Kindergarten early registration begins next month in GGUSD

              GARDEN GROVE, Calif. ― Early kindergarten registration
begins March 7 for fall classes in the Garden Grove Unified School District.

            State legislation signed in 2010 pushes back the date by
which children must turn 5 to enter kindergarten from Dec. 1 to Sept. 1. The
changes will be phased in over a three-year period for classes starting in the
fall.

            For the upcoming 2012-13 school year, children must be 5
years old by Nov. 1, 2012, for kindergarten admission. (In 2013-14, children
must be 5 by Oct. 1, and the following year, Sept. 1). There are no exceptions
to this minimum-age requirement.

            For school registration, parents are requested to present
one of the following documents to the school office as proof of the child’s
birth date: certified copy of the birth record; statement of the local
registrar/county recorder certifying the date of birth; baptism certificate duly
attested; passport; immigration visa; or an affidavit from the parent, guardian
or custodian of the minor when no other document is obtainable.

            Before children can be legally enrolled in school,
California law also requires they receive the following immunizations: the MMR
series ― red measles (rubeola), mumps, German measles (rubella); the DTP series
― diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis); polio; Hepatitis B; and
chicken pox (varicella). The requirement for the chicken pox immunization may be
waived if a health-care provider documents immunity. Contact the local school
for specific immunization dosage requirements.

            Immunizations are available from private medical
providers, at clinics maintained by the Orange County Health Care Agency (714) 834-4722,
and the district’s Assessment and Registration Center (ARC) clinic next to Cook
Elementary School, 9802 Woodbury Rd., Garden Grove, (714) 663-6411.

            The parent or guardian must accompany the student for
immunizations at the ARC clinic, and they are required to provide written
documentation of any previous immunizations administered by a physician or
health care agency.

            Children are required by state law to receive a full
physical exam, which includes a tuberculosis skin test, within 18 months of entering
first grade. Parents should arrange for this checkup with their pediatrician,
at which time the child must obtain the TB test and update any required
immunizations. To satisfy first-grade admission requirements, the physical must
not be completed earlier than March 1 of this year. All required forms are
available from the school office.

            Along with the immunization requirements, all children
must receive an “oral health assessment” ― a dental check-up ― by May 31 in
either kindergarten or first-grade, whichever is his or her first year in
public school. Oral health assessments administered up to 12 months before a
child enters school also satisfy this requirement. The assessment must be
performed by a licensed dentist and/or other licensed or registered dental
health professional.

            An “Oral Health Assessment/Waiver Request” form,
available in the school office, must be completed by the parent or dental
professional and returned to the school. Please contact the school office for
additional information.

            Parents are encouraged to register their children for
kindergarten during the period of March 7 through June 20, the final day of
classes in the current school year. Enrollment will not resume until school
offices open for the fall.

            Information on school attendance areas is available from
the neighborhood elementary school, the district’s Child Welfare and Attendance
Office at (714) 663-6391, and online at www.ggusd.k12.ca.us/locator/school_search.asp