Beaufort Co. school choice applications open Saturday. Here’s what you need to know.
Beaufort County School District is opening applications to its school choice program Saturday for the sixth year in a row — but parents might notice that nearly a third of their options are near-impossible to get into.
The school choice program, which expanded to include every school in the district in 2015, allows parents to “choice” their students out of their neighborhood school and into programs at other schools in the district, which include dual-language classes, an early college program and International Baccalaureate coursework, to name a few.
Last year, around 2,300 students — just over 10 percent of the district’s total enrollment — attended schools outside of their attendance zone, district spokesman Jim Foster said Friday.
Parents are free to apply to any school in the district, as long as they live in Beaufort County and provide their own transportation to schools outside of their attendance zone. Participating in the program is free.
However, schools typically cut off choice program spots once they reach 90 percent capacity — and that means nine of the district’s 30 schools are basically off-limits for choice transfers, unless space opens up. They are:
Coosa Elementary
H.E. McCracken Middle
Hilton Head Island High
Hilton Head Island Middle
May River High
Okatie Elementary
Pritchardville Elementary
Red Cedar Elementary
River Ridge Academy.
Students can apply to these nine schools above 90 percent capacity, and a lottery will be held in the spring if space opens up at one of those schools. Foster said Friday that students applied, and were accepted, into choice programs at all 30 district schools last year.
Here’s what you should know before applying.
How do I apply?
The application will go live on the district’s website on Saturday, and will remain online until midnight Feb. 29. Parents can apply for their student to attend multiple schools, though they will be asked to apply to just one.
Parents who don’t have Internet access may request application assistance at any district school or through the district office’s Instructional Services division.
The district’s school choice headquarters web page, which contains an FAQ and a guide to different school programs, encouraged parents to email Student Services Specialist Yanina Sarli Rotti at yanina.sarlirotto@beaufort.k12.sc.us with questions, or call 843-322-2420 or fax 843-322-2359.
Schools can deny requests based on excessive absences, tardiness, discipline matters or academic concerns. These issues can also be grounds to not renew a student’s acceptance or to immediately cancel their acceptance at the principal’s discretion.
When will I hear back?
Parents will hear if their application was accepted or denied by April 1, according to Foster. This will give the district time to notify parents if their applications are declined, and to conduct lotteries if necessary.
What if I’m a district employee?
Students with parents/legal guardians working at a district school can attend that school, the school closest to it with an appropriate grade level, or one in between their home and the employee’s workplace, per the district’s employee courtesy policy. They do not have to participate in school choice programs to transfer schools.
If the preferred school is at or above 98 percent capacity — a category that includes Pritchardville Elementary, River Ridge Academy, Coosa Elementary, May River High, H.E. McCracken Middle and Hilton Head High — employees’ students may be approved to attend it if the employee works there, if they have a previously approved sibling at the school or if it’s the closest school to the employee’s workplace with an appropriate grade level.
There’s a separate application for district employees to transfer their students, available on the district website. That application remains open year-round, Foster said.
What if I’m already in a choice program?
If you already participate in the school choice program, you don’t have to reapply every year. Your student can remain at the school as long as they stay in their school choice program. The same goes for students who transfer under the employee courtesy policy.
If your student has siblings applying to the same school, you must submit a separate application for that sibling. There’s no guarantee that the sibling will be accepted.
How does choice affect enrollment?
While nearly a third of the district’s schools are exempt from choice, it’s caused some major waves in enrollment across the county.
“The north of the Broad schools used to not be at capacity,” said Constance Goodwine-Lewis, who’s served as the principal of Broad River Elementary School for 10 years.
Her school is at 84 percent capacity, largely as a result of the school’s popular dual-language curriculum. Classes are taught in English and Spanish or Mandarin, depending on the child’s learning track.
However, the most common shift has been South of the Broad, district data coordinator Brett Fritz said Friday.
“A lot of people flocked to River Ridge Academy, simply because it’s pre-K-8,” he said. “That’s a 10-year guarantee for your kid’s school.”
River Ridge is at 118 percent capacity this school year, and neighboring May River High is at 102 percent, though both are slated for expansions to be completed by 2021. By then, the district might have more choice programs, to counter obstacles posed by “a lot of the capacity issues” South of the Broad, Fritz said.
“I know that the board is interested in it, and Dr. (Frank) Rodriguez (the district’s superintendent) and (chief instructional services officer Mary) Stratos have talked about things to change based on their prior experiences.”
Both administrators came from Palm Beach County, Florida, which provides transportation to choice students and groups school choice programs by cluster, Stratos said at a Jan. 15 academic committee meeting.
What are the school programs?
The district includes descriptions of its programs, and a list of schools where they’re offered, on their website.
Schools Offering Acceleration Academy and Content Area Choices (to select AA, students must enroll in a specific Content Area Choice):
Battery Creek High School: Advanced Placement; Aviation/Aerospace Engineering; Culinary Arts; Environmental and Natural Resources Management; Welding Technologies; Chinese Language; Biomedical Sciences.
Beaufort High School: Advanced Placement Capstone; Biomedical Sciences; Family & Consumer Sciences; Information Support & Services/Computer Repair; Networking Systems.
Bluffton High School: Advanced Placement Capstone; Emergency and Fire Management; Family & Consumer Sciences; Media Technology; Visual & Performing Arts; Biomedical Sciences.
May River High School: Advanced Placement Capstone; Automotive Technology; Health Science/Nursing; Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security; Welding Technologies.
Advanced Math, Engineering and Science Academy (AMES): Beaufort Elementary School, Pritchardville Elementary School, St. Helena Elementary School
Animation, Creation and Design: Bluffton Elementary School
Arts Infused: Beaufort Middle School, HE McCracken Middle School, Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts, Lady’s Island Elementary School, Lady’s Island Middle School, Mossy Oaks Elementary School, Whale Branch Elementary School, Whale Branch Middle School
Classical Studies: Beaufort Middle School
Dual Language: Broad River Elementary School, Hilton Head Island Elementary School (International Baccalaureate)
Early College: Whale Branch Early College High School
International Baccalaureate Program: Hilton Head Island Elementary School (International Baccalaureate), Hilton Head Island Middle School, Hilton Head Island High School
Learning Through Leadership: Battery Creek High School, Bluffton Middle, Coosa Elementary School, Joseph Shanklin Elementary School, MC Riley Elementary School, Okatie Elementary School, Robert Smalls International Academy, St. Helena Elementary School
Montessori: Beaufort Elementary School, River Ridge Academy
Project-Based Learning: Hilton Head Early Childhood Center, Port Royal Elementary School, Pritchardville Elementary School, Red Cedar Elementary School
Project Lead the Way: Bluffton High School, Bluffton Middle School, HE McCracken Middle School, Lady’s Island Middle School, May River High School, River Ridge Academy, Whale Branch Middle School.
* JROTC is a choice at Bluffton High School for students zoned for May River High School.
What if I want more info?
Several schools have scheduled February info sessions and tours for parents and students to learn more about their choice programs:
Battery Creek High (Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.)
Beaufort Elementary (Feb. 6, Montessori at 5:30 p.m. and AMES at 6:30 p.m.; program tours on Feb. 10 and Feb. 20 (8:30 a.m. for AMES at 10:15 a.m. for Montessori.)
Beaufort High (Feb. 4 from 5-7 p.m.)
Beaufort Middle (Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.)
Bluffton Elementary (Feb. 13, 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., plus tours upon request)
Bluffton Middle (tours available upon request from 8:45-9:45 a.m. on Feb. 6, 13, 20 and 27)
Broad River Elementary (Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.)
Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center (Feb. 6 at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 7 at 9 a.m.)
Hilton Head Island Elementary (Jan. 30, 5:30-6:15 p.m. and 6:30-7:15 p.m.; Feb. 11, 8-8:45 a.m. and 9-9:45 a.m.)
Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts (Feb. 11, 8-8:45 a.m. and 9-9:45 a.m.)
Lady’s Island Middle (Feb. 18, 9:30-11:30 a.m.)
M.C. Riley Elementary (Feb. 4 Leadership Day from 8:30-10:30 a.m.; tour for incoming kindergarten students Feb. 21 at 9:30 a.m.)
Port Royal Elementary (Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.)
Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary (Feb. 6 9:30-11:30 a.m.)
Robert Smalls International Academy (Feb. 6 at 9:30 a.m.)
St. Helena Elementary (Feb. 6, 9:30-11:30 a.m.)
Whale Branch Elementary (Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.)
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 2:35 PM.