CPS open enrollment- how does this work? (Norwood, Washington: low income, rent)

[ilovehouses]

I am really confused after a couple hours of reading enrollment procedures for city of cincinnati schools. I live within the city district since I am in Madisonville. My neighborhood school is John P Parker, and I will not be sending my children there.

I keep hearing people say that I can send my kids anywhere within CPS due to open enrollment policies, but nowhere in my online research can I see that spelled out for me. We are lower income so we'd most likely qualify for vouchers. I'd prefer not sending my kids to catholic private, as I am agnostic. I have read disturbing information about waldorf, that sounded amazing to me at first, but now, not so much.

1. Can I send my kid to any neighborhood school like Kilgour, Hyde park school etc.?

2. Is it near impossible to get in to these high performance public schools?


Should I just bite the bullet and move out of CPS district? For reference my kids are 2.5 and infant aged, but I need to start planning for this now if we are going to sell and move out.

Btw, I see the magnet school thread, but I am not interested in sending my kids to any of the magnet schools.

[mimi in cinci]

You would not be elligible for Open Enrollment. That program is for students who live outside the CPS school district and wish to attend a CPS school.

To find out if your child would qualify for vouchers or options to change neighborhood school based on your school's academic performance you should check EdChoice.
EdChoice Scholarship: Am I Eligible? | Ohio Department of Education

I can say that Hyde Park School is not accepting students from outside their boundries as that they are already full. Kilgour currently goes on a case by case basis as that they are full as well.

It is definitely not too early to start planning for your children's academic future.

[progmac]

Neighborhood schools will accept kids from other neighborhoods if they have room. You would need to talk to the administration of the individual schools to determine how likely that might be.

Why are you opposed to the magnets?

[ilovehouses]

Not opposed to magnets. The schools I like are all pretty far from me. Far enough that I'd rather just move close to a preferred school/district. I hate driving.

[Ohky0815]

Originally Posted by ilovehouses

I am really confused after a couple hours of reading enrollment procedures for city of cincinnati schools. I live within the city district since I am in Madisonville. My neighborhood school is John P Parker, and I will not be sending my children there.

I keep hearing people say that I can send my kids anywhere within CPS due to open enrollment policies, but nowhere in my online research can I see that spelled out for me. We are lower income so we'd most likely qualify for vouchers. I'd prefer not sending my kids to catholic private, as I am agnostic. I have read disturbing information about waldorf, that sounded amazing to me at first, but now, not so much.

1. Can I send my kid to any neighborhood school like Kilgour, Hyde park school etc.?

2. Is it near impossible to get in to these high performance public schools?


Should I just bite the bullet and move out of CPS district? For reference my kids are 2.5 and infant aged, but I need to start planning for this now if we are going to sell and move out.

Btw, I see the magnet school thread, but I am not interested in sending my kids to any of the magnet schools.

We lived in Madisonville/Mariemont. Our kids (9,8,6) would have attended John Parker. We homeschool so its not really a debate or option, however if we had not been, i would have found a different option for them than CPS schools. Likely a Christian School. Now we are in Norwood, which has better schools but again Homeschooling. If i would consider public, i know there is a great christian school here that would fit our needs.

Your options are: Move into a better district, Homeschool (which Ohio is pretty darn easy and CPS is great at sending your notice), Find a private/christian/Montessori/magnet school, OR pick the best public school CPS offers.

Luckily at 2.5, you have time.

[ilovehouses]

Originally Posted by mimi in cinci

You would not be elligible for Open Enrollment. That program is for students who live outside the CPS school district and wish to attend a CPS school.

To find out if your child would qualify for vouchers or options to change neighborhood school based on your school's academic performance you should check EdChoice.
EdChoice Scholarship: Am I Eligible? | Ohio Department of Education

I can say that Hyde Park School is not accepting students from outside their boundries as that they are already full. Kilgour currently goes on a case by case basis as that they are full as well.

It is definitely not too early to start planning for your children's academic future.

Mimi, we do qualify for Ed choice, but that is even more confusing to me. Do I only get to choose private schools? Are there any private schools in hyde park, Oakley or close by that are good schools, but not religious or ridiculously out of range ( seven hills is just down the street from me, but the 4k ed choice would pay for a quarter of the school year)?

[Ohky0815]

Originally Posted by ilovehouses

Mimi, we do qualify for Ed choice, but that is even more confusing to me. Do I only get to choose private schools? Are there any private schools in hyde park, Oakley or close by that are good schools, but not religious or ridiculously out of range ( seven hills is just down the street from me, but the 4k ed choice would pay for a quarter of the school year)?

I could be wrong but i thought you could only use the voucher for CPS schools? Hyde Park and Oakley arent CPS schools (again i could be wrong).

[mimi in cinci]

EdChoice can be used at any school that accepts it. There are many private schools that accept Edchoice. While it will not cover the cost of tuition at most schools, many of the schools have scholarships that help to defray the cost further.

Schools like Mercy Montessori have sliding scale tuition based on income. Seven Hills, Summit Country Day, St. Ursula Villa do have need based scholarships.I know you have a very long list of the types of school you do not want to send your children to attend, however I would ask that you to visit the schools. Some of the Catholic schools that are not parish-based are significantly less religious than you think.

You may want to pursue the option of moving into Hyde Park School's boundries. There are many affordable streets in Oakley, Evanston and O'Bryonville that qualify. HPS has a big variety of economic situations. It's one of the best things about the school.

Again I can not stress enough that you have time. Visit lots of schools. Go to the open houses. Talk to admisson reps and school principals. Ask Admission Reps to talk to other low income parents who currently attend their schools.

[SoFresh99]

You don't say if you rent or own but I would also think about moving into Pleasant Ridge.

Pleasant Ridge Montessori is well regarded and Pleasant Ridge and Kennedy Heights are very affordable.

Using Ed. choice will require you to stay within the CPS boundary of the underperforming public school that qualifies you for the voucher. So you would stay in Madisonville but enroll your kids in one of the catholic schools that take EdChoice vouchers (i don't remember any non-catholic schools on the EdChoice list but Waldorf.). You would also need to look into transportation and if the schools have before/aftercare when making the decision.

Alternatively you can stay anywhere in CPS and try for one of the elementary magnet programs which are open to everyone in CPS but can be competitive and tricky to get in to with big lines and campouts, etc. East side magnets are Sands Montessori (Mt. washington)North Avondale Montessori, and Fairview German(clifton.) I am pretty sure CPS provides transportation but that can be a long day for a kid to get bussed from Madisonville to Mt.Washington etc.