Despite Closing Enrollment, ROCORI Still Enrolling New Students

COLD SPRING -- The ROCORI School District has space for new students at most grade levels despite closing enrollment in August.

District Superintendent Brad Kelvington says ROCORI schools currently have limited openings Kindergarten, 1st grade and 3rd through 5th grades. The district also has limited room at the middle school in grades 6 and 7, and all grade levels at the high school.

ROCORI School officials opted to end the district’s open enrollment policy for the year at the Aug. 24 school board meeting, citing concerns related to COVID-19.

“ROCORI has had a long history of being very open enrollment friendly to the surrounding area students,” Kelvington wrote in an email to WJON in August. “The major factors in the decision were the safety of our students and maintaining an acceptable classroom capacity size limit.”

At that time, Kelvington says the district was at or over capacity at certain grade levels.

“A month after school has started, our enrollment has remained consistent,” Kelvington said. “We have determined that there is room for students yet this year. It is hard to predict and know if students had left over the summer or would leave for other options once school started.”

Once capacity is reached, potential students will be placed on a waiting list and contacted if openings occur.