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Philadelphia School District Urging Parents To Sign Kids Up For K Soon

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia public elementary schools will open their doors to pre-schoolers and their parents on Wednesday, in hopes of getting them to sign up early for kindergarten -- with the hopes of saving headaches for both schools and parents.

Deputy superintendent for early learning Diane Castelbuono has this request:

"Please do not wait until September to register your child for kindergarten."

Castelbuono says hundreds of parents every year wait until the last-minute, upsetting space and staffing, but they also hurt themselves, because students are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis:

"When neighborhood schools run out of slots, parents are given a slot at a non-neighborhood school and that can be hard for a parent to deal with."

Castelbuono encourages parents to take their preschoolers with them to this week's open houses:

"Get to know the principal and the teachers and see the classroom."

She says, to register, they should also bring photo ID, the child's birth certificate, immunization record and two proofs of residency.

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