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Thanks to organizer Julie Hoang and the Friends of Playa Vista Elementary School, another fabulous gathering of parents convened last night curious to learn about their public Middle School options on the Westside.
It’s never too early to learn “the lay of the land” so time can be spent touring, gathering info, talking to parents and collecting school impressions –all which will help formulate your school plan.
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View the latest updates to the 2014 Magnet Application HERE.
Got Q’s about your points, application, strategy? Let’s talk!
A Must Watch! Malala is an inspiration to all of us slogging through this public school path! Makes me rethink my role in education and if I am doing enough. To think this is the voice of a 16 yr old is mind-blowing when compared to the typical Brandy-Melville-wearing SoCal high school girls I know.
Here is the extended interview of Malala with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show from earlier this week. Take the time to watch this. Totally worth it.
Not to be outdone by the Westside Middle School seekers…this just in:
Calling all Westchester and surrounding Westside area parents. Researching local elementary schools? Here’s your chance to get a glimpse of the myriad of wonderful charter, magnet, private, parochial and traditional public schools in and around Westchester/Playa Vista. Over 14 elementary schools will present and answer questions.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FORUM
Tues, October 15, 2013 7-9p
Loyola Village Elementary School Auditorium
8821 Villanova Street
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Featuring Kelly Kane, Dir of Westchester Playa Education Foundation (WPEF) and hosted by Westchester Parents’ Nursery School (WPNS)
Free to WPNS parents, $10 suggested donation for non-members.
Shopping Middle Schools on the Westside? Then you’ll want to check this out.
Thurs, October 24th starting at 6p, a dozen area middle schools will be under one roof at Mark Twain Middle School presenting their pitches, power points and pamphlets. Come, listen, learn. Afterward there’ll be a chance to walk up to each school table and ask questions.
And of course, I’ll be there to help focus you on your options.
WESTSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL FORUM!
Thurs, October 24, 2013 6-8:30p
at Mark Twain Middle School
2224 Walgrove Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
It’s FREE!
Thanks to organizers Julia Morgan and Sandi Wise, and the VNC Ed Committee. Thanks also to Mark Twain for hosting. No thanks to Venice HS (originally pegged to host) who had so much school pride they wouldn’t allow their space to be shared with a mix of charters, pilots, and magnets. Well, likely it was only the charters and pilot. Seriously? How HS of them!
It’s Magnet Time Again!
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com
It’s time.
The site is LIVE. The 2014-15 Magnet/eChoices brochure is now available and the application window has officially opened. Apply online now!
Beginning today, Tuesday, October 1, 2013 through the deadline Friday, November 15, 2013 at 5p, LAUSD residents may apply to the Magnet Program or Permits With Transportation (PWT) program for next year.
Visit echoices.lausd.net. It’s ONLINE. 24/7. It’s easy. It’s fast. It’s paperless.
Highlights for 2014:
– No longer accepting late applications. But you can make changes to your online app up until the final Nov 15 deadline. You’ve got 6 weeks to do this folks. Don’t be late. Do this now, get those apps in on time!
– NO NCLB PSC Program! No Option B Magnet/PSC Program Combo!
Due to LAUSD’s NCLB waiver being approved by the US Dept of Ed in August 2013, the NCLB PSC option for students enrolled in PI (Program Improvement) schools is no longer available and will be phased out for current PSC students. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Don’t worry. It’s not available anymore.)
– Notification letters will go out by the end of March and will be sent via email if applied online.
– Students MAY be contacted with an opening up until the 4th week of school. (This DOES happen. The late notification. It happened to us this year.) Waitlist points will finalize after then. *Students may also be called during the first 2 weeks of the spring semester. (I don’t personally know anyone who got this call, but beware, it’s in the fine print.)
The Basic Highlights: (Covered in much more detail in my Guidebooks)
– Must be an LAUSD resident to be eligible. Falsified applications will be disqualified and removed from the program.
– Can select UP TO 3 MAGNET Choices. Points will only attach to your 1st choice. 2nd and 3rd choices will be entered with 0 points. If you aren’t selected in any of your choices during the initial automated lottery, you are placed back on the waitlist of your 1st choice.
– You are not required to select 3 choices. If accepted to ANY magnet program at any point and turn it down, you will lose ALL accumulated waitlist points.
– Only submit ONE application per child. (Check with other parent to make sure you didn’t both apply.) Must be applying for the correct grade for 2014. State Law governs age eligibility: 5 by Sept 1st for K, 6 by Sept 1st for 1st.
– Student info (address, telephone, grade) MUST MATCH info at child’s current LAUSD school. (Think robo-call info.) It is the parent’s responsibility to complete the application correctly or it will be rejected.
– Twins are treated as individuals with separate apps. There is a space to enter sibling info on each app. If only one gets in, sibling points will apply the following year.
– If currently attending a Magnet and wish to stay there…DO NOTHING! If you apply elsewhere and are selected into another magnet, you will be dropped from your current magnet program. (This has happened to people I know trying to collect points while attending a magnet program. No, No, NO! That’s what Matriculation points are for.)
– If NOT currently in a Magnet and would like to be for next year, apply now. Apply every year until you get in. Waitlist points only go back 3 consecutive years.
– Gifted/High Ability and Highly Gifted applicants must provide verification AHEAD of the Nov 15 deadline. See: echoices.lausd.net/Magnet/GiftedCriteria
– To find more detailed info about each Magnet program, click on the 7 digit school code. To find out which Magnet programs are near you, use my School Finder maps.
If this seems overwhelming or you want to discuss strategy, please contact me for a consultation. I’m happy to help. Magnets are just one of many public school options.
– Tanya Anton | gomama@mac.com
For the fifth year in a row, Tanya spoke to a packed house of parents at Westchester Parents Nursery School (WPNS) this Tuesday evening, offering clarity and advice on navigating all the various public Kindergarten options on the Westside.
A first was selling out all the copies of her latest guidebook she had on hand for the event, including the display copy! That’s a new record. If you weren’t able to get a guidebook, don’t fret, there are more copies available of her most recent edition of Westside Guide To Public Elementary Schools. You can find them online right HERE.
Thanks also to the many parents who attended representing Covenant Presbyterian Preschool, as well as from surrounding areas. Hope to see you again next year!
GoMamaGuide’s Tanya Anton with Ivana Malcolm of NBCUni’s Super Moms parent networking group.
Had a fantastic time presenting the fundamentals of public school choice to a dedicated group of employees at NBC Universal last week. Held in the stunning offices of The Talent Lab in Universal City and hosted by the Women’s Network (WNN) Super Moms Committee, the event was part of their Café Mom lunchtime series, offering employees the chance to break out of their cubicles, network and mingle while learning valuable information about the school system in Los Angeles.
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com
For years I’ve heard parents say we have no “viable choice” when it comes to middle school on this side of Los Angeles. For years one particular organization’s platform was that we only had one choice in these parts, and that it desperately needed transforming. (Or put more succinctly, our children deserve better!)
While I wouldn’t argue the second half of that sentence, the first part was incorrect. We’ve always had a few choices. In fact this Westside area (from Venice to WLA to Westchester), is known as a district “zone of choice” allowing any student to enroll into any of its ring of five area middle schools. It’s just that despite some valiant efforts, most of the schools in this zone seem to be quite lackluster. And run down. And perhaps face safety issues. And most certainly staffing issues. Not to mention a revolving door of leadership. Perhaps it is choice, but to some it’s a choice-less choice.
So much potential…but just…not…a viable choice.
The continued declining enrollment speaks for itself.
As this recent wave of hands-on parents – the ones who have worked tirelessly to revitalize their elementary schools – and their children approach the middle school years, parents are getting more savvy and invested (not to mention more active) in the types of educational experience they want for their children. Many are seeking a different model altogether and are doing whatever they can to find it, transform it, or if necessary, help create it.
In the past year alone, four new Middle Schools have opened on the Westside. Five since 2011.
Say what you will about density, and impact, but I have personally watched many fine folks toil for years (of thankless unpaid labor) to get these schools off the ground. And here they are.
In any case, when it comes to Middle School options, who says we don’t have choice!
Let’s meet them, shall we?
in alphabetical order:
Animo Westside Charter Middle School – launched in 2011, this Green Dot charter was the result of the LA Parent Union/Parent Revolution movement. With small classes and a supportive infrastructure all students are encouraged to achieve academic excellence.
greendot.org/westside
The City School – launched in 2012, this charter comes from some of the same folks who worked on the two highly successful Larchmont Charters as well as Valley Charter Schools. With a focus on civics, debate and writing, not to mention service learning and building good character, this charter has the intention to expand through grade 12 by 2017.
citycharterschool.org
The Incubator School – opening 6-7th in 2013 and growing to 12th by 2018, this cutting edge new district pilot school will focus on tech-entrepreneurship and will utilize blended learning, design-thinking, real world project-based learning, as well as partnerships with ed, tech and Silicon Beach startup companies and non-profits.
incubatorschool.org
Westchester Secondary Charter School – will open 6-9th in 2013 and grow to include 12th by 2016, offering a rigorous college-prep comprehensive education that includes the arts to athletics. WSCS looks forward to serving students in its community with the autonomy to make its own budget, curricular, staffing and governance decisions.
westchestercharter.org
WISH-Westside Innovative School House – this K-5 independent charter was approved to launch a district pilot middle school but opted instead to extend their charter to include 6th grade for 2013. Steeped in research-based best-practices, and partnered with LMU’s School of Ed, this co-constructivist inclusion school is modeled after the highly successful Chime Charter in Woodland Hills.
wishcharter.org
Stay tuned for future GoMamaGuide stories that will take a closer look at these new school options.
Be sure to check out my color-coded Westside Middle School map on the school finder page. Includes a complete list of all your public magnet, charter, pilot and neighborhood middle schools in WLA, Santa Monica, Malibu and Culver City.
Hard to believe that for hundreds of thousands of LAUSD students and families, not to mention our teachers, school starts back in just a week. Yes, a week! Where DID the time go? Did we even have a summer?
With the adoption of the Early Start Calendar, and I’ve heard a lot of grumblings* from parents on this topic, the first day of school this “fall” (and I use that term lightly), is Tuesday, August 13th, 2013. Next Tuesday.
This Early Start date applies to all LAUSD Neighborhood schools, Magnet schools, Affiliated Converted Charter Schools, Language Immersions and Pilot Schools. Independent charters, however, have the autonomy to set their own calendars, so many will start in late August or after Labor Day in September.
Not to feel left out, the surrounding school districts are also upping their start times into August this year. So gather up your back-to-school supplies, dust off those backpacks and sharpen your No 2 pencils…it’s going to be another great, albeit early, year! Hey, it just means that next summer vacay will come sooner too!
To view the entire 2013-14 LAUSD calendar, including winter and spring break dates, see:
2013-14 LAUSD Calendar
Santa Monica-Malibu Schools start back on Thursday, August 22nd.
2013-14 SMMUSD Calendar
Culver City schools will start on Monday, August 26th.
2013-14 CCUSD Calendar
Tip: If you are headed to an independent charter, check their website, Facebook feed or newsletter to find out their start date. Each one is unique.
Alright kids, enjoy what’s left of it! Summer, that is.
*Note: to read through previous grumblings on this topic, see the comment thread from when I originally posted the new calendar. Here.
GoMamaGuide 