AUSTIN (KXAN) — Registrations for Austin Independent School District pre-K and kindergarten have doubled what they were last spring. This comes after the district saw its largest decrease in enrollment among these grades throughout the pandemic.

The district failed to meet enrollment expectations in October 2021. It was 1,500 students short of its 10,472 enrollment projection for the 2021-22 school year.

This year, pre-K registrations are up 188%, and kindergarten registrations are up 123% compared to last year, AISD said. This accounts for an additional 2,339 students.

“What these numbers tell me is that there is a pent-up demand in Austin coming out of the pandemic for our high-quality pre-K and kindergarten options,” said district enrollment executive director, Alejandro Delgado.

The district is encouraging families to register for the 2022-23 school year by the end of May.

Last Wednesday, elementary campuses hosted “early learning day,” a districtwide registration campaign. Families with children ages 3-6 were able to take campus tours, meet the principles and teachers and get registered for the upcoming school year. There were 858 elementary student registrations during this event.

Summit Elementary School has the most registrations on early learning day, with Baldwin Elementary, Barrington Elementary, Padrón Elementary and Pickle Elementary coming being in the top five.

Early registration numbers for the 2022-23 school year are pointing to an increase in elementary school enrollment for AISD, a category the district fell short of during the pandemic.