can you go to a different public highschool than what you are zoned for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't hurt to try. Or, you can use an address if you know of a friend who lives in the Whitman cluster.

We know of 3 families that use a friend/family member's address in our cluster to attend a MS, but they live elsewhere. The one complication that comes up is that report cards get sent to that person's address. So make sure it's someone who you trust will get you the info you need!

You can ask for a COSA, but you'll need to have a compelling reason, like the PP said.

However, if you can just find someone that lives in the Whitman cluster who is willing to let you use them as a mailing address, you won't need to prove anything.

Keep in mind that this is quite illegal and your child will be removed from the school if you are caught using a false address.

Honestly, who's going to 'report' you? LOL! Like I said, we have 3 families in our school who do this and don't keep it a secret. It's definitely NBD.

I'd guess that the worst thing that could happen is they'd take you out of Whitman and put you back in your home school. They can't just deny you an education.

Not only is what you suggest probably fraud or some other crime, it is not as easy as you make it out to be. From the MCPS website, this is what you need to provide to prove residency. I can guarantee that creating fake documents to prove residency will definitely be a crime.

Residency—In Montgomery County
• If homeowner, provide copy of current property tax bill. A copy can be obtained from Montgomery County Department of Finance at 240-777-0311 or at montgomerycountymd.gov/finance, OR

• If renter, provide copy of current (less than 1 year old) lease. If lease is more than 1 year old, copy of lease and a current utility bill, OR

• If living in shared housing, provide notarized MCPS Form 335-74, Shared Housing Disclosure and either a copy of the current property tax bill of homeowner or copy of lease of renter with whom student and parent/guardian are living and three other appropriate supporting documents.

• Anyone who is not a resident of Montgomery County must complete MCPS Form 335-73, Determination of Residency and Tuition Status and contact SCRIA at 301-230-0686.

• If homeless, please refer to Enrollment Information/Homeless Children web page

My kids are still only in ES, so I have no idea what the policies are for MS/HS yet. But, when I registered my kids for K, nobody asked me for proof of residency! I just filled out a form with my kid's name and address and that was it. Will they require proof of residency for MS/HS?

My DD has two friends who live out of boundary. I know both families quite well, and it's not a secret that they live out of boundary - we've been to their houses and I've talked to both moms about it. One uses her MIL's address. FWIW, they're a close-knit Asian family, and the family does spend a good amount of time together. But, the student is a car rider, and it's definitely the mom who picks her up from school every day, so it's not an issue where they use grandparents for daycare, etc. The mom has said that she thinks our ES is better than the one her DD was zoned for, so they use the MIL address and didn't try applying for a COSA. She has never had an issue and our kids are in 4th grade.

The other friend uses a friend's address and it's only an issue at the end of the year when the reports cards get sent home because the kids' report cards don't get send to their house. Also, they don't get the principal's robo-call every Sunday night. But, all that info is on the website anyway, so it's not really an issue.

This family is really taking chances being so open about it. Some people really feel strongly..especially if the school is over crowded.

[Anonymous]

Multiple families using the same address for sought after schools is exactly why places like College Gardens are bursting at the seams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Multiple families using the same address for sought after schools is exactly why places like College Gardens are bursting at the seams.

Are you sure about that? I always thought it was the immersion program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not sure where you go. Perhaps capacity is not an issue there. But at my BCC cluster ES where my DD is finishing K, they definitely asked us for proof. It was part of the massive registration packet we had to submit.

I'm the PP. That's really interesting to me! We're in Rockville. Our school is overcrowded, with kids in portables, so I think capacity would be an issue? We do have a decent FARMS/ESOL population though, so maybe the rules are different because they know some people may not have 'official documents'? But I was absolutely, positively never asked for proof of residency when either kid started K. And, I'm at the school a good amount, know the front office staff pretty well - when a new student starts, they fill out a form, but are not required to bring in any special documentation.

Interesting that you and the PP had different experiences.

We are in Rockville, RM cluster. When we registered our kids when we moved here, we had to provide some proof of residency. I think it was the loan docs or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Multiple families using the same address for sought after schools is exactly why places like College Gardens are bursting at the seams.

Are you sure about that? I always thought it was the immersion program.

The school was rebuilt knowing the immersion kids (exactly 1 class per year) would be included. The growth came from elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Think about what message you are sending to your kid. Fraud is ok, cheating is ok, not playing by the rules is ok... as long as you don't get caught.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure everyone knows of someone who does that (use a family/friend address).

I've heard from people who have tried to get COSAs that it's gotten a little more difficult - MCPS will actually call around to follow up after you submit the application.

You can try doing it the legit way and possibly get rejected, or you can use a different address and have it not even be an issue.

Actually no, I don't. Every family I know (and know of) at my DD's ES most definitely live in boundary.

At our school I know a few kids with a COSA who don't live in bounds. But getting a COSA is not illegal. I don't know anyone who "just uses" someone else's address.

[Anonymous]

If you are zoned for Churchill, what makes you interested in Whitman? Both are very similar types of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think about what message you are sending to your kid. Fraud is ok, cheating is ok, not playing by the rules is ok... as long as you don't get caught.

+1

The same kind of lesson that the wealthy parents of BCC/Whitman are teaching their kids about how wealth can get you out of trouble, ie, thread about BCC HSer who got drunk at prom even though they were all warned that if they did they would not walk during graduation, and the parent got the Superintendent to overrule the Principal who made that rule.

Don't you know.. rules don't apply to the wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think about what message you are sending to your kid. Fraud is ok, cheating is ok, not playing by the rules is ok... as long as you don't get caught.

+1

Sounds like undocumented student !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Multiple families using the same address for sought after schools is exactly why places like College Gardens are bursting at the seams.

We're at Barnsley, probably a similar demographic to College Gardens, and there are definitely people attending who live out of boundary who attend using a family member's address.

FWIW, I was not required to submit any documentation to enroll DD in K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who just moved to the area in Feb and had to register, I have no idea how you would fake it. The names on the lease/deed have to match your ID and the lease/deed has to be recent (or you have to show utility bills in your name). In addition to the residency requirements your child's academic records have to be be sent. Which means that you would need both schools to be "in on it". Churchill would have to send the child's records (or whatever MS) to Whitman.

The only thing that I can see working is that if say your kids were at Whitman and you moved to Churchill, your kids could keep going to Whitman (without county provided transportation) without anyone finding out.

Maybe the rules are different for certain school clusters? And, was this moving in to HS?

I could see how that might require more documentation versus kids who just start in K using a different out of boundary address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't hurt to try. Or, you can use an address if you know of a friend who lives in the Whitman cluster.

We know of 3 families that use a friend/family member's address in our cluster to attend a MS, but they live elsewhere. The one complication that comes up is that report cards get sent to that person's address. So make sure it's someone who you trust will get you the info you need!

You can ask for a COSA, but you'll need to have a compelling reason, like the PP said.

However, if you can just find someone that lives in the Whitman cluster who is willing to let you use them as a mailing address, you won't need to prove anything.

Keep in mind that this is quite illegal and your child will be removed from the school if you are caught using a false address.

Honestly, who's going to 'report' you? LOL! Like I said, we have 3 families in our school who do this and don't keep it a secret. It's definitely NBD.

I'd guess that the worst thing that could happen is they'd take you out of Whitman and put you back in your home school. They can't just deny you an education.

As a teacher, I've reported kids.

What happened to the kids that you reported? Did the parents get in trouble?

I don't think many teachers would report a kid for this. Especially in public school. Most teachers are good people, and are there to help the kids learn. Not hung up on where a kid lives or comes from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Multiple families using the same address for sought after schools is exactly why places like College Gardens are bursting at the seams.

We're at Barnsley, probably a similar demographic to College Gardens, and there are definitely people attending who live out of boundary who attend using a family member's address.

FWIW, I was not required to submit any documentation to enroll DD in K.

I did have to show proof to enroll at College Gardens...but as Barnsley is a focus school with a 30% FARMS rate (double CGES) I would not say they have the same demographic. As others have said, maybe they relax the rules a bit at some schools.

[Anonymous]

The rules are the same throughout the county. I find it very hard to believe that some posters are claiming they did not have to provide residency paperwork. Perhaps they are not remembering, or maybe they have older children already enrolled in the school and therefore have already established residency?