No, I don't think you have a "right" to opt out of Jefferson Houston at all anymore. For middle school, I believe Jefferson Houston students can still attend George Washington if they prefer. It sounds like in practice, some families were given other options last year. But it might be different this year or next year.

So they have to allow you to transfer out of Jefferson Houston because its a special K-8 program? But they try to make it as difficult as possible by offering up other undesirable schools and/or making you wait until right until school starts to get a spot somewhere else?

Anonymous wrote:We live in an area zoned for J-H, and I am just praying that I can opt out and somehow get my child transferred to MVCS.

I was zoned for K last year in J-H and very high on the transfer list. They only offered me Cora Kelly and I put my daughter in private school instead. We are moving to Arlington this summer. I found the people at ACPS very nasty, one person borderline accusing me of being a racist for not wanting to put my child in J-H. Basically no one will help you or tell you anything besides refer you to this guy named Karl Smith. A retiree in management told me that a lot of high level management have jobs at risk if they don't improve J-H soon, so there is tons of pressure to get non-free lunch kids at J-H. I don't envy you as I have never been so frustrated in my life going through the process last year. What really sucks is that so many of the transfer decisions are made at the last minute, so you don't really have a lot of alternatives if they don't work out.

Yes, the whole state of Virginia got a waiver. Wasn't sure how it was being implemented though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had any luck transferring out of Jefferson Houston this year? Are they making in zone families enroll there now? It seemed like people were still able to opt out as of last year.

You still have a right to opt-out of JH. If you go in to negotiate, they may try to talk you into staying. If you simply declare that you are opting out, they are required to permit you to do so. Other schools (but not all) do have spaces, but you'll need to be alert and ask directly.

This is no longer true bc the City - or maybe was the whole state?- got some kind of waiver from NCLB so transferring out bc it's a failing school is no longer possible. The transfer policy is now being updated to remove the references to NCLB. The updated version is available va the school board meeting agenda website as they jut need to sign off on it. It's a formality btw and it will be signed.

We live in an area zoned for J-H, and I am just praying that I can opt out and somehow get my child transferred to MVCS.

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had any luck transferring out of Jefferson Houston this year? Are they making in zone families enroll there now? It seemed like people were still able to opt out as of last year.

You still have a right to opt-out of JH. If you go in to negotiate, they may try to talk you into staying. If you simply declare that you are opting out, they are required to permit you to do so. Other schools (but not all) do have spaces, but you'll need to be alert and ask directly.

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had any luck transferring out of Jefferson Houston this year? Are they making in zone families enroll there now? It seemed like people were still able to opt out as of last year.

No, they are trying to force more people INTO J-H.

And you're a racist if you want out, didn't you know?

Has anyone had any luck transferring out of Jefferson Houston this year? Are they making in zone families enroll there now? It seemed like people were still able to opt out as of last year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, please don't panic. A few facts:

1. There are admin transfers from MVCS (and the West-End alt-calendar school, Tucker) at nearly every ACPS elementary. NOT FOR K LAST YEAR

2. Barrett is terrific. You'd be lucky to wind up there. Barrett was on the frozen list for transfers through at least the end of July last year

3. Yes, you have to reapply each year. But if you do so timely, and your DC is exhibiting no material bad-fact issues, renewal is essentially automatic.

Hmm ... I called to re-check. On #1, there are indeed Admin Transfers -out- of MVCS and/or Tucker at nearly every single ACPS elementary, right now. PP, not sure where you got your info. On #2, Barrett was indeed frozen, but then spaces did open up. There are indeed students from MVCS at Barrett, right now. You can check with a call.

I was told that transfers almost always get their first or second choice school if you opt out of the intercession calendar. Is that not true? I can't imagine being a MVCS opt-out who lists MacArthur, George Mason, and Lyles Crouch as your picks, only to then be assigned to Jefferson Houston! Does anyone know of that happening?

Anonymous wrote:OP, please don't panic. A few facts:

1. There are admin transfers from MVCS (and the West-End alt-calendar school, Tucker) at nearly every ACPS elementary. NOT FOR K LAST YEAR

2. Barrett is terrific. You'd be lucky to wind up there. Barrett was on the frozen list for transfers through at least the end of July last year

3. Yes, you have to reapply each year. But if you do so timely, and your DC is exhibiting no material bad-fact issues, renewal is essentially automatic.

Anonymous wrote:It is not going to be easy. The good schools are overcrowded and I thought the lottery was starting this year because of that?

The lottery is complete B.S. The schools that offer the lottery are all undersubscribed with the exception of Mt. Vernon, and anyone can get a transfer to them by merely requesting them. Most of them are in areas with high ESL populations and they are trying to get other kids into them by having specialized programs to help boost the test scores. No one really takes the bait outside.

In years past, Lyles Crouch was a lottery school, and a lot of residents in North Old Town, Parker Gray, and other areas where the schools were not that great, tried to use it to get into it. They dropped Lyles Crouch as a lottery or magent school years ago.

Anonymous wrote:PP thank you, this is helpful and informative. So, basically, if we don't want to enroll in Mount Vernon because it's year round and will be mandatory immersion, we will have no choice but to go to Jefferson Houston or Barrett? That seems like something to take to the school board! I was told that there will be no opt-out of dual language for 2014, and that is not something we are comfortable with.

No, the issue is if school zones like Tucker (which is always oversubscribed for K) or other schools are full, the good schools with a small number of open slots will basically be frozen until those oversubscribed families are taken care of. I'm told that MacArthur is popular for the Tucker folks frozen out, so it is unlikely you will be offered a space, until right before the school year starts.

I was in a similar situation and they really pressured me into choosing Cora Kelly, Jefferson Houston, or a west end school. They informally told me that a spot a MacArthur, Mt. Vernon, or Barrett might open up right before the school year. They said George Mason was unlikely. It is all space dependent and the best schools are all near capacity. You might luck out near the start of the school year or you might not. But you are unlikely to get any sympathy if they can't get you in MacArthur, George Mason or even Barrett, because they'll 100% be space at Cora Kelly. So from their end, they would have accomodated your family.

FYI, they did try to sell me on Cora Kelly and their big jumps in their math test scores. I told them that I didn't believe one year performance jumps was indicative of the quality of a school, compared to rolling averages. I also noted that big jumps may indicate things like teaching the test, or even worse, testing fraud. Oh boy, let's just say that didn't go over well.

This was before the Atlanta and DC testing frauds were known.

It is not going to be easy. The good schools are overcrowded and I thought the lottery was starting this year because of that?