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4 schools, no regrets

A South Tampa couple exemplifies how the school choice system works for savvy parents able to make sacrifices to find the right fit for their children.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published January 13, 2007

	The minivan is full after Chris Slowey picks up her four children - from left, sixth-grader Mac, first-grader Grey, eighth-grader Kennedy and Emory, who is in Pre-K - from four different schools.
[Times photos: Melissa Lyttle]

ADVERTISEMENT Chris Slowey looks in the rear view mirror as she talks to her kids about their day on the drive home from school.

TAMPA - Bruce Young has to take a breath before naming where his children go to school. He has four. And each attends a different public school.

That surprises some of his South Tampa neighbors. His family lives three blocks from A-rated Mitchell Elementary, in one of the most coveted school zones in Hillsborough County.

But the family prefers the international focus at Macfarlane Park Elementary for Grey, their first-grader. Kennedy, their eighth-grader, has excelled in the arts program at Orange Grove Middle.

"We view each of our children as individuals, as opposed to, 'Let's just have all of our children in the neighborhood school,' " Young said. "It's the opportunity that fits with the personality."

Young and his wife, Chris Slowey, are part of a new world where savvy parents are being allowed - even encouraged - to tailor their children's education to their interests. And it's happening in public schools, where the only cost is extra effort.

That's a big change from the last 30 years, where families had little choice beyond the school closest to home, or where their kids were bused for desegregation.

The result is an almost bewildering array of options.

Hillsborough's offerings include charter schools, language centers and math and performing arts magnets. The options in Pinellas include eight fundamental schools, 10 high school academies and magnet programs of every description.

Young and Slowey show just how far parents can take their many opportunities, all designed to maintain racial diversity in a post-busing environment.

It isn't easy. School concerts fall on the same night. Three of their four schools end classes at exactly the same time. Siblings tease each other about whose school is best.

The parents say it's worth it.

"I just really wanted them to be happy where they were," Slowey said, "because they would learn better."

That doesn't mean she intended to end up with four kids in four schools.

* * *

The family started exploring options when Kennedy, their artistic oldest child, was entering sixth grade. Her parents worried about cliques that can be hard on girls in middle school.

At Orange Grove Middle, a magnet school in East Tampa, they found a school so diverse that everybody fit in.

"I thought it was cool that there's people there with purple hair," Kennedy said. "And nobody cared."

Three years later, her family is hooked on the idea of finding schools tailored to each child. They have gravitated to magnet schools that provide specialized curriculum in different subjects.

Sixth-grader Mac attends the Rampello Downtown Partnership School. He loves science and acting, and gets to explore his interests through the school's relationships with attractions like the Florida Aquarium and Tampa Theatre.

First-grader Grey has found academic challenges in the International Baccalaureate program at Macfarlane Park Elementary. He's in the chess club and plays violin at school.

Four-year-old Emory is the only child at the family's neighborhood school. He is enrolled in a pre-kindergarten class at Mitchell. Next year, his parents hope he will join Grey at Macfarlane Park in West Tampa.

"We just really think education is important," Young said.

But it takes work.

Young and his wife face the same daily hassles as every parent, complicated by a factor of four. For example, Grey, Mac and Kennedy get out of school at 2:30 p.m. - each in different parts of town.

Slowey, a full-time mother, has turned carpooling into a science. Between 2:30 and 3 p.m., her minivan pulls up to schools in West Tampa, downtown Tampa, and East Tampa. Then she ferries her brood back to their home in South Tampa.

The family could take advantage of school district transportation, but the bus rides to magnet schools are notoriously long. So they consider themselves lucky to be centrally located to their various schools.

Scheduling conflicts are inevitable. Kennedy's band and Grey's violin concert were on the same night. Young listened to the violins, and Slowey heard the band.

"The worst part was the beginning of school," she said, laughing at how the open houses and teacher meet-and-greets all fell at the same time. "I was driving like a maniac."

They're used to surprised reactions when people ask where their children go to school. They encourage others to do what they do - see what's out there to try.

"Just go check it out," Slowey tells other parents. "The magnet schools are a whole new world."

Letitia Stein can be reached at lstein@sptimes.com or 813 226-3400.

[Last modified January 13, 2007, 00:30:49]