Magnet school enrollment criteria approved

Bedford County Board of Education approved the enrollment criteria Tuesday night for a K-5 magnet school that will open next fall.

The criteria were presented to the board by supervisor of elementary education Betty Farrar.

Applications for the magnet school will become available at the Board of Education's central office in February, and will be accepted in March. Parents will be notified of student admissions in May.

"We need to communicate this through every vehicle that we can," said Ed Gray, school superintendent.

This decision served as a follow-up to last month's meeting, at which the board voted to make what is now Thomas Intermediate School a magnet school. The timing was appropriate, the board said last month, since the zoning lines are currently being redrawn to accommodate the opening of Learning Way Elementary, and because the system is making all elementary schools K-5.

Farrar modeled the set of criteria for the magnet school after magnet schools in Murfreesboro.

"Getting students screened and tested will be a challenge this year," Farrar said. "We're meeting ... with administrators from Murfreesboro City Schools ... (screening) is the kind of thing we're going to be talking about with them."

The challenge comes because TCAP test scores, which will be used as the primary indicator of student eligibility, will not be available until June 2009, so this year the system will have to identify all students eligible for the magnet school through its own screening. Next year, TCAP tests will be given earlier, and will identify students' eligibility, except in the case of kindergartners.

The board said last month the magnet school would be open to high-achieving students who meet a strict set of criteria, primarily based on academic test scores. Parents from anywhere in the county whose children meet the criteria can apply to have their children admitted to the school. Admission will be strictly voluntary.

In discussing the criteria presented by Farrar Thursday night, Gray noted that transportation to the magnet school will be provided upon request, unlike magnet schools in Murfreesboro and Sumner County.

"No one should be excluded due to transportation," Gray said. "We can make this work for any student living in Bedford County."

Another point discussed Thursday night was priority placement. If the school fills up, applicants who have met enrollment criteria and who have siblings attending the magnet school will receive priority placement to help keep families together.

"They would pass the (enrollment criteria) first before being placed on priority, right?" asked Barry Cooper, chairman of the board.

Gray answered yes, and also emphasized that he did not project the school, which could hold up to 500 students, would fill up right away. The criteria for priority placement, however, may be needed down the road, he said.

Gray said the magnet school will probably open this fall with four kindergarten, first, second and third grade classes, and three fourth and fifth grade classes.

Since all elementary schools will be K-5, Gray also reported Thursday night that Eakin, Southside and East Side will add grades four and five, and Learning Way will be staffed for grades K-5.

The combination of the realignment, the new Learning Way facility, and the magnet school program will require extensive reshuffling of school personnel.

Last month, the board said the goal is to have principals in place by March. Teacher reassignment will be determined in April but won't be announced until after TCAP testing has been completed. Teachers will be given the opportunity to request their preferred assignments first, but it's likely that some decisions will have to be made by administrators.

In other action

* Because of the system changes, zoning lines are being redrawn, and those maps are expected to be available for viewing in January, according to Jimmy Williams, director of transportation for schools. In ensuring the zoning is fair, the system has used computer software to generate the lines for the system.

* A proposed 2009-10 calendar has been established, with the biggest change being students starting the school year on Monday, Aug. 10. In years past, students have started on a Friday. The system was able to adjust next year's schedule because of the way Labor Day falls, hence shifting the schedule of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Students will be in school for 14 days prior to closing a week for the horse show.

MAGNET SCHOOLS ADMISSION CRITERIA

Reprinted in entirety

The curriculum in the Bedford County Magnet School located at Thomas School is enriched, integrated and enhanced through thematic units of instruction and/or integration with the arts. The basic curriculum is covered, the rate of instruction is accelerated and varying methods of instruction will be used. It will be a "well rounded" curriculum.

Enrollment Criteria

1. Students must exhibit advanced level achievement on TCAP in mathematics, reading/language arts and one other tested area (science or social studies). The fourth tested area must be at the proficient level or higher for grades 3-5.

2. A screening instrument to assess cognitive abilities will be administered for students entering kindergarten, first and second grades.

3. The following information will also be used in determining eligibility: ThinkLink assessments, attendance records, report cards, teacher recommendations, student work samples and additional assessments. (Each student is given a score based upon a weighted formula which utilized TCAP scores, ThinkLink assessments, report card grades, attendance record, teacher recommendations, student work samples and additional assessments.)

4. Students entering the system from other states or home school programs or private schools will be responsible for providing copies of standardized or private schools will be responsible for providing copies of standardized test scores, report cards, attendance reports and teacher recommendations. Another screening instrument to assess cognitive abilities may be given.

Enrollment calendar

February: Applications become available at the Central Office, 500 Madison St., Shelbyville, TN 37160, or may be downloaded from the system web site.

March: Applications accepted (Only completed applications will be processed.)

April: Applications reviewed. Screening for students in kindergarten through second grade (maybe third).

Placement

* Priority placement (if school is full) is given to students who meet enrollment criteria in the following order:

1. Siblings of current students

2. Students qualify for free/reduced meal program

* Opening will be filled according to priority placement criteria.

* A lottery will be used to compile a waiting list if approved applicants exceed the number of available openings. The waiting list will be maintained in the school office and openings which become available between April and Labor Day will be filled based upon the waiting list.

* Applications received after March 31, 2009 will not be processed until all applicants who submitted applications prior to March 31, 2009 have been placed.

* Students whose names appear on the waiting list will fill openings which occur from Labor Day through the end of December. These students will be admitted at the beginning of the second semester after parents have submitted most recent TCAP scores, a current attendance record and a copy of the students' most recent report card and the school has the child's ThinkLink Assessments and has determined that the student continues to meet all admission criteria.