Getting in to magnet schools
By Rosalind Rossi
Thinking of applying to a Chicago elementary magnet school? Brace yourself for some heavy reading.
The latest directory of Chicago public elementary schools tips the scale at 2 pounds. It's a whopping 336 pages, all of them oversize.
The directory contains two different magnet applications, including a new one that requires parents to fill in ovals with a No. 2 pencil. Just entering a child's name means negotiating 648 ovals.
Chicago Public Schools officials say they are offering parents racing to meet this Friday's magnet deadline more information than ever, but some say this year's materials are unusually daunting.
"This is the worst year ever. We've never seen it this bad for parents,'' said Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education, which trains parents on how to apply to magnet schools.
"You need a catalog to understand the catalog.''
Every year, thousands of parents agonize over applications to Chicago's magnet schools, often called the "crown jewels'' of the nation's third-largest school system. They know the competition can be fierce.
Jones College Prep in the South Loop pulled in nearly 34 applicants per seat this school year, the most among the city's eight selective-enrollment high schools.
Of the city's 40 elementary magnets, Edison Gifted on the Northwest Side posed the stiffest odds. It drew 20 applicants per seat to a kindergarten program that bases admissions on tests of 5-year-olds.
Applying to magnet schools is such a complicated affair that in February, the CPS-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission on magnet schools urged CPS to simplify its materials and publish information in more languages to ensure that magnets attract the diversity they were intended to promote.
Instead, CPS expanded the number of elementary application forms from one to two -- but produced only one of them in Spanish. It stopped publishing some materials in Polish because of what officials said was lack of demand. And it produced the biggest elementary school directory in its history -- but only in English.
"It appears ... none of the [Blue Ribbon Commission's] recommendations have been implemented,'' attorney Alonzo Rivas, also a Blue Ribbon Commission member, wrote recently in a friend-of-the-court brief in the system's desegregation court case. His comments come as federal attorneys have stepped up scrutiny of CPS magnet practices and are fighting the system's request to be freed next year from its desegregation deal.
'All in one place'
CPS officials say the commission's suggestions were supposed to be implemented after its desegregation decree is dissolved, not before. Some of this year's changes -- like the switch to a computer-scannable form -- should ultimately produce greater efficiency and less parent paperwork, they say.
Meanwhile, the new 11-by-14-inch, 537-school elementary directory is part of a new marketing strategy to promote all schools, not just magnets, officials say.
"There's never been more good information all in one place,'' said schools CEO Arne Duncan.
"We will continue to simplify it as much as we can. However, I think it's important to get as much good information to parents as possible.''
An abbreviated version of last year's magnet directory is available in Spanish and English, officials say. However, only "the big book'' contains maps and applications for both elementary magnets that use lotteries to pick kids and those that use tests.
The directory includes, for each school, an attendance boundary map, test scores over time, school hours, percent of neighborhood kids, what meals are offered, and whether uniforms are required.
It also has interesting tidbits, such as that Oriole Park students take Chinese daily, starting in kindergarten, and that Inter-American Magnet has three Golden Apple winners on its staff.
Chicago parent Diane Dugard, member of the focus group that guided the big book's design, said her goal was a "comprehensive'' directory that would let her compare schools. Her big push was for class size data, which is included.
Drowning in information
But to parent Jacqueline Arias, a native of Ecuador, the big book is intimidating.
Arias applied to some magnet preschools last year, so she said she was "shocked'' this year when she was given the 336-page directory, instead of the simpler magnet book she used last year.
Arias said she likes the big book's test score information but feels "overwhelmed'' by all of its choices.
"You feel anxious about seeing such a big book and not knowing what to do or where to start,'' Arias said.
Arias wants to apply to several magnet schools, but the book's zoned maps don't make clear which schools are magnets and which are neighborhood ones. She had a hard time just finding her local school in the book.
In addition, some school names, school descriptions or listings of availability to outsiders are wrong or misleading. For example, one map calls Skinner Classical an "elementary'' school, a term that usually refers to a neighborhood school, even though it's a magnet.
Wildwood is listed as a magnet school with citywide admissions, but CPS magnet chief Jack Harnedy said Wildwood is not accepting any students based on the magnet process.
In its February report, the Blue Ribbon Commission voiced concern that the complex magnet process was deterring low-income, limited-English and less-educated parents. That's truer than ever this year, said Ismael Vargas, a parent trainer for PURE.
A 'parent test'
Immigrant parents are mystified by a new computer-scannable sheet they must fill out to apply to selective-enrollment elementary schools and programs, Vargas said.
To parents, "It's like a test, and parents are completely confused by this,'' Vargas said.
The sheet, with ovals that must be filled in, can only record student last names that are a maximum of 13 characters in length -- not enough for some hyphenated or long ethnic names, Woestehoff said.
"It's not unusual for Polish people to have very long names,'' said Woestehoff. "Parents may wonder ... will that disqualify them?''
The scannable application form was only printed in English. Separate instructions on how to fill it out are available in Spanish, Polish and Russian, but Blue Ribbon Commission member Yvonne Lau said the application itself should have been translated.
"If [Chicago] is the gateway of many new immigrant families, then it seems if we don't translate this, we are restricting this gateway,'' said Lau, a DePaul University sociologist.
Jeffrey Gray, CPS selective enrollment manager, said officials hope to have all applications available in more languages next year. "There's a learning curve. People, along with us, will figure out what we need to do to make it better [for next year]," he said.
In the meantime, Harnedy said his staff is happy to answer any questions from non-English speakers.
Parents also can call (773) 553-2060, and officials will "do everything within our power to make sure everyone is tested who is eligible,'' Harnedy said. At least 10 people will answer phones there this week between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Arias said it's so difficult to figure out which schools are the best match for her son that she may apply to as many as possible, and then make a decision based on where her son gets accepted.
On the other hand, said Arias, "It's getting so hard, I'm thinking about private schools. It would make everything easier.''
Selective but local: Skinner setting aside spots for area kids
BY ROSALIND ROSSI
When Skinner Classical opens its new $34 million building, nearly a third of its seats will be reserved for neighborhood kids -- but only those smart enough to test into the West Loop school.
After persistent lobbying by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan has agreed to convert Skinner into a new kind of magnet school.
Skinner, at 111 S. Throop in the heavily gentrifying West Loop, will become the city's first selective-enrollment magnet to set aside seats for neighborhood kids. Duncan wants the school, now wracked by roof and boiler problems, to reopen in a new building on the same site in 2008 with a 30 percent neighborhood set-aside that could eventually grow to 50 percent.
Parents fret at lower standards
Such set-asides currently are used only at magnet schools that pick kids based on lotteries. Their use at Skinner is warranted because $25 million in tax increment financing funds, gathered from neighborhood taxpayers, will bankroll the new building, said Burnett.
"If people's tax dollars are going to pay for that school, I feel like they should have an opportunity for their kids to go to that school,'' Burnett said. Parents frequently ask him how to get their kids into Skinner, he said.
Some Skinner parents fret that Skinner will have to lower its standards to find enough neighborhood kids to fill a set-aside. Currently, kids are picked in the order of their test scores, with adjustment, if needed, for diversity.
"Are they going to have the same minimum scores they have now?'' asked Skinner local school council member Priscilla Dixon. "I have tons of questions.''
Skinner parent Larry Ligas, chairman of the Skinner Buildings Commission, says he's very concerned that if a set-aside is used, current kids are "going to have to slow down'' to keep pace with neighborhood kids admitted under a lesser standard.
'Dangerous precedent'
Duncan said neighborhood kids would have to meet some kind of minimum. However, he said, the surrounding population is growing so fast that by 2008, there may be enough neighborhood kids to meet even the current standard.
"The school has quality and integrity, and you absolutely want to maintain that,'' Duncan said.
Seventeen percent of Skinner kindergartners live within 1.5 miles of the school, an analysis by the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research indicates. Only eight more kids would bring that to 30 percent.
Attorney Alonzo Rivas, a member of a Duncan-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission on magnet schools, said Skinner's admission test may favor upper-income families who are gentrifying the West Loop over poor families living around the nearby United Center. As a classical school, Skinner tests skills and reading readiness, not giftedness.
A Skinner set-aside would be a "dangerous precedent,'' said fellow Blue Ribbon Commission member Yvonne Lau, a DePaul University sociologist. Selective-enrollment magnets were designed to admit kids citywide, not to "cater to certain neighborhoods,'' Lau said.
But Eric Sedler, West Loop Community Organization president, said a set-aside may well boost low-income students' chances of being admitted. And, he said, it would guarantee Skinner a backbone of community involvement and support.
"I think on the whole,'' Sedler said, "it will result in a much stronger Skinner school.''
TIPS ON APPLYING TO CHICAGO'S MAGNET SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS
POSTMARK DEADLINE: Friday.
WHAT'S NEW: A new application form for elementary Gifted and Enriched Academic Programs (GEAP) requires parents to rank limited choices. It cannot be photocopied. A lottery magnet application form can be copied and sent to as many schools as desired.
APPLICATIONS: For selective-enrollment high schools, elementary lottery magnets and elementary GEAP magnet schools and programs, applications can still be obtained, along with Spanish translations, in the lobby of the Chicago Board of Education, 125 S. Clark. Also, applications for lottery schools, in English or Spanish, are available at any Chicago public school, Chicago Public Library branch, Park District office, alderman's office, or can be downloaded from www.cps.k12.il.us.
ANOTHER TWIST: Applicants for GEAP for fourth grade or higher must allow time for their home schools to prepare required data and still make the Dec. 16 deadline. They are urged to get a receipt from the home school stating the date and time their school received their application, and who accepted it. Selective-enrollment high school applicants should do the same.
MAILING INSTRUCTIONS: All lottery elementary schools accept applications directly. Applications for selective-enrollment high schools and elementary GEAP should be mailed to the Office of Academic Enhancement, 125 S. Clark, 4th Floor, Chicago 60603.
DIRECTORIES: Large elementary, mini-magnet and high school directories can be obtained at Chicago public schools, public libraries, aldermanic offices, Park District facilities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call (773) 553-2060 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, or visit www.cps.k12.il.us.
THE COMPETITION FOR CHICAGO MAGNETS 2005 SCORECARD
ELEMENTARY MAGNETS, LOTTERY-BASED
SCHOOL (ENTRY-LEVEL) APPS. PER SEAT
Franklin Fine Arts (K) 14
LaSalle Language (K) 13
Vanderpoel (K) 12
Jackson Language (K) 12
Black (K) 10
Newberry Math & Science (K) 10
Hawthorne Scholastic (K) 9
Murray Language (K) 8
Turner-Drew Language (K) 8
Stone Scholastic (K) 6
Sheridan Math/Science (K) 6
Suder Montessori (3-yr PK) 6
Galileo Scholastic (K) 5
Owen Scholastic (K) 5
Disney (4-yr PK) 5
O. A. Thorp (K) 4
Jensen Scholastic (K) 4
Beasley (1st) 3
Pershing (K) 3
Sabin (K) 3
Inter-American (4-yr PK) 3
Drummond (3-yr PK) 3
Gunsalus Scholastic (K) 2
Saucedo Scholastic (K) 2
Ericson Scholastic (K) 1
NOTE: Goodlow, Gallistel, Randolph, Smyth and Wildwood Magnets did not accept any magnet applicants in 2005.
ELEMENTARY MAGNETS, TEST-BASED
SCHOOL (ENTRY-LEVEL) APPS. PER SEAT
Edison Gifted (K) 20.1
Decatur Classical (K) 17.7
McDade Classical (K) 16.5
Lenart Gifted (K) 14.8
Poe Classical (K) 12.3
South Loop* (K) 11.3
Skinner Classical (K) 11.2
Keller Gifted (1st) 7.5
Bell* (1) 7.2
Carnegie* (K) 6.5
Beasley Magnet* (1st) 6.1
Beaubien* (1st) 4.9
Pritzker 2.9
Pulaski* (1) 2.9
Greeley* (3) 2.5
Orozco* (1) 2.5
*gifted strand within a school.
SELECTIVE-ENROLLMENT HIGH SCHOOLS
SCHOOL TESTED APPS. PER SEAT AVG. SCORE ACCEPTED*
Jones 33.8 885
Payton 32.6 929
Northside 23.2 956
Young 20.7 932
Brooks 10.8 860
King 7.8 804
Lane 6.3 854
Lindblom 6.2 823
NOTES: *Based on a perfect score of 1000, using GPA, entrance exam and attendance
SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools, Office of Academic Enhancement, 2005-2006 applications/accepted students
— Rosalind Rossi
Chicago Sun-Times
2005-12-12
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-mag11.html
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