Parents get the chance to shop through the district's magnet schools at an annual event.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published September 3, 2003
Parents interested in magnet programs, fundamental schools and career academies will get the chance to do some one-stop shopping this weekend when the Magnet and High School Showcase sets up at Crossroads Mall.
The district's 16 magnets, seven fundamentals and five career academies will be featured from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the 11th annual event at the corner of U.S. 19 and Roosevelt Boulevard in Largo.
The district's 16 traditional high schools, which are part of one countywide attendance area under the district's controlled choice plan for student assignment, will be represented again this year. For the first time, a few attendance area elementary and middle schools will send representatives to help parents become better informed about newer programs.
"A lot of parents know there may be things out there they are not aware of," said Andrea Zahn, marketing coordinator for the choice plan. "If they're not sure what's available, this is a great opportunity for them."
As always, the magnet showcase is a good way for parents new to the area to learn more about the district's specialized programs, Zahn said. Besides the influx of people who have recently moved here and those who are transferring children from private schools, she estimates there will be about 7,900 incoming kindergarteners in 2004.
That number, added to the more than 9,000 fifth- and eighth-graders who are not eligible for extended grandfathering means quite a few parents will have to make choices for the next school year. Grandfathering allows children to attend what would have been their zoned middle or high school as long as they were registered in a Pinellas school on June 6, 2001, and have not moved or otherwise broken the cycle of attendance at their school
Other students' school choices must be made by Nov. 1.
Parents who want to apply to countywide magnets, fundamentals or career academies will do so through a new automated phone system. Instead of completing paper applications, parents will respond to a series of prompts asking them to enter such information as their child's name, address and student ID number as well as the names and ID numbers of the schools to which they are applying. Complete instructions and copies of the worksheet will be available at the showcase.
Parents who are new to the district or who want to apply to a different attendance area school than the one their child now attends must visit a Family Education and Information Center. The good news for those parents, Zahn said, is that a satellite version of the FEIC will be coming to the showcase.
"We will be able to start parents with the registration process," she said. "If they bring their required documents - their child's birth certificate, proof of residency and a report card for students in grades 1-12 - we will be able to make copies of those documents and start the process."
Because the showcase is scheduled this year at the beginning of the 2004-05 application period, Zahn is expecting a big turnout, possibly more than the 6,000 to 10,000 people who have attended in recent years.
The best way for parents to prepare for the event, she said, is to make a list of the things they want to know about specific countywide programs and the controlled choice plan in general.
"Jot some of the questions down so you'll remember to ask them," she suggested. "Come prepared with your questions so you will be able to get some answers."
If you go
Pinellas County Schools will present the 11th annual Magnet and High School Showcase from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Crossroads Mall, corner of U.S. 19 and Roosevelt Boulevard in Largo.
