District announces school choice programs for next year
A year after the Beaufort County School District began efforts to bring more academic offerings to its schools, students and families can now start planning their picks.
The district has decided which "choice" programs will be offered at each county public school, beginning in August 2015. The goal is for students to choose which schools they attend based on the programs offered.
Before the programs are launched, however, the district must address several challenges that could prevent it from offering true choice. Those challenges include providing transportation for students leaving their attendance zones, and making sure there are enough seats in the classrooms for them.
"I'm very excited about the choices we'll offer to parents and think this will help them and their children be more engaged," superintendent Jeff Moss said. "But I still think we have a couple issues we need to work through before everyone can fully take advantage."
CHOICE OFFERINGS
All but two of the district's 30 schools will have choice programs starting in spring. After many discussions by the schools' improvement councils, Whale Branch and Port Royal elementary schools decided not to offer a choice program, district director of academic initiatives N'Kia Campbell said.
Nonetheless, she continues to discuss potential programs with principals at both schools, Campbell said.
"We're not going to force a choice on the school," Moss added. "Some chose that they wanted to just offer the traditional curriculum for students."
The remaining schools will offer at least one choice program next year. Seven of those schools will have two programs available for students: Beaufort Elementary, Beaufort Middle, H.E. McCracken Middle, Lady's Island Middle, Battery Creek High, Bluffton High and Hilton Head Island Elementary.
About half of the schools will simply continue to offer programs already in place; the others will adopt new ones.
Arts-infused programs were popular choices and will be offered at six schools. Technology programs will be offered at five.
School board member Geri Kinton said she thinks the district will soon offer "a strong variety of choices."
"But it all comes down to how we provide the resources for those schools and the opportunities to families," she added.
CHOICE CHALLENGES
One obstacle, board Chairman Bill Evans said, is making sure there is room for students not zoned for a particular school to enroll in the program.
In several programs, such as the dual-language immersion program at Hilton Head Elementary, students zoned for the school have not claimed all the spots in the special programs and have instead opted for more traditional instruction. However, the school's overall enrollment leaves little room in the building for others to attend, and the district has a cap on enrollment at each school.
Several board members said the district should adjust the cap, or make exceptions for students who want to join the programs.
"I understand why we have that cap, to allow the school to function well," board member Jim Beckert said. "But when we have decided to invest money in a specific program and then we are not allowing people to fill those open spots, we are doing ourselves a disservice."
The board and district must also decide to what extent they will provide transportation for students attending a program outside their attendance zones.
Kinton said providing transportation should be a priority, even if it comes at a cost, so students aren't prevented from participating.
Moss said the district should be able to provide transportation within wider geographic sections of the county. But districtwide transportation might be too difficult, he said.
The board will continue to discuss these challenges -- and whether it will allow families to participate in the choice programs if they move in after the May 1 application deadline -- at future meetings.
"As we roll this out, I hope we see people making very intentional choices," Evans said, "I hope they decide not based on the facility or reputation, but based on how instruction is being presented and finding the best program for them."
Follow reporter Sarah Bowman on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Sarah.
Related content:
- Enrollment cap prevents some county students from entering academic-choice programs, June 28, 2014
- Parents concerned classroom changes could dilute AMES choice program, June 22, 2014
- Beaufort County schools to verify all students' addresses every year, April 23, 2014
- Beaufort County school board approves districtwide attendance zones, April 1, 2014
- School board committee recommends several programs for school choice, December 3, 2013
- School district one step closer to defining school choice for Beaufort County, November 30, 2013
- School district braces for transfer requests to new specialized programs, February 10, 2011
- District might add specialized programs to lure students to less-full schools, November 12, 2010
This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 7:47 PM with the headline "District announces school choice programs for next year."