Kindergarten numbers grow

Valley schools will see an increase in the number of kindergarten students next year, according to early projections by the Snoqualmie Valley School District.

Valley schools will see an increase in the number of kindergarten students next year, according to early projections by the Snoqualmie Valley School District.

The district expects 463 students to enter kindergarten next year at one of its five elementary schools. If the projections are correct, the district would have a slight increase from the actual number of students in kindergarten in October 2008, which was 445.

The largest projected growth is for North Bend’s Opstad Elementary School, which had 57 students in kindergarten this year, and is projected to have 73 next school year.

Cascade View Elementary School, on Snoqualmie Ridge, is expected to see slight growth from 105 students this year to a projected 115 students in kindergarten next fall.

The other three elementary schools are expected to remain relatively stable in student numbers.

Snoqualmie Elementary School and Cascade View Elementary School are projected to remain the largest schools. Snoqualmie Elementary School is projected to have 128 students in kindergarten next fall — only one student more than it had in October 2008.

The numbers are fairly accurate, said Carolyn Malcolm, the district’s spokeswoman.

“There’s always going to be some people who move in over the summer and some people who miss the [registration day],” which was Wednesday, March 4, she said.

But if parents didn’t register their child before the deadline, it is not too late to register, Malcolm said.

To register, parents need to complete the registration forms available on the schools’ Web sites and in their offices. The paperwork must be returned to the school’s office, along with a certified birth certificate and updated immunization records.