Families frustrated with student registration in Ferguson-Florissant district

FERGUSON, Mo. – Instead of sending their children off for the first day of school, hundreds of Ferguson-Florissant parents found themselves outside of Vogt Elementary Monday morning, frustrated and confused.

“When I got here, we stood in a long line. They said everybody needs to sign in so we can get everybody seen today, which they lied about because now they are putting people out,” a parent who chose to remain anonymous said.

The Ferguson-Florissant School District explained that nearly 2,000 students still haven’t started the registration process, despite their efforts to reach out to families since last March, urging them not to wait. But parents say they were left in the dark.

“I had to go find out where to register kids. There was no flyer, nothing on TV, no email sent out. No one contacted me, so I had to drive around to find out where to go,” an anonymous parent said.

Both parents and the district agree that the confusion stems from a new online registration portal called Infinite Campus, which has experienced technical difficulties.

“We actually went to Vogt (Elementary School) on Friday to get an update on what was going on with her enrollment process, and they told me there was nothing they could do. It’s this new website…it’s not pushing through the information to assign the kids to school,” Janae Jones, Ferguson-Florissant parent, said.

Another parent, Shevelle Coleman, added, “They had a new system, which meant everyone had to come here and register their kids for school. So no one could register without an activation key.”

The Ferguson-Florissant School District released a statement, which read:

“We appreciate the patience of families who have completed the registration process. The registration process involves several steps, such as verifying residency, ensuring immunizations are up-to-date, and collecting emergency and health information. Nearly all of our students have completed their registration.”

The Ferguson-Florissant School District stated they have around 1,400 families that still need to start their registration. Many parents told FOX 2 they spent eight hours Monday trying to get registered, only to be told to return Tuesday to complete the process.

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