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Parents, remember Feb. 3 deadline

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published January 21, 2007

In just a few days, the application period for magnet, fundamental and career academy programs will be half over. That means time is running out for families who are interested in applying to one - or all - of the Pinellas school district's most sought-after schools.

Choice officials say the application period is going well so far. But from the types of questions we've been asked this past week, we suspect there may be some confusion.

PHONE. First of all, you must use the district's automated phone system if you want to apply to a countywide magnet, fundamental or career academy program.

There are no paper applications for those programs. This is true regardless of the grade your child will be entering next fall.

The phone system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you get a busy signal, that means all the lines are busy and you will need to call back. The busiest times may be during normal business hours. We've heard that many parents are waiting to call after their children go to bed, so that could be a busy time as well.

PAPER. If you live in what the district refers to as Attendance Area A - roughly south Pinellas, including the south beaches - and you want to apply to one of the six elementary "attendance area magnets" in St. Petersburg, you must use a paper application.

The six attendance area magnets are Campbell Park, Douglas L. Jamerson Jr., Gulfport Montessori grades K-1 only, James B. Sanderlin, Lakewood and Maximo elementaries.

The application period we're in now, which ends at midnight Feb. 3, is the only time you will be able to apply to one of those schools. They will not be part of the attendance area application period, which begins March 5.

If your child already attends a Pinellas County public school, you won't have to give up his seat if you apply to one of those schools. That's the way it works with the countywide programs also.

The number for the automated phone system is 501-0871. The Web site where you can find applications for the attendance area magnets is www.pinellaschoice.org. You also will find the paper applications at the Family Education and Information Centers - 3420 Eighth Ave. S in St. Petersburg and 1101 Marshall St. in Clearwater - and at the six schools.

You may apply to as many of the countywide magnet, fundamental or career academy programs as you wish. There's a chance you will receive an invitation to more than one. But you'll have to enter the ID numbers for each program, one after the other, when you place your call. You also can apply to all six of the attendance area magnets, but you must do so using the paper application.

A note about siblings: You are eligible for sibling priority at one of the countywide programs only if you have a child already enrolled in the same countywide program. You'll hear a prompt when you make your phone call asking you to enter the sibling's 10-digit ID number.

Here's another thing you might want to start thinking about: Some of the countywide programs require you to provide documentation of your child's eligibility. That information must be delivered to the school by the end of the school day Feb. 5. To find out more about that, call the school or schools you are interested in.

Fast Facts:

Navigating 'choice'

To learn more about Pinellas County public schools, go to www.pinellaschoice.org and click on school information.

If you have questions about school choice or the application process, call one of the district's Family Education and Information Centers, 552-1595 or 298-2858.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 00:25:36]