get wild, so this move to strictly online will be more efficient,” says Helga Bonner, elementary school teacher at Cane Run Elementary.
The online registration will limit the workload for the schools. Hopefully, there will be fewer lost papers and mix-ups. But technology can have its moments and the only thing to do is prepare and hope all goes well.
