FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mon., August 1, 2005

CONTACT: John Schuster
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
305-995-1126

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FIVE VITAL THINGS TO DO BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS

MIAMI - Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) suggests five vital things for parents to do so that children are ready for the first day of class:

  1. Make sure children are registered for school. Although there is no cut-off date for registering, parents are urged to register their children early to avoid processing delays and to ensure that children can attend school on opening day.

  2. Make sure children’s immunization records are up to date. Children scheduled to enter pre-kindergarten through 12th grade for the 2005-2006 school year need to be properly immunized or they will not be allowed to enter school.

  3. Make sure parents’ contact information is up to date. Students must have emergency contact information on file at their schools to ensure that parents and other designated individuals may be quickly notified in the event of an emergency regarding their children.

  4. Make sure that children have adequate transportation to and from school. M-DCPS will use more than 1,600 buses on an estimated 1,400 school-bus routes to transport students who live more than two miles from their assigned schools.

  5. Make sure that children are well fed. M-DCPS will provide a free, nutritious breakfast at all schools to all students and will have lunch available for $1.25 in elementary schools and $1.50 in secondary schools.

These five suggestions will ensure that children will start off the school year on time and on the right foot. For more information, log on to http://www2.dadeschools.net/parents/parents.htm.

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05-LJG/009/JAA

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