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Old 08-04-2010, 12:52 PM
 
32 posts, read 70,791 times
Reputation: 11

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Hello all -

This morning, I posed a question to Pinellas School District. Here was my question and their response. I am still mildly confused; can anyone interept if I should be concerned. Thanks!



QUESTION
We are moving to Pinellas County within the month. My daughter just turned 5 and will be entering kindergarten. I see by your documentation that I will have to "Parents will visit a school to initiate the registration and assignment process. All assignments are based upon available space at schools."

Does this mean that I can purchase a house largely based upon the school for which I am zoned and find out that there is no space so my daughter would have to go to a different school?

If so, is there a way to find out availability in a school before I rent/purchase a house.

ANSWER
If the child is going to kindergarten, the child will be assigned to the zoned school for the residence. If there are other children in the elementary school, they would be assigned by space available for those children. Welcome to Pinellas County. We look forward having you join our school district family!
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Old 08-04-2010, 01:27 PM
 
Location: Saint Petersburg, FL
1,881 posts, read 3,589,159 times
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Essentially they are saying that your children will be assigned to the school zoned for your residence, but if there isn't enough space for them, they will be assigned to another school.

You can probably find out availability now, but that can and most likely will change before you are done securing a house.

I don't like the way they do things in the PSD. And if you try and get them to work with you, you are better off banging your head against the nearest brick wall.

What we did was accept the schools assigned to our children when we arrived and worked on getting them where we wanted them for the following year.
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Old 08-04-2010, 01:32 PM
 
2 posts, read 6,506 times
Reputation: 12
Don't blame you for your confusion! That wasn't a very clear answer on their part. "If there are other children in the elementary school ..." aren't there always other children?

Here's my experience as a mom of a child who entered K last year. Yes, the zoned schools can fill up - but it's less likely than the "fundamental" or "magnet" schools that are in Pinellas county. I don't personally know of anyone whose child was not able to go to the zoned school due to capacity. But I'm just 1 person - and my child happens to be in a magnet program rather than the zoned school. And, once school starts, there is an adjustment period where kids move and get assigned to other schools, which opens seats for incoming kids.

Your best bet is to call the zoned school directly - I think all elementary school office staff are back as of this week. They should have better input than that bizarre response you received from the districy office.
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Old 08-04-2010, 02:24 PM
 
Location: Saint Petersburg, FL
1,881 posts, read 3,589,159 times
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My children did not get into their zoned school last year. I don't know how common that is.

Staff is back August 10, I believe. But, the response I got consistently last year was that you have to speak to the reservation department and no one in any other office, including the schools themselves, are able to help.
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Old 08-05-2010, 08:37 AM
 
Location: Hernando, FL
749 posts, read 2,426,310 times
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I don't know if this applies in your situation, but I got my kid into an out of zone school by saying that I attended that very same school when I was a kid back in the 70's. I told them,me,my parents, my grandparents have been paying taxes in this county since 1954 and they shuffled me to the front of the line and I got what I wanted.
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Old 08-05-2010, 02:04 PM
 
Location: Myrtle Beach
3,381 posts, read 9,080,428 times
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Registering your kids for school in PSD appears to be a very large pain in the rear. That reminds me, I need to setup a pediatrician appointment....stat!
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Old 08-06-2010, 08:18 AM
 
5 posts, read 10,544 times
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The registration process is painless assuming all immunization records are on file and up to date. Just take all of the information directly to the school and ask them to walk you through the online process. It takes 10 minutes.

They gave you a complicated answer to a simple question. If the 5 year old is the only child attending school, you are guaranteed entry to your zoned school. You don't need to worry about the capacity issues unless you also have older kids.

For what it's worth, we moved here in 2009 from Ohio. My daughter was in first grade and was not assigned to her zoned school. We got around this by ensuring we were surrounded by good schools, easy enough.
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Old 08-06-2010, 10:38 AM
 
32 posts, read 70,791 times
Reputation: 11
Here was their follow-up response when I told them I was confused. I interpret the same way as meno. B/C my daughter is a kindergartener and no other child in school, she will go to where she is zoned (even if school is at capacity).

The district student assignment plan states only Kindergarten, sixth grade, and ninth grade are guaranteed the zoned school regardless of space. For example if you had an incoming Kindergarten and a third grade student in school with capacity filled, the K student could attend and the third would be assigned to another space available school. We would then try and find you a school to have the children together if that was your request. We have very strict class size issues to meet by state law and can have only 18 students grades K-3 and 22 students grades 4-5. Do you have any other children?
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Old 08-08-2010, 12:17 AM
 
Location: North Pinellas
626 posts, read 1,342,270 times
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Yes, what they were saying originally was that if you have a Kindergarten student...they are guaranteed placement at your zoned school BUT if you have other children that are in Elementary school that they will not be guaranteed placement in the same school as your Kindergarten student.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenMom1 View Post
Don't blame you for your confusion! That wasn't a very clear answer on their part. "If there are other children in the elementary school ..." aren't there always other children?
Sometimes it helps if you get out of your own bubble and see things from a different perspective
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