Hoover schools to go to paperless registration process

Published 1:41 pm Monday, June 8, 2009

Beginning this summer, parents of students at Spain Park High School and Berry Middle School will be able to register their children for school online.

Hoover City Schools spokesperson Jason Gaston said the move to online registration is intended to streamline the process for parents.

“Parents have come to expect a simplified registration process, and we believe that’s what this is,” he said. “We hope it will make it so much easier for parents to take care of business in the summer.”

The registration Web site will go live July 10. Links to the site will be available on the Spain Park and Berry Web sites as well as the Hoover City Schools Web site.

Parents will be able to fill out basic information forms, emergency contact forms and medical forms online, as well as pay school fees. Online registration will be available in both English and Spanish.

When done, parents will need to print out a form acknowledging the use of online registration, sign it, and take it to their child’s school, along with proof of residency, during the school’s registration dates. Those registration dates will be announced later in the summer.

Parents can choose to pay school fees at the school during the registration dates if they don’t want to pay online.

Students new to the school district cannot register online and must contact their prospective schools for instructions.

Gaston said the public is reacting well to the new online process.

“The initial feedback seems to be very positive,” he said. “We had a committee that formed that included parents and educators, and they helped guide this process, so we believe that input has resulted in a great final product.”