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Overview
Your navigation kit for the choice maze
To reach the best school for your child, you must scan the programs, scores and opinions and then steer through the paperwork.
Key lesson of choice: Choose or lose
Parents must learn the intricacies of Pinellas' choice plan or they will forfeit control of their children's education.
Learning the ways of choice or chance
There are choice attendance area schools and countywide schools. Here's what that means.
Application is a risky business
Natural breaks are the best times to gamble on getting your choice, but sometimes it's best just to stay put.
Pulling in the students with special interests
The county's popular magnet, fundamental and career academy programs cater to specific skill sets and learning styles.
Schools attempt to raise their profiles
With an attractor program, a school can focus on one area such as arts and music.
Screening, tests open access to gifted programs
OVERVIEW: The school district offers opportunities for gifted students at individual schools or at gifted centers.
Elementary Schools
Choose a good start
School selections vary greatly in their demands on students and parents.
Middle Schools
Have a plan early
With 31 schools, Pinellas parents have many options. But all may not be available to everyone.
High Schools
Advancing a career while in high school
A group of special academies offers high school students hands-on training in their chosen field, in addition to traditional classes.
Nine campuses offer range of practical career training
Nine campuses cater to students seeking specific vocational training under the umbrella of the school district's Office of Workforce Development. Health sciences, industry, business, technology and family and consumer services are among the broad categories of programs offered.
Where variety rules
There are magnet schools, career academies, one charter school and more.
Private Schools
A private matter
Considering a private school? There are lots of choices. Cost, of course, is a big factor.
Some parents swear by voucher program
Although the policy is still highly controversial, many say that it's an educational blessing for their children.
Special Needs
Centers focus on needs
Programs for the 20,000 children with mental, emotional or physical disabilities include five exceptional education centers.
Programs help kids who may otherwise give up
Dropout prevention begins in the early grades with attention to students who fall behind.
Homeschooling
Pinellas friendly to homeschooling
Several sources of support are available to parents who want to be their children's main educator.
Charter Schools
Education outside of the mainstream
Four elementary schools and one collegiate high school offer innovative programs.
How Busing Works
District streamlines system of getting kids to school
To accommodate more students and make transportation more efficient because of controlled choice, officials add routes and eliminate some stops.
How To Apply
Applying just a phone call away
Families have the option of using an automated system to select a choice attendance area school.
Online school choice form not for all
For the first time, some families will have the option to apply for a choice attendance area school via the Internet.
Pay close attention to avoid choice plan's pitfalls
Confusion over the assignment system's nuances hurts many parents' chances of getting their children into favorite schools.
The system's two-chambered heart
Registering a child for school? Then you'll find one of two Family Education and Information Centers in your future.
Two crucial calls for magnets, fundamentals, academies
There is only one way for parents to apply to a countywide magnet, fundamental or career academy program: by phone.
How To Search
Nothing beats being there
Make a point to visit schools you're considering. Interact with the people there, and be sure to ask questions.
Important Dates
Save these dates
SEPT. 1: First day parents can begin applying for choice attendance area schools and countywide magnet, fundamental and high school career academy programs.
School visit calendar
Information
A parent's primer to size up schools
Don't be swept up by the buzz about which schools are the best. There is no simple formula for what works with your child.
New to the district? Register your child
Having the proper documents can make the process easier for you and your child.
The long and short of controlled choice
How complicated is choosing a school in Pinellas County?
Want to switch schools? Options are limited
If your child is assigned to a school you don't like, or if you think it's time for a change, there are a few alternatives.
Information Centers
For more information
Need information to navigate choice?
Profiles in Choice 2005
Approach Choice like 'intelligent consumer'
Study up
Rookie Mom
First-year decisions draw child's big picture
The choices are overwhelming. What's even more overwhelming is considering the choices not only for the first year your child is in school but for the next six years.
School Grades
Behind each school grade is a deeper explanation
To judge a school's success, look beyond the letter grade to see how it was assigned.
Dual programs hold schools accountable
Parents sometimes are left scratching their heads over the state and federal programs, but the governor says both programs offer value.
For full story, include raw test scores
Some overall statistics may blur distinctions among schools.
Making sense of the scores
You'll need to take some time to get a grip on what it all means.
To some, FCAT means more than just a score
With all the numbers, it may be easy to forget the people behind them.
The Computer Lottery
On waiting list? Patience is the key
For some schools, the waiting lists move quickly. But much depends on where your child ranks and what kind of school you want.
Application process only the beginning
The complex process of determining where students are placed requires the use of special filters and randomly set numbers due to the volume of candidates.
Students, parents face maze of choices
From computerized school designation to family preference rules, picking a school can be a daunting assignment.
Profiles in Choice
Check out who sets agenda for the school
Picking a school for your first child is a lot like shopping for a sweater for your wife at Christmas: You hope you'll find something that fits, but ultimately you're just guessing.
Choice complicates a family decision
When my son was finishing his last of nine years at St. Paul's Catholic School in St. Petersburg, we had to decide where he would go to high school. "Choice" was a year away in the public school system ...
Choice? Not really - let's just call it luck
I wish I could bottle all the anxiety I felt over selecting a school for my daughter, Lauren, and toss it in the ocean or something.
Common bond is a big factor in a good school fit
Both magnet and neighborhood schools have positive aspects, but parents need to be active in support and decision-making either way.
Finding the right fit
Lingering at No. 1 on the Perkins waiting list, we opted for private school.
Lesson learned: See it for yourself
A school's reputation is one thing, but to really get a feel for the school, you need to spend some time there.
Memories, values aid search for elementary
The pressure was on. My son was going to start elementary school, and once we chose, that would be it for the full six years.
Not much of a choice for new residents
A St. Petersburg Times copy editor had to choose from limited remaining school openings after he and his family moved here in June.
Planning, luck could deliver the best school
Just a few months into my daughter Adrienne's eighth grade year at Southside Fundamental School, we began talking about high school options.
Private to public, small to really big
My 11-year-old daughter left a private school of four dozen students for a public middle school of more than 1,500 kids all creeping toward the precipice of adolescence.
Sometimes where you are is the place to be
Our sons landed in a great school. For them, grandfathering is the best choice plan.
Sometimes you have to go with your gut
Back in the day when my wife and I embarked on our first school search, there were no magnet schools or "choice" schools or anything of the sort. Heck, there were no FCAT scores or school grades.
To get top choice, you may have to gamble
First-time kindergarten parents have it the worst.
When your spouse is your kids' teacher . . .
My wife has homeschooled our four children for the past six years.
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