Mark your calendars: Registration for the Boston Public Schools 2015-1016 school year begins this month for children entering pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades six and nine.

Parents are encouraged by school officials to register their children for these grades in the first registration period , which will run from Jan. 5 to Jan. 30 because doing so increases a family’s chances for assignment to one of their top choice schools.

Over the last two years, enrollment in the city’s schools has held steady around the 57,000 mark, according to BPS spokesperson Lee McGuire in a statement on Monday.

Families can pre-register online at Bostonpublicschools.org/register and view which schools will be on their options list at DiscoverBPS.org. Beginning in Jan., BPS Registration Hotline operators will be available during business hours to answer any questions at 617-635-9046.

On DiscoverBPS.org, “Families can now go deeper in their school searches w/ new filters, there’s a lot more info for students with disabilities and English Language Learners, and we have expanded our options for before/after/extended day options and student supports sections (i.e., school nurses, social workers, guidance counselors) for schools on the site,” said McGuire.

Those looking to enroll their children in all other grades may do so between Feb. 4 and March 20.

Familes can also register their children at BPS Welcome Centers, including in Dorchester at the Campbell Resource Center at 1216 Dorchester Ave. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesdays from noon to 7 p.m. Mattapan’s Mildred Avenue Community Center will be open on Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. BPS will also offer Saturday registration from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 10 and 24 at the Dorchester location.

Last year, 84 percent of families waited less than an hour to register at a welcome center and 64 percent spent under 30 minutes. Familes who pre-register at sis.mybps.org will also have an expedited wait time at the welcome centers.

The 2014-2015 school year was the district’s first shot at the new student assignment system, with slightly more students receiving their top three choice schools. “And for this school year 47.3 percent of families requesting a K2 seat got their top choice and 73.0 percent got one of their top three choices,” McGuire said. “Historically, under the old plan, about 72 percent of incoming K2 families received a top-three choice – about 10-15 schools down from more than 30 under the old system. For students entering 6th grade, 64.5 percent got their top choice and 89.2 percent got one of their top-three choices.”

Students are also attending schools closer to home, McGuire said: This year, incoming K2 students attend schools an average of 1.01 miles away compared to 1.33 miles in 2013. For incoming sixth graders, “in 2013 the average school was 1.72 miles away. Today it’s 1.34 miles.”