Preschool

Haymarket Baptist Preschool Changes Registration Rules

Last Updated Oct 5, 2008 05:49 PM

Haymarket Baptist preschool changes registration rules

Getting their child into a good preschool is the upper-most thought on some parents' minds these days. Parents often go to extreme lengths to be the first name on "The List," often resorting to camping out in order to secure a spot.

Preschool slots are at a premium in the Gainesville-Haymarket area, primarily because of the population explosion of new families with children under the age of 5.

Parents should be planning ahead for September, whether their child is potty-trained or not, since preschool registration for the 2005-2006 school year is currently under way at several local preschools and day-care centers.

Laurie Frasz, director of the Haymarket Baptist Church preschool, said she knew her new school had built a strong reputation and a devoted following over the last several years. Nevertheless, she was surprised to learn that in order to get on the waiting list each March, parents were camping out at the church before open registration began.

Asking parents to wait outside all night for a spot on the preschool list was too much to ask, Frasz decided. She has therefore changed the rule and parents of preschoolers should take note: Being first in line doesn't require a 24-hour vigil, at least not at Haymarket Baptist Church Preschool this year.

"On March 1, at midnight, I'm going to hand out numbers," said Frasz, who began her tenure at the preschool last summer. "You just roll down your window and I'll hand you a number. Then you can sleep in your own bed."

With a laugh, she added that she might get a few hours of sleep in her own bed at her new home in Piedmont.

"I felt it was more important from a safety standpoint to have people sleep in their own beds," Frasz said.

Traffic patterns in the church parking lot will be clearly marked, said the director, who plans to have staff and possibly the police on hand to help monitor the midnight madness.

About 200 cards are prepared and ready to be handed out to parents who are waiting in line. Each card comes with an instruction sheet and a designated registration time for later in the day. Parents can then go home, sleep and return at their allotted time with registration form and a $65 check in hand to sign up their child.

The $65 is refundable to families if the classes are deemed full and no spot is available.

The registration slots, which are divided into 15-minute increments beginning at 7 a.m., are reserved for 25 families. Frasz said parents could expect a speedy registration process on registration morning since extra stations should move the masses along.

"I wanted to find a way to be fair to all," said Frasz, who felt the old system wasn't really fair to single mothers with young children who were forced to stay up, or to parents who couldn't stay up to make the cut.

"We considered a lot of other ways to do it, but feel this is the most fair," added Frasz.

She said she went to the preschool board with her concerns and solicited their input on the best way to handle the registration process.

"We are going to give this a try," added Frasz with a smile.

However, she said parents shouldn't be worried if they don't get their first or second choice and end up on the waiting list, since classes often change.

Monica Walker of Haymarket has already planned how to get her son's name on the 4-year-old preschool list. She said her husband, Sam, will definitely be stationed in the church parking lot long before midnight in order to get their firstborn into their first choice of schools.

Registration is now under way for families who currently have a child enrolled, those who have had children enrolled in prior years, and those who have been members of Haymarket Baptist Church for more than one year.

See also Preschool 340 1 - 9