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On waiting list? Patience is the key

For some schools, the waiting lists move quickly. But much depends on where your child ranks and what kind of school you want.

For hundreds of students who don't get into a school of their choice on the first try, there's another way.

The waiting list.

The Pinellas County School District frequently plucks students from waiting lists when openings occur. Some schools have so many openings that movement off the waiting list is brisk. Other schools barely dent their lists.

But the chance of your child getting called off a list rests on the number of other applicants, where you rank on the list and what kind of school you're trying to get into.

Life on the waiting list may require some patience. Sometimes spots open months before school starts; other times they don't open until weeks into the school year.

Waiting lists for "choice attendance area schools" are different from those for countywide programs such as magnet and fundamental schools and high school career academies.

For "choice attendance area schools," waiting lists are limited to students who weren't selected for the first- or second-ranked school on their choice application. Those students are put on the waiting lists for both schools. Those on the lists are ranked according to their proximity to the school, with the ones who live closest being ranked highest. The lists are maintained through the first six weeks of school.

The staff at the school should be able to tell you where you rank on the list.

In contrast, the countywide programs offer spots on waiting lists for every student who doesn't get in. When you call during the Dec. 1-10 acceptance period, the automated phone system for countywide applications will tell you where you are on a waiting list.

Another difference: those vying for countywide programs get to stay on waiting lists much longer than six weeks. The lists for elementary and middle magnet and fundamental schools are maintained through the end of the academic year. The waiting lists for countywide high school programs expire after the 10th day of the second semester.

Your child's ranking on a countywide waiting list is based on the number randomly assigned to the child before the computer selection in November.

Waiting lists also are where late applicants who qualify for a program are placed. They are placed at the bottom.

Students can sit on waiting lists for all countywide schools for which they applied. But as soon as a student accepts a place in a countywide program, his name is removed from all other waiting lists.