Parents hope for magnet seats

Some parents with a child on a magnet school waiting list are holding out hope that a last-minute spot will open up at their school of choice.

All magnet schools still have students on a waiting list to get in, according to Magnet Schools Director Kaye Schneider, though some lists are longer than others.

Nashville parent Connie Chevalier said her daughter has gone from 49 on Hume-Fogg High School's waiting list to 29. She hopes parents who have decided to enroll their child elsewhere will remember to notify the district of their decision.

"From my conversations with parents whose kids have gone to Hume-Fogg, right until the last minute people drop out," Chevalier said, noting often the family has moved or chosen a different school.

In addition to families wanting to know where a child will attend school, teacher assignments are determined by enrollment.

Metro schools is projecting enrollment of 72,967 students district-wide this school year, an increase of 1,041 students compared to the October 2004 student count.

School-to-school enrollments, however, tend to fluctuate in the first weeks after school begins in late August.

Schneider said many parents like Chevalier are calling the magnet schools office to check their child's status on the waiting lists.

Parents who need to notify the district that they are giving up their child's slot at a magnet or optional enrollment school should contact magnet school staff in the district's central office.

"Parents need to put in writing to the Magnet office that they will not be attending the magnet/optional school they have accepted," Schneider said.

The letter can be mailed or hand-delivered Metropolitan Public Schools, attn: Magnet Office, 2601 Bransford Ave., Nashville, 37204.

The last day a child may be placed in a magnet or optional enrollment school is Aug.12.