DULUTH — Families enrolling at Duluth Public Schools will have a more streamlined experience starting Feb. 1, when staff will begin meeting them on-site.
The district plans to implement a centralized enrollment process that aims to increase equity, improve communication with families and reduce the lead time to enrollment. It is expected to reduce data errors and costs by transitioning from paper files and physical storage to digital files.
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Simone Zunich, executive director of business services, and the centralized enrollment team of Teresa Peterson, Philip Paulson and Danielle Dorn explained the new system to the school board during the committee-of-the-whole meeting Tuesday.
“It really came to be that our site clericals really have a lot on their desk,” Zunich said.
Centralized enrollment, she said, “will increase our equity and improve our communication with our families.”
“In some ways, you are becoming the department of first impressions,” Superintendent John Magas said.
District staff visited with central enrollment staff at the Bloomington and Lakeville districts and were impressed with their processes, Zunich said.
Currently, a family wanting to enroll in the Duluth district must complete Infinite Campus Online Registration or contact a school site and fill out a paper application, which is sent to the enrollment office, adding a sometimes inefficient and complicated step. Enrollment is typically completed in a week.
With centralized enrollment, online registration will still be available, but the district is improving the Infinite Campus site to include step-by-step instructions about required documents, transportation and other information before families get to the registration process.
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For families who want to enroll in person, centralized enrollment staff will meet with families on-site instead of the school forwarding the paper application to enrollment staff.
The district expects enrollment to be completed within a couple of days instead of a week.
The centralized enrollment staff will eventually have a small office on the first floor of the former Duluth New Tribune building at 424 W. First St. The registration website tends to be cumbersome on mobile devices, staff said, so enrollees without access to a computer can use two public kiosks and staff will be available to assist.
“We have really thought about our students who are unhoused,” Assistant Superintendent Anthony Bonds said.
“I think from an equity standpoint, this will be a positive step,” Treasurer Amber Sadowski said.
The district anticipates the First Street building to be ready for move-in by fall 2026. Although the new office won’t be available when centralized enrollment starts Feb. 1, families can make an appointment and staff will meet them where it's convenient.
“We will accommodate them no matter what their scenario is,” Zunich said.
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