Rose Garden Resident

News

Trace pushes to enroll more local families with 'K Night'

By Mary Gottschalk

Project Bookmark and Trace Elementary School are co-sponsoring the fourth annual kindergarten information night on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Historic Hoover Theatre.

"The purpose of the evening is to showcase our local neighborhood schools--mainly Trace, but because it's held at Hoover, and Lincoln parents are also there, it's a great opportunity for parents of kindergartners, and parents in general, to meet the staff and find out about the programs offered at Trace," says Jane Hintz, who co-founded Project Bookmark with Marlee Benefiel in 2002.

The group works to increase neighborhood school enrollment of local families.

The meeting is held now because many private and parochial schools have February enrollment deadlines.

Although Trace Elementary doesn't start taking kindergarten registration until April, both Benefiel and Hintz want area parents to consider Trace as an option before making a final decision.

"No one school is right for every family, but I think Trace is a great option for most families," Benefiel says.

Trace has three kindergarten tracks. One is traditional, with one teacher throughout the day; one is bilingual for Spanish-speaking children; and the third is PIE, which stands for Parent Involvement in Education. The PIE program requires a parent to commit to at least four hours of volunteer time during the school year in their child's class or at the school.

The PIE track has proved so popular that there are now two kindergarten classes, and Benefiel hopes there may be sufficient enrollment for a third next fall.

Hintz says the PIE program is part of the ongoing effort to "bring the elements parents look for in any kind of school to our own school."

Benefiel says they have no quantitative measure on the success of what she calls K Night, but interest in it grows each year.

The first year attracted about 50 people, and the past two have brought out about 85.

"We hear it time and time again that parents make a decision that night," Hintz said.

Trace Kindergarten Information Night starts at 6:45 on Jan. 30 with sign-in at Historic Hoover Theatre, 1635 Park Ave. The program is from 7 to 8:45 p.m. There is no charge, and reservations are not necessary. Parking is available in the lot at Park Avenue and Sandringham Way. For additional information, visit www.projectbookmark.com or call 408.535.6257.