Suburban News Publications

12/20/07

By KHALILA PERRIN      

It won’t be long before Columbus City School parents and students can try their luck.

Applications for the district’s school-lottery process are expected to be available soon, said district spokesman Jeff Warner.

“They will be out in the first couple weeks of January,” he said.

District officials are awaiting final dates for applications before sending out the print order for the thousands of school-choice lottery application forms necessary for the 2008-09 school year.

Last year, about 29,000 parents file applications for their children in the lottery, according to district figures. The system allows students the opportunity to attend schools outside their neighborhood by submitting an application for a lottery process that randomly chooses students for their choice schools.

Parents are allowed to apply for entry into three preferred schools.

“They’ll be notified around March … where there’s availability,” said Warner.

“Over the summer they’ll get their transportation information in late July, early August,” said Warner.

Parents can expect the return of school fairs during the coming weeks, too, he said, to let them know about programs offered at various schools and help families choose which might be the best fit for their children.

“We’re also setting up dates for school fairs,” to take place in January, he said.

“Where we have openings, we’ll seek to have information from all of the schools.”

Much like college fairs, the events allow students to get a feel for what each available school has to offer, as well as meet school staff.

The district hosted three fairs in early 2007 for the current school year — one each for the high school and middle and elementary levels.

For families wanting to explore potential schools, many principals and staffs offer opportunities to tours. Parents should call the school office ahead of time to see when tours are scheduled.

The district is working to create more seats at perennial favorites — both Columbus Alternative High School and Fort Hayes will gain more seats during the next few years, Elaine Bell, executive director of Student Assistance, Intervention and Outreach said earlier in the year. Parents also have the option of adding their child’s name to waiting lists for the school of their choice.

It’s likely some schools we won’t be able to offer seats next year, said Warner.

Based on class sizes now, district officials can tell some schools are already going to be full and thus out of the running for the lottery process. District officials however, aren’t sure which ones yet, Warner said.

Despite some schools being out of the running, the district still offers plenty of options, said Warner. Everything from language immersion schools to those geared toward the performing arts and creating small learning communities are among the choices parents have to choose from, he added.

“The nice thing about Columbus schools is we’re very large and we have a lot to offer everybody,” he said.

“There’s a lot of choices that they might not have in other communities.”

“The nice thing about Columbus schools is we’re very large and we have a lot to offer everybody.”

–Jeff Warner

Copyright © 2007 - Columbus Local News