Richmond schools ponder limiting open-enrollment

By: Holly Prestidge | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: January 03, 2010

Richmond parents who wish to send their child to a school outside their home district may have to list two school choices for the upcoming school year rather than three.

Open enrollment is part of the system's school-choice practice. It allows parents to send their child to a school other than their designated home school.

But this year, school officials are considering limiting the choice options.

It's a way to streamline the process, Harry L. Morgan III, pupil personnel services manager for the Richmond school system, said at a recent School Board meeting.

To be eligible for open enrollment, parents must submit an application, which will be available from the school system starting Jan. 11. Applications must be submitted between Feb. 2 and Feb. 16. No applications will be accepted after that date, Morgan said. Confirmation letters will be sent to parents by the end of February to let them know their application was received.

Parents will also be sent identification numbers for their children.

Two lotteries will be held in March that will cover all grade levels and determine which students receive their choice placements.

Applicants will be notified on April 15 if their child has been accepted or is on a waiting list.

Some schools, such as those with International Baccalaureate programs, governor's schools or others that already require an application for admission such as Franklin Military Academy, are not part of open enrollment. Transportation is not provided for students who seek schools other than their home school.

Board member Norma H. Murdoch-Kitt questioned whether the April 15 date to let parents know if their child has been accepted or wait-listed may be too late. She said many parents who are deciding between the city's schools and private schools will have already had to make a deposit at a private school by then.

If the system is too late, those children "aren't coming back," she said.

Morgan said private-school schedules were considered and the April date was the best-case scenario for the school system.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.