1. Middle School &High School School Choice
Changed Title- Use or lose

2. * Providence School Board Policy
What is School Choice?
School Choice* means families tell us their preference in schools, rather than simply being assigned to a school.
School Choice does NOT guarantee access to ANY particular school.
More seats are reserved for NEIGHBORHOOD students (80%) than NON- NEIGHBORHOOD students (20%).
Corrected spelling of neighborhood and put non-neighborhood on the same line
* Providence School Board Policy

3. What is a Neighborhood School?
Any school within one mile (elementary), one and one-half miles (middle), or three miles (high school) of a student’s home is considered a NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL.
There are always a minimum of TWO schools indentified as NEIGHBORHOOD schools for every student; these will be the two closest schools to the student’s home, even if one or both are more than one mile away. (So families will always have a minimum of two NEIGHBORHOOD schools even if they do not have schools within a mile from their home).
A student may have more than TWO schools identified as NEIGHBORHOOD schools.

4. School Choice Form

5. School Choice Considerations
Determine what is important to you and your child.
Do you want all of your children in one school or different schools? (Siblings have preference in the assignment process.)
Is having the school closest to your home most important?
Does the school have strong academic performance?
Does the school require uniforms?
Is the school’s location in a favorable place for you and your family?
Are there before and after school programs?
Is the PTO active?

6. School Choice Considerations
Transportation
Does your child need bussing?
Middle school students more than 1.5 miles away from their school are eligible for transportation. High school students more than 2 miles away from their school also are eligible for transportation.

7. School Choice Considerations
Charter Schools
Are you registering for other opportunities?
Would you like to learn more? A list of charter schools is available at the Registration Center.
Make sure you understand their registration timelines. By law, their lotteries are during the month of March.
Private Schools
Please be aware that private schools are not required to follow any particular registration calendar.
Call the private schools for more information.
A list of private schools and their phone numbers is available at the Registration Center.

8. School Choice Considerations
PLEASE REMEMBER
Not all the school have the same programming. Check the school profiles brochure carefully. In some cases students with IEPs/ELL may have to be assigned to a school because of the specific programs available in some schools.

9. Understanding the Assignment Process
Deadline for Middle School and High School choices is February 9, 2018.
5th and 8th grade PPSD students need to return their choice forms to their current school.
Choice Forms submitted to PPSD after February 9, will not be included in the lottery.

10. Understanding the Assignment Process
Middle School and High School Lotteries will take place March 1, 2018.
Students are assigned to schools through a computerized student assignment.
If more students choose a school than there are seats available, then there will be a student assignment process to randomly assign students. This is often called a “Lottery”.
Students drawn earliest during this process are assigned to the first choice school until seats are filled.
Those that were not assigned to their first choice during the first round are considered in the second round for their 2nd choice schools if seats are still available at the 2nd choice school.
If seats are not available at the 2nd choice school, then in the third round, the 3rd choice school will be considered. If no seats are available at the 3rd choice school, then in the fourth round the 4th choice school will be considered.

11. Understanding the Assignment Process
If none of the choices are available after the 4th round, then a student will be assigned to the nearest school to his/her home that has seats available.
Notifications of assignments will be sent out by mail and also be available online on the PPSD student assignment finder.

12. Seat Availability
Seat availability is determined by the educational programs offered at each school and the number of classrooms designated for those programs.
Some schools may have specific types of seats or fewer choices for your child based on program availability or his/her educational needs.

13. Seat Availability (cont.)
Not all programs are offered at all schools.
These programs are available at all Middle and High schools:
General Education
Special Education
Testing done through the office of Special Populations.
ESL- English as a Second Language
Testing done at the Registration Center.

14. Wait Lists
A wait list will be maintained in any grade/educational program where demand for seats exceeds supply.
Students will be placed on up to four wait lists for schools of higher choice preference. For instance, if a student got into his 3rd choice school, he would be automatically placed on the wait list for the first and second choice schools.
Wait lists are broken down into 4 categories – neighborhood sibling, neighborhood, non neighborhood sibling and non neighborhood. Each of these categories is held for each educational program.

15. Strategies to Maximize Your Opportunity to Get a School You Want
Turn in the forms on time!
ALL paperwork, both registration and choice forms, must be in on time to be included in the lottery.
If a particular school is desired above all others, list it as the first choice.
High demand schools will fill up using first choices.
Neighborhood seats can fill up just as fast as non-neighborhood seats in some schools. If you do not get into any of your choices you will be placed at the closest school with a seat in your ed type. This may not be your neighborhood school if those seats are filled.

16. Lottery Results from 2017/18
Grade 6 Lottery: 83% received either their 1st or 2nd choice
Of students that filled out an on time choice form:
1st choice – 69%
2nd choice – 14%
3rd choice – 6%
4th choice – 4%
None of their choices – 7%
Grade 9 Lottery: 92 % received either their 1st or 2nd choice
Students were accepted to Classical and CTE programs were assigned prior to lottery.
1st choice – 77%
2nd choice – 15%
4th choice – 1%
None of their choices – 1%