NUMBERS GOOD NEWS FOR DISTRICT AFTER MARKETING BLITZ
Milwaukee Public Schools has extended this year's enrollment period to accommodate the uncommonly large number of students being signed up for class in the fall.

Since June 29, nearly 700 more students were enrolled in MPS than at the same time last year, and lines for enrollment continued to spill out the doors of the district's central offices Thursday.

As a result, district officials extended enrollment until Aug. 23, said Don Hoffman, director of communications and public affairs for MPS. The increase in summer enrollment comes as good news for the district, which before last year was in a three-year slump in terms of bringing students in.

MPS had been losing students since the 1997-'98 school year because fewer children are being born in Milwaukee and because the district must compete for that shrinking group with the private school choice and charter school programs.

But school officials believe new marketing efforts are helping to turn things around. Since mid-June, MPS has used television, radio and transit ads, billboards and trailers before movies to help publicize the district.

The $130,000 marketing blitz was designed to increase parent awareness of the district and encourage early registration.

"We live in a city that the media often spends a lot of time telling parents and kids . . . what's wrong with our district," Hoffman said. "In order for parents and kids and teachers in this district to be empowered, we must also be allowed to tell our side of the story -- there are thousands and thousands of positive things going on in this district every day."

It remains to be seen whether the increase in summer enrollment translates into more state funding for MPS, said Michelle Nate, the district's director of finance, who also is operating the office of the superintendent until a new superintendent is named following the retirement of Spence Korte.

MPS counts its students on the third Friday of the school year, and that number determines how much money the district gets from a combination of state aid and property tax revenue, Nate said.

The high numbers at this point are promising, Nate said.

"In recent history, this seems to be unprecedented," she said.

Tasha Gilmore, who was signing her 4-year-old son up for kindergarten on Thursday, said she believes aggressive media efforts are effective.

"I got fliers in the mail; I saw it on the TV. It reminded me. I was like, 'Let me get out of here and go sign him up,' " Gilmore said.

Sheila Webber, who also was signing her daughter up for school Thursday, said Milwaukee residents also may be doing a better job of ensuring children go to school. Webber said parents seem to be increasingly aware that police are trying to curb truancy and that you can get into trouble if your child is of school age and not enrolled.

"It's pressure," Webber said. "That's good."

Parents can register their children at MPS Central Services, 5225 W. Vliet St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Proof of Milwaukee residence is needed. For children entering kindergarten and first grade, a birth certificate also is required.