Wake acts quickly to establish new assignment plan

The 2013-14 plan, the third in as many years, is the latest attempt of the board to mollify parents who have expressed a weariness of the district's frequent reassignments and called for stability.

Staffers claim the new plan will re-assign less than 1 percent of the students in North Carolina’s largest school district.

The crux of it, which affects all students in the 2013-14 school year, is for students to be assigned to schools based on their address. Students will be guaranteed transportation to school.

Four information sessions about the plan will be held over the next week. The schedule is:

- Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Salem Elementary School, 6116 Old Jenks Road in Apex

- Monday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Wildwood Forest Elementary School, 8401 Wild Wood Forest Drive in Raleigh

- Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at East Garner Elementary School, 5545 Jones Sausage Road in Garner

- Dec. 19 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Joyner Elementary School, 2300 Lowden St. in Raleigh

The school system has put together a video to help explain details of the new assignment plan, both of which are listed below:

Beginning Jan. 2, letters will go out to all families to notify them of their base school assignment. Families who are satisfied with their current school do not need to respond.

Students who are assigned to a different base school than the school they currently attend can request a change, back to their assigned base school, between Jan. 7 and 14. Students who choose to return to their base school are guaranteed a slot unless the school has reached an enrollment cap.

Current students who are assigned to one of three newly opened schools – Richland Creek Elementary School, Rolesville Middle School and Rolesville High School – can apply to stay in their current school, instead, but would be required to provide their own transportation.

Registration for fall kindergarten also begins Jan. 7 for student who will be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31. Parents should enroll their children at their assigned base school.

Magnet school applications begin Jan. 14, and families will be notified of acceptance in magnet, early college or leadership academy programs by Feb. 8. Rising sixth and ninth graders currently enrolled in a magnet school will need to apply to advance to the next magnet school.

Parents will have two additional opportunities to request a transfer from their base school – between Feb. 18 and March 1 and between May 1 and May 15.

Rising sixth- and ninth-graders will be assigned to their base schools for 2013-14 but can apply to stay in their current feeder pattern during the first transfer period. Seats must be available at that school and parents would have to provide their transportation for students.

Rising sixth- and ninth-graders who are currently in magnet schools will need to apply to continue to the next magnet level.

Families who enroll new students or move from Dec. 12 until the end of the 2012-13 school year will be assigned to their newly defined base school. All other students will have to wait to make changes for the 2013-14 school year.