Open enrollment for school choice in DeKalb begins Monday
It’s school choice season in the DeKalb County School District (the new name of the former DeKalb County School System). That means you need to register now to get your child into the lottery for magnet and theme schools, including DeKalb’s magnet schools for high achievers.
Dozens of elementary, middle and high schools are part of DeKalb’s school choice program. New for the 2012-13 school year are International Baccalaureate (IB) programs at Salem and Tucker middle schools. There’s also a new start-up charter school, DeKalb Preparatory Academy, which is so new there’s hardly any information about it. DeKalb’s school choice page connects you to a full list of the schools you can consider. Officials said the school choice catalog would be online today.
To enter the lottery, you’ll need to register on the school choice portal. Open enrollment is from March 12-30, but you can go ahead and set up your portal account now, as it takes a couple of business days to get your account authorized. School choice administrators, who met with parents on Wednesday, advised that you may see some error messages when you complete the online form, but as long as you see the status listed as “eligible,” everything is OK.
Parents need to understand that just because a school is listed in the school choice lottery system doesn’t mean there will actually be spaces open in that school for the 2012-13 year. Seats are always made available first to students living in the school’s attendance zone, if it has one. Only if the school is below capacity will seats be opened for school choice students.
Also note that DeKalb School of the Arts (the high school) does not conduct its admissions process through the online portal. You can obtain an application for the school online or at your home school. Deadline to apply is March 23.
Current 7th graders can apply for scholarship that will pay high-school tuition
Parents of exceptional 7th graders: If you’re evaluating your high school options, consider applying for a scholarship that could pay tuition for the kind of school your gifted child needs.
The Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship is a program of the Institute for Educational Advancement, aimed at helping elite students get the most out of their high-school experience.
Students who are selected as CDB Scholars are notified in the fall of their 8th grade year. Then, the organization provides guidance in applying to high schools that would help the scholars realize their intellectual potential. Finally, IEA pays for tuition for all four years of high school.
The application, which is rather involved, must be submitted by May 14, 2012. In order to be considered for this scholarship, a student must take the SAT. The last SAT date for this year is May 5, and you must register for that testing date by April 6.
Teen writers workshop at Sandy Springs library
The Sandy Springs branch of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System will host a teen writer’s workshop this Saturday, March 10, from 12:30 – 2 p.m. Middle-school and high-school students who write in any literary form, from short stories to poetry and everything in between. The workshop is free and open to the public.
Director of DeKalb gifted to speak Wednesday morning
Pat Copeland, director of DeKalb County Schools’ gifted and theme programs, will speak at the Dunwoody-Chamblee Parents Council meeting this Wednesday, March 7, at Huntley Hills Elementary School, at 9:15 a.m. The topic is the county magnet and theme program, so I can’t say how much of her talk will focus on gifted students, per se, but if you’ve ever wanted to meet and hear from Ms. Copeland in person, this is one chance to do so.
The next 10 days at Tellus: fossils, rocketbuilding
Tellus Museum in Cartersville has two hands-on workshops coming up:
Saturday, March 3: Fossil workshop, 9 a.m. to noon. Kids will learn the basics of paleontology, identifying fossils, and telling geologic time.
Saturday, March 10: “Build and blast” model rocket build and launch, starting at 11 a.m. (This was rescheduled from February, so you won’t find it on the Tellus calendar, but I did call and confirm the date.)
Both workshops are open to ages 8 and up. Kids must be accompanied by an adult, and both child and adult must pay museum admission.
Space is limited. Call (770) 606-5700, ext. 417 to make your pre-paid reservation.
Georgia Tech summer camp registration opens this afternoon
When they said their application would be available at “the end of February,” the Georgia Tech people really meant the end of February.
The application for the Summer PEAKS program at Tech will go online at 2 p.m. today.
Wondering what PEAKS is? See this earlier post.
Summer science camps at Wheeler Magnet School in Cobb
Wheeler Magnet School will host two summer camps for students with a strong interest in science and technology.
Science Spectrum Camp will be held June 4-8, 2012. The camp is open to rising 7th-, 8th- and 9th-grade students, and will allow exploration in such areas as robotics, chemistry, electronics and drafting. Fee is $300.
Camp GAMES, June 11-15, is for girls entering 4th, 5th and 6th grades. It, too, will include a range of science and engineering topics. The camp costs $250.
Wheeler Magnet is a science, technology and math magnet program housed at Wheeler High School in Marietta.
“College Prep Scholarship” helps bright, low-income juniors apply to elite schools
If you’re a high-school junior whose family is just getting by financially, you might not let yourself think about attending Dartmouth or Yale. But an unusual scholarship is reason to think again.
The QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship comes to the aid of high-achieving, lower-income students, to help them navigate the admissions and financial aid application processes required by the best schools. The College Prep Scholarship also gives students the chance to experience college life on elite campuses, through full scholarships to summer programs, and all-expenses-paid visits to QuestBridge partner schools. (These include some of the most respected names in higher education — Brown, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford and their peers.)
The QuestBridge scholarship program also prepares students to apply in their senior year for the QuestBridge National College Match program, which pairs exceptional high-school seniors with prestigious colleges that will provide them full scholarships.
Current juniors can fill out the free application now through March 27, 2012.
Scholarships for 7th graders with high ability, low incomes
To meet their full potential, bright young kids often need enrichment, such as summer programs or music instruction. Yet the expense of such activities puts them beyond the reach of some bright kids’ families.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation wants to help. Its Young Scholars program provides scholarships to pay for the enrichment activities — and occasionally even private-school tuition — for students who are academically solid and financially challenged. (Wondering what “financially challenged” means? Applicants must have gross family income of $80,000 or less, and the Foundation reports that more than 90 percent of its scholar families earn under $60,000 a year.)
Students must apply during their 7th grade year. Those selected enter the program in 8th grade and continue as Young Scholars through high school.
Applications for current 7th graders are due April 16, 2012. The application package requires tax forms and teacher recommendations, so give yourself time to get everything together.
Bio@Tech: Intensive biology program at Georgia Tech for high-school students
Georgia Tech is now accepting applications for its 2012 sessions of Bio@Tech, a three-week investigative experience in current biology breakthroughs. Topics for 2012 include ecology, genetics and microbiology.
Bio@Tech is taught by Georgia Tech faculty and instructors. This non-residential camp is open to rising 11th and 12th graders, although highly exceptional rising 10th graders will be considered. The application process is competitive, and requires a portfolio including teacher recommendations. The deadline to apply is April 20, 2012.
Gifted Atlanta 