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Registration, drive-thru style

District finds alternative way to host important event

As school districts across Kent County looked at new ways of doing old things this fall, the staff at Kelloggsville Public Schools considered the best and safest ways to register both new and returning students.

They settled on a drive-thru event for returning families and an in-person event with safety restrictions for new families. Kelloggsville is starting back on Aug. 24 with both face-to-face and online options for its K-12 students with about 35% of its students planning to start the year online, according to Jeff Owen, the KPS director of instruction.

He said Rocket Registration is an important event. It’s both a chance for families to update their enrollment paperwork and a time for social connection as normally KPS will serve breakfast, lunch or dinner to families and will have community groups present to assist families in need.

“This year,” he said, “obviously we had to make significant changes to the event due to the pandemic. We asked the parents of our returning students to utilize a drive-through registration process. As each parent pulled up, they were handed a form containing information we had on file. The parents remained in their car, made updates, turned in the forms and were on their way.”

On hand with big smiles to greet returning families in their cars were Kelloggsville teachers and staff members, many clad in colorful shirts to help families feel welcomed.

One such staffer was high school counselor David Moncada who said it was great to see and connect with students and their families, learn how things were going for them and give them a word of encouragement.

He added: “I also wanted them to see how excited I was to start school again. Rocket Registration is an exciting event for me.”

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Phil de Haan
Phil de Haan
Phil de Haan covers East Grand Rapids and Kelloggsville and is the lead reporter for Grand Rapids. He hails from Exeter, Ontario (but has called Grand Rapids home since 1985) and is the son of a longtime public school teacher who taught both English and machine shop. Phil took both classes at South Huron District High School, but English stuck, and at Calvin College, where he met his wife, Sue, he majored in English and minored in journalism. His background includes both journalism and public relations, including teaching an advertising and PR course at the college level for almost a decade. In the summer of 2019, he began his own writing and communications business, de Haan Communications. In his spare time, Phil plays pick-up hockey and pickleball and tries to keep tabs on his two adult children. Read Phil's full bio

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