With hurricane threats seemingly behind them, parents are once again converging on the Family Education and Information Centers to register their children and make school choices for next year. Choice officials report that traffic also has been steady at the six satellite centers.
Parents can visit Palm Harbor Elementary, 415 15th St., Palm Harbor; High Point Elementary, 6400 54th Ave. N, Clearwater; and Blanton Elementary, 6400 54th Ave. N, St. Petersburg, between 4 and 8 p.m. on Tuesdays for two more weeks.
Between 4 and 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, they can visit Eisenhower Elementary, 2800 Drew St., Clearwater; Walsingham Elementary, 9099 Walsingham Road, Largo; and Bay Point Elementary, 5800 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg.
As long as they come prepared with the proper documents see www.pinellaschoice.org for a list, they should be able to complete the process in under an hour.
* * *
Choice communications director Andrea Zahn wants parents to know that the slip of paper they receive in the mail anywhere from a week to 10 days after they register their children and make school selections at a Family Education and Information Center is a confirmation of their choices. It is not a notice of school assignment.
"We've heard that some parents are saying they got a letter telling them they got their school choice," Zahn said. "That piece of paper is only a verification of the school choices they have made."
Zahn also wants to make sure parents understand that application for countywide magnet, fundamental and career academy programs can be made only via the automated phone system. Many parents are attempting to use attendance area applications to make countywide selections.
The error is caught if the parent turns in the application to a customer service representative at a family center. But mistakes on applications that are mailed or faxed to the centers are not caught until the customer service rep begins to input the information. The incorrect application must be sent back to the parent at that point, which slows things down.
Zahn urges parents who are unsure of which forms to use to take the extra time to speak to a customer service rep directly.
* * *
Reader question of the week: I submitted my choice attendance area application during the first week of the application period. Since then, I've had a chance to attend several discovery nights and I have a better idea of what different schools have to offer. Is it too late for me to change my mind about where I would like my daughter to attend school?
Answer from the choice office: Parents who already have submitted a choice attendance area application can change their minds about their choice attendance area options up until the deadline for submitting applications on Nov. 1. They must submit a new choice application using the same process they used to submit their first application. For example, a parent who applied via the Internet must submit a subsequent application via the Internet. Parents who have applied to countywide programs also have the option of changing their minds. They must submit a new application via the automated phone system.
* * *
Additional clarification has come from the district on the fate of students in high school magnet or career academy programs who apply to attendance area schools, other magnet programs or St. Petersburg Collegiate High School.
It remains true that they will lose their seat in their current program at the end of the school year for making a new application, regardless of whether they get the seat they are seeking. However, students who apply and are not accepted may reapply to their current program at the end of the school year using the magnet late application process. If the school has no existing waiting list and is willing to accept them into its program, the student will be readmitted.
- Send questions about choice to Donna Winchester, and please indicate whether your name can be used in the column. E-mail winchester@sptimes.com Write to St. Petersburg Times newsroom, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL, 33731. Or fax 727 893-8675.
LEARN MORE ONLINE
Puzzled about picking a school for your child? Check out strategies, details about kinds of schools, test scores and how to understand them, tales of those who have searched before and much more at www.sptimes.com/schoolsearch
