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School choice guidelines set for elementary, intermediate students
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Published: March 13, 2009
As parents decide whether to utilize the Mooresville Graded School District's new "school choice" option, they will have to consider several guidelines.
Director of Operations Stephen Mauney presented an outline of nine guidelines to the MGSD's board of education Tuesday. The guidelines will soon be sent to parents of elementary and intermediate students across the district, notifying them of their child's school assignment -- per the new redistricting plan – and providing information about the school choice option.
The decision to offer families this option, said MGSD spokesperson Dreisa Sherrill, was based on convenience factors, such as a parent who may pass a particular school on his or her drive to work that is not the school their child has been selected to attend, as well as changes due to the redistricting process.
"We think that the quality of our schools in Mooresville are so even across the board, we don't expect a lot of people wanting to choose one school over another," Sherrill said, noting that the MGSD executive team believes parents have the right to evaluate the district's schools for themselves and make those decisions.
According to the option's guidelines, district families have until April 3 to complete a "school choice form" and return it to the child's school office or MGSD Central Services on North Main Street.
All school requests will be considered based on the capacity of a particular school and any forms returned after the deadline will be considered as additional space allows.
When deciding to send a child to a school outside of their district lines, parents also have to consider several regulations set by the guidelines.
Not only will parents be required to provide transportation for their children to and from the elected school – if it lies outside of their assigned school attendance zone – but the students must also remain enrolled at that school for the remainder of the current school year once the attendance decision is made.
Resulting from the new attendance lines, Sherrill said the district anticipates the families of elementary school students to take advantage of school choice more than intermediate families.
"There wasn't much in terms of realignment in terms of the two intermediates," she noted.
Additionally, parents must take into consideration the programs offered at particular schools. The guidelines state that "certain programmatic services, such as some (exceptional children) programs, Title I and More at Four, may not be offered at all schools." As a result of this, the MGSD plans to give priority to school choice requests for siblings of students attending special programs.
Priority will also be provided to any requests from parents with children who will become third graders during the 2009-10 school year. Because those students may choose to remain at their current school, priority consideration will be granted to the siblings of those students as well.
Sherrill noted that district officials anticipate those rising third graders to be the most inclined students to utilize the school choice option.
Although the allure of a new facility may draw some families to selecting Rocky River Elementary as their child's learning environment, Sherrill said she does not believe that to be an issue.
"I think there will be those who want to be there for that reason, because it's new," she said. However, she noted, all three elementary schools will be equipped with the same technology, so students should receive the same education at any school.
For any families who may want to request a particular teacher, the MGSD notes that the assignment of teachers will not be made until after April 3 – the deadline for school choice requests – and those assignments will be based on student enrollment.
The guidelines add that all school choice requests will be confirmed prior to the end of the current school year, following the assignments of teachers and staff.
For those wishing to utilize the school choice option, forms are available at either elementary or intermediate school office as well as at Central Services.
Copies are also available at the MGSD Web site, www.mgsd.k12.nc.us
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