BAY MINETTE, Alabama — Baldwin County school officials are urging parents of returning students to finish online registration before the July 6 deadline, hoping to top last year’s participation rate of 77 percent.
Halfway there with weeks to go
District spokesperson Terry Wilhite said roughly half of the system’s nearly 30,000 students had already been registered online as the deadline approached. This year, for the first time, parents also have the option of paying school fees through the same online system, though Wilhite emphasized that paying online is not required in order to complete registration.
New students still need paper forms
The online option is limited to students already enrolled in Baldwin County schools. Families new to the district must instead download a registration form from the system’s website and deliver the printed form directly to their child’s school. Online registration requires a sign-on code that was distributed to families last month along with final report cards; parents who misplaced the code are asked to contact their child’s school office directly rather than trying to search for it online.
Help available for families without internet access
To make sure the shift to online registration does not leave anyone behind, individual schools throughout the county are holding special help sessions for parents who lack computer or internet access at home, as well as for families for whom English is a second language. Summer office hours across the district run Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., giving parents a window to get help in person if needed. The district’s website also includes a dedicated tab for prospective families with additional guidance on the enrollment process.
Mobile County saw its own rollout
Neighboring Mobile County schools launched a similar online registration system for both new and returning students for the first time that spring, with a deadline of June 1. Parents in that district who still needed to register were directed to the Mobile County schools website and a for-parents section, or encouraged to contact their child’s school directly. The parallel rollout across the two largest school systems in the South Alabama region marked a broader shift toward digital enrollment ahead of the new school year.