“Alarming” was the word Danville District 118 Superintendent Alicia Geddis used to describe the fact that only 60 percent of students have registered for classes with less than two weeks to go before the semester begins, and now she is urging parents to register their students immediately.
As of Wednesday, a total of only 3,470 students have registered for District 118 classes, a drop of more than 40 percent compared with last year’s enrollment of 5,804 students.
Geddis said some parents might be holding out registering their students, but she said schools cannot determine the basic functions for the next semester without an accurate enrollment.
“Unfortunately, we can’t plan classes, class sizes and location without you enrolling,” she said.
Geddis said 1,222 students are currently enrolled in kindergarten through fourth grade and 2,023 are enrolled in fifth through 12th grades. She explained that simply staying home is not the same as learning at home.
“Staying home is different from homeschooling, and it is different from participating in our virtual program,” Geddis explained. “If you want to participate in the virtual program where we give you a Chromebook, and you’re participating with a virtual teacher, you will need to enroll.”
District 118 is holding another in-person registration event Thursday afternoon from 2-6 p.m. at Liberty Elementary School, for all students, both new and returning students. Parents of new students can pick up a registration packet at the Dr. David Fields Administrative Services Center at the southwest corner of Jackson and Williams streets.
