Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have heard mentioned on thisforum that Durham parents have a right of refusal--i.e., we can say no to one school assignment. So the way I interpret this is that if we don't like our base school, and don't get into our magnet school of choice, we can say no to the base school and get placed somewhere else. Am I completely making this up? Does anyone have experience with this policy? If you refuse your base school, what is the subsequent assignment based on? proximity, random, or something else?
can't find info on this question on the dps web site.
I have heard mentioned on thisforum that Durham parents have a right of refusal--i.e., we can say no to one school assignment. So the way I interpret this is that if we don't like our base school, and don't get into our magnet school of choice, we can say no to the base school and get placed somewhere else. Am I completely making this up? Does anyone have experience with this policy? If you refuse your base school, what is the subsequent assignment based on? proximity, random, or something else?
can't find info on this question on the dps web site.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
I don't think there is a flat out right of refusal of your base school. Under No Child Left Behind if your base school does not meet AYP for 2 years in a row the district has to offer parents another choice. But the district picks the choice not the parent. And I think it's more complex than I'm able to explain. And also the Feds have not renewed NCLB so I don't even know if this would apply right now.
But with that said, the district has been fairly open to transfers to other neighborhood schools. The district always seems to grant transfers if the request is because of child care reasons. Many parents create child care reason to get transfers granted.
I would call the office of student assignment. They can answer questions. But keep in mind they are in the mist of lottery season.
I don't think there is a flat out right of refusal of your base school. Under No Child Left Behind if your base school does not meet AYP for 2 years in a row the district has to offer parents another choice. But the district picks the choice not the parent. And I think it's more complex than I'm able to explain. And also the Feds have not renewed NCLB so I don't even know if this would apply right now.
But with that said, the district has been fairly open to transfers to other neighborhood schools. The district always seems to grant transfers if the request is because of child care reasons. Many parents create child care reason to get transfers granted.
I would call the office of student assignment. They can answer questions. But keep in mind they are in the mist of lottery season.
Thank you--I was hoping you would chime in. I don't know where I got this idea that you had one refusal. I swear I read about it here (can't I trust everything I read on city-data?)
My kid has another year before he can start kindergarten, so no need to call the office just yet.
All I know is that no one in our neighborhood sends their kid to our base school and I'm not sure how they get away with it. I know a good many send their kids to private elementary, and a few get magnet assignments, but I don't know if that accounts for everybody.
I have several friends who have been able to send their kids to a different elementary school without any difficulty. I think as long as the school you are applying to has space left after all the kids in the zone have registered, you can choose to go there.
Thank you--I was hoping you would chime in. I don't know where I got this idea that you had one refusal. I swear I read about it here (can't I trust everything I read on city-data?)
My kid has another year before he can start kindergarten, so no need to call the office just yet.
All I know is that no one in our neighborhood sends their kid to our base school and I'm not sure how they get away with it. I know a good many send their kids to private elementary, and a few get magnet assignments, but I don't know if that accounts for everybody.
dcgirl, I know that the district is currently reevaluating magnet schools and if we need more or less etc. One concern that has come up is that magnet schools & transfers have caused some schools to be really hurt both in terms of capacity and the involved parents transferring away. The district is doing Kitchen Table Conversations this month. It looks like the questions are geared towards magnet schools but I've had 2 school board members in the last month tell me they are looking at overall zoning. I think the current board hopes to some how help failing schools by looking at who is zoned there. There is nothing official on this yet. So don't freak out or get your hopes up.
If you PM me w/ the school you are zoned for I'll let you know if I have heard anything about rezoning and transfer movement.
I highly encourage you contact your school board members and let them know why you don't want to send your child to your zoned school. They need to hear these things. BTW, I don't judge if folks don't send their kids to their n'hood school. Education is so complex today. I honestly think if I had a 3 or 4 year today I would consider training him or her to be home schooled. And I never thought I'd say that. Of course, I can't see how in the world I would pull home schooling off with my ( 9 and almost 12 year old). But we do what we have to do.
BTW, good for you for being proactive on all of this!
In Durham, there's also the Pathways program which has "paths" a student can choose at designated schools such as engineering, design, and I forget what else. I had two children sign up for one of those pathways and they got into the school we wanted them to attend so they didn't have to attend their base school. They have to take a few classes within the chosen pathway but they still take whatever classes they would have taken anyway. It's another way around assigned schools that works.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
