MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Less than two weeks from the start of school, Shelby County Schools confirmed about half of returning students have been registered.
SCS changed its registration format this year to online, as opposed to in-person at the schools to make registration more convenient for families.
The district said it encouraged parents to register their kids as soon as possible.
They said they want all students to be registered by next Tuesday.
Online registration has been available for about two weeks.
“We have registered about half of our student population, our returning students,” SCS Director of Attendance and Discipline Angela Hargrave said.
She said about 7,000 new students have registered as well.
SCS did not know why half of returning students have not registered yet.
WREG met parent Sonia Angrum outside the SCS School Board Tuesday.
She was trying to get her daughters registered after recently moving here from California.
“I’m about to go do that now. I hope it goes fine, because I’ve been having the run around,” Angrum said.
Angrum said the district sent her a couple of different places, but she hoped that after Tuesday she would be done.
“Yes, I hope so, because I want them to be registered and ready to go,” Angrum said.
The district said it’s better to register students early, because things like high school students’ schedules cannot be set until students were registered.
“There are things that happen after registration. If you expect to have the child riding a bus, then the sooner you go ahead and get that registration complete, the sooner we know to expect them and to make sure they are routed for a bus,” Hargrave said.
Hargrave said she believed that just like the website withstood the rush on the first day, the site can physically handle a surge at the finish.
However, she said it did not have to be that way.
“It may be just that you say, ‘I’ve got time, so I’ll just do it later,’ and then you’ll wind up standing in the school in a long line on August 4th,” she said.
Hargrave said schools are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and parents may contact them for help.
She said it’s worth reminding parents not to click “submit” until parents upload all necessary documents.
Hargrave said cell phones can be helpful when it comes to registering since parents can simply take pictures of the documents on their phones and upload them.
