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Switch magnets? Fear not

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published January 28, 2007

With only a few days remaining in the application period for magnet, fundamental and career academy programs for the 2007-08 school year, one question has surfaced among Pinellas parents who already have made their selections.

What if I want to change my mind?

The school district has an answer. You can make another call to the automated phone system - 501-0871 - and start over. You can do so at any time up until the deadline, which is midnight Saturday.

Choice officials also would like to remind parents that the application period for attendance area schools doesn't open until March 5. No one can get a jump start, although some have tried, because the system for receiving attendance area applications won't be activated until then.

But the most important thing officials want parents to know right now is this: If you live in south Pinellas and are interested in one of the "attendance area" magnets in St. Petersburg, you MUST apply before Saturday's deadline. Even though the schools are open only to students who live in Attendance Area A, they will not be part of the application period for attendance area schools.

Those elementary schools are: Campbell Park (marine science); Gulfport (Montessori, grades K-1 only); Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. (math and engineering); Lakewood (medical sciences); Maximo (Microsociety and visual arts); and James B. Sanderlin (Primary Years International Baccalaureate).

Besides the attendance area magnets, there are several other programs parents might want to consider while there's still time to apply. We're speaking about the high school career academies, which in some cases, are relatively new programs.

Here are the high schools and their academies: Clearwater (the Career Academy for International Culture and Commerce); Dixie Hollins (Graphic Arts Academy); Dunedin (Academy of Architectural Design and Building Technologies); East Lake (Academy of Engineering); Lakewood (Academy of Environmental Technology and Marine Science); Northeast (Automotive Academy, Academy of Finance, Academy of Information Technology); and Tarpon Springs (Veterinary Science Academy, Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy).

Students who complete a career academy often go to college, but many can enter the workforce after graduation or refine their skills at one of the Pinellas Technical Education Centers. There are no entrance criteria for the academies, but students must maintain a certain grade point average, depending on the program.

One final note about an additional opportunity for high school students. St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, a charter school that is a partnership between the school district and St. Petersburg College, has seats available for incoming sophomores and juniors.

The school features a dual-enrollment curriculum that allows students to earn their high school diploma and an associate's degree from SPC at no cost.

The school's application procedure is separate from the choice process. Prospective students and their families must attend an information session at SPC's Gibbs campus, 6605 Fifth Ave. N, from 7-9 p.m. on Feb. 6. The deadline for applications is March 1. For more information about SPCHS, visit spcollege.edu/spchs.

[Last modified January 27, 2007, 21:24:05]