Parents given just three days to decide enrollment options

By ERICKA MELLON

KnoxNews

August 21, 2004

Knox County Schools gave parents of about 3,900 children just three days to decide whether to transfer them to a higher-performing school - a time frame the U.S. Department of Education later called unreasonable.

Federal guidelines regarding the No Child Left Behind Act say school systems should give parents "a reasonable deadline" to take advantage of the transfer option - which is meant to give students from low-income families a chance at a better education.

An assistant deputy secretary with the U.S. Department of Education said Friday the Knox County school system was "definitely not adhering to the spirit of the law" with a three-day window.

"While we do not have a definition for 'reasonable,' we would not agree that three days is a reasonable amount of time," Nina Rees said though a spokesman in an e-mail. "Most districts are giving at least two to three weeks, and many are giving much more, which we encourage."

"However," Rees continued, "because the guidance is not mandatory for districts to follow, they are not out of compliance with NCLB but are definitely not adhering to the spirit of the law and making it easy for parents to enroll in choice."

Knox County Schools notified parents about the transfer option by mailing a one-page letter signed by Superintendent Charles Lindsey. Sent Friday, Aug. 13, the letter said anyone wanting to transfer needed to make a request between Monday, Aug. 16 and Wednesday, Aug. 18.

Schools spokesman Russ Oaks said the system was trying to take care of any moves as quickly as possible before students adjusted to their zoned school. He argued that officials were not trying to violate the spirit of the federal law and said they would try to accommodate parents still wanting transfers.

"As far as the window closing on the 18th, that is not a cutoff where the door is slammed shut," Oaks said. "If parents come in later and they didn't get their information or they missed that deadline, we certainly will work with them."

So far, 128 students - or 3 percent of those eligible - have requested transfers to higher-performing schools, Oaks said.

The Tennessee Department of Education released its list of "high priority" schools, based on below-proficient test scores, on Thursday, Aug. 12. That was the first day of school in Knox County.

Knox County officials mailed letters to parents the day after getting the data. Oaks said they might have given parents more time had they received the test scores sooner.

"If you had this information in the June/July time frame, it's very realistic to do," Oaks said. "But when you've already got students in school, asking for a quick turnaround works better for the students."

Sandra Gray, of the state Department of Education, said she understood Knox County's desire to move quickly, but three days seemed too quick.

"I would probably prefer a little bit longer time frame," said Gray, the department's director of charter schools and choice. "I think at minimum, a week; two weeks might be more ideal."

Sarah Maranville, a parent of three children at Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy, a high-priority school, said the letter's three-day window "shocked" her.

"That is a huge decision when we're talking about three children and moving them to a different school," said Maranville, the school's Parent-Teacher-Association president. "I could not believe the school board would not allow at least a week to give you time to go check out some of the other schools."

In the end, Maranville decided to keep her children at Sarah Moore Greene. They are in the magnet program, so they actually have transferred into the school and have excelled.

"The programs in the magnet program, they really, really are phenomenal," Maranville said. "The computer labs will just blow you away, and the school has gone to great lengths to improve."

LaShonda Pierson, who has two children at Green Magnet Math and Science Academy, said she was still trying to understand the letter.

"It did not make sense to me," she said. "Me, personally, I felt like they should have had a meeting with all parents and explain what this letter means."

Only one of the nine Knox County schools that must offer transfer options held a meeting with parents, Oaks said, noting that the status of one of the schools is under appeal.

LaRoyce Beatty, the principal at Vine Middle Magnet Performing Arts and Sciences Academy, estimated that 55 parents attended her school's two meetings. She said she wanted to speak to parents in person because the school itself had been closed due to flooding damage.

"Once you send parents notification that there's some reason their children can transfer out of a school, I'm sure they want to ask why," Beatty said. "If they haven't really kept up with the No Child Left Behind polices, it might be a bit frightening."